Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Guide for Indigenous North American identity on Wikipedia (ID: 22893143)
This is an automatically generated Meta-Wiki page. The page was copied from Fluxx, the web service of Wikimedia Foundation Funds where the user has submitted their application. Please do not make any changes to this page because all changes will be removed after the next update. Use the discussion page for your feedback. The page was created by CR-FluxxBot.
Applicant Details
edit- Main Wikimedia username. (required)
Bluerasberry
- Organization
Guide for Indigenous North American identity on Wikipedia
- If you are a group or organization leader, board member, president, executive director, or staff member at any Wikimedia group, affiliate, or Wikimedia Foundation, you are required to self-identify and present all roles. (required)
N/A
- Describe all relevant roles with the name of the group or organization and description of the role. (required)
Main Proposal
edit- 1. Please state the title of your proposal. This will also be the Meta-Wiki page title.
Guide for Indigenous North American identity on Wikipedia
- 2. and 3. Proposed start and end dates for the proposal.
2025-02-07 - 2025-06-30
- 4. Where will this proposal be implemented? (required)
United States of America
- 5. Are your activities part of a Wikimedia movement campaign, project, or event? If so, please select the relevant project or campaign. (required)
Not applicable
- 6. What is the change you are trying to bring? What are the main challenges or problems you are trying to solve? Describe this change or challenges, as well as main approaches to achieve it. (required)
We will identify and present scholarly sources for Indigenous North American identity in the United States, and related discussions of Indigenous tribal identity. In collaboration with Native entity organizations, we will present an interpretation of these sources in essay format and make recommendations for representing Indigenous identity in Wikipedia articles.
The change which we want to bring is for Wikipedia editors to have access to a manual of style guide for representing Native identity in Wikipedia articles, and for this guide to have approval from organizations which represent Native people as well as the Wikipedia community. The current problem in Wikipedia is years-long conflict among Wikipedia editors on this topic.
To date, no one has attempted to bring in existing recommendations from expert organizations which have already addressed this problem.
- 7. What are the planned activities? (required) Please provide a list of main activities. You can also add a link to the public page for your project where details about your project can be found. Alternatively, you can upload a timeline document. When the activities include partnerships, include details about your partners and planned partnerships.
1. Planning - We will recruit Native identity scholars to comment on which existing native identity guidelines we should import to Wikipedia, and to review how we will adapt them. We have identified several possible research partners at Universities around the United States to approach for this project. We have also identified several Indigenous organizations interested in this project.
2. Research - We will research multiple topics of scholarly interest in Native identity and tribal identity in support of synthesizing guidelines which can apply to Wikipedia. The team identified in the planning phase will oversee the project direction.
3. Design an essay exploring scholarly consensus and major minority views of Native identity which makes recommendations for writing online encyclopedia content. This stage will be a collaboration between the Native Identity Tribal Researcher and the Wikipedia Subject Expert with input from the Cultural Consultants. The publication of this essay is the primary outcome of this project.
4. Implementation - After producing the essay on Native identification, we will do outreach to Wikimedia and Native communities to encourage its use and solicit feedback and comments. Our outreach plan includes publishing in Wikipedia and exploring publication in an appropriate venue, such as a community or scholarly journal. Bring the discussion of Native identity into Wikipedia and gather community consensus.
- 8. Describe your team. Please provide their roles, Wikimedia Usernames and other details. (required) Include more details of the team, including their roles, usernames, Wikimedia group, and whether they are salaried, volunteers, consultants/contractors, etc. Team members involved in the grant application need to be aware of their involvement in the project.
1. project coordinator - The project coordinator (identified to WMF, name withheld) is the lead applicant of this proposal, and will coordinate all aspects of this project. They are a volunteer who is committing 3 hours a week to this project for 6 months, and will be the lead point of contact responsible.
2. subject matter expert(s) - Indigenous studies - (TBD) These will be commentators who the project coordinator will ask to review documents. These will be experts. These commentators will be publicly named when they sign-off on project outcomes. For social reasons, tribal scholars and representatives avoid publicly speaking to Native interests except on their own terms. While we expect that they will approve our moving of conventional, existing, Indigenous identity guidelines into Wikimedia projects, we cannot yet name these people because they actually need to see the guidelines which this project produces before they can commit to reviewing them.
3. subject matter expert(s) - Wikipedia editor -(TBD) This person will assist with identifying existing Indigenous identity documentation on Wikipedia and collecting it to compare and contrast with the official guidance which this project brings into the Wikimedia platform.
4. subject matter expert - project documentation - (identified to WMF, name withheld) This person will document the outcomes of this project for reporting to the Wikimedia Foundation.
5. subject matter expert - Native language and cultural advisor - (identified to WMF, names withheld) This is a volunteer position for a cultural advisor who will assist in recruiting the Indigenous studies experts who will review our manual of style for Indigenous representation.
6. project coordinator - Wikipedia community - (TBD) This person will assist in recruiting Wikipedia community comment and feedback on our published guideline.
7. project coordinator - Native communities - (identified to WMF, name withheld) This person will assist in recruiting general Native community comment and feedback on our published guideline.
7. project advisor - Lane Rasberry (user:bluerasberry) - This person will be an unpaid advisor to the project. Lane is a Wikipedia researcher at a university who also researchers demographic data, such as identity data.
- 9. Who are the target participants and from which community? How will you engage participants before and during the activities? How will you follow up with participants after the activities? (required)
1. Wikipedia Community - editors and readers of any Wikipedia articles which describe Indigenous demographic affiliation. We estimate that there are 10,000 such articles, and they include biographies of Indigenous people, articles about tribes and other Indigenous groups, and various articles which describe or mention Indigenous culture.
2. Indigenous scholars - this group will confirm best practices and media style guides which Indigenous groups recommend generally, and compare and contrast these practices against Wikipedia's own crowdsourced guides.
3. Indigenous Tribal Entities - these organizations will be available for institutional review of guides which this project brings into Wikipedia. As institutional collaborators, they are options for communicating project outcomes in their media channels.
- 10. Does your project involve work with children or youth? (required)
No
- 10.1. Please provide a link to your Youth Safety Policy. (required) If the proposal indicates direct contact with children or youth, you are required to outline compliance with international and local laws for working with children and youth, and provide a youth safety policy aligned with these laws. Read more here.
N/A
- 11. How did you discuss the idea of your project with your community members and/or any relevant groups? Please describe steps taken and provide links to any on-wiki community discussion(s) about the proposal. (required) You need to inform the community and/or group, discuss the project with them, and involve them in planning this proposal. You also need to align the activities with other projects happening in the planned area of implementation to ensure collaboration within the community.
Discussions of this topic on English Wikipedia have been on-going for years. The differences of opinion on English Wikipedia will not be resolved without bringing conventional, expert scholarship and existing best practice recommendations into the Wikimedia platform.
One of the participants of this project presented the problems and some proposed solutions in person at WikiConference North America 2024 in Indianapolis. This included making a conference presentation in the unconference, speaking publicly during the conversation with Wikimedia Foundation board members, and in individual and small group conversations with various conference attendees.
Finally, this project also includes participation of tribal scholars and representatives of tribal entities who have expert perspective on this challenge, and who agree that this is a good opportunity for collaboration between Wikimedia editors and established tribal organizations.
1. Wikiconference 2024, Indianapolis 2. Presented at Five Minute Unconference and discussed with Individual Wikipedians. 3. Spoke with tribal entities who informed policy
- 12. Does your proposal aim to work to bridge any of the content knowledge gaps (Knowledge Inequity)? Select one option that most apply to your work. (required)
Cultural background, ethnicity, religion, racial
- 13. Does your proposal include any of these areas or thematic focus? Select one option that most applies to your work. (required)
Human Rights
- 14. Will your work focus on involving participants from any underrepresented communities? Select one option that most apply to your work. (required)
Ethnic/racial/religious or cultural background
- 15. In what ways do you think your proposal most contributes to the Movement Strategy 2030 recommendations. Select one that most applies. (required)
Provide for Safety and Inclusion
Learning and metrics
edit- 17. What do you hope to learn from your work in this project or proposal? (required)
How can we reconcile the English Wikipedia Manual of Style for representing Native identity with the existing best practices which Indigenous organizations have already published as recommendations?
- 18. What are your Wikimedia project targets in numbers (metrics)? (required)
| Other Metrics | Target | Optional description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of participants | 10 | 10 Signatories to a style guide recommendation- The project's goal is to bring a style guide recommendation to Wikipedia, and to document it sufficiently to make it understandable and applicable to Wikipedia editorial workflows. As we bring this into Wikipedia, we will recruit at least 10 subject matter experts and representatives of Native communities to sign on their support and confirmation of our plan. We will recruit these people in venues including WikiConference North America 2025 and at a convening of Native Organizations, to be decided. |
| Number of editors | 10 | 10 Signatures of Wikipedia editors - As we are producing a style guide for use in Wikipedia, we must confirm that our recommendation fits with Wikipedia guidelines. We will review our plans with the Wikipedia community and recruit at least 10 people who support the proposal. |
| Number of organizers | 5 | Right now at the start of the project, we have a team of 5 people who commit to completing this project. That completes our goal of having 5 organizers. |
| Wikimedia project | Number of content created or improved |
|---|---|
| Wikipedia | 1 |
| Wikimedia Commons | |
| Wikidata | |
| Wiktionary | |
| Wikisource | |
| Wikimedia Incubator | |
| Translatewiki | |
| MediaWiki | |
| Wikiquote | |
| Wikivoyage | |
| Wikibooks | |
| Wikiversity | |
| Wikinews | |
| Wikispecies | |
| Wikifunctions or Abstract Wikipedia |
- Optional description for content contributions.
This project will produce one style-guide essay published in English Wikipedia's "Wikipedia:" space. That guide will include a space for people and organizations to endorse their support, and a talk page for anyone else to log their comments, questions, and criticism.
All other content contributions will be related to this style guide, and include Wikipedia article examples which demonstrate the application of the style guide, a conference submission to WikiConference North America 2025 presenting outcomes, a bibliography of sources in support of the style guide, and any talk page discussion which reacts to this style guide. All of these things are supplementary to the primary outcome of the one style guide recommendation.
- 19. Do you have any other project targets in numbers (metrics)? (optional)
Yes
| Main Open Metrics | Description | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Post-publishing survey responses | 20 survey participants | 20 |
| Number (#) of people reached through social media publications | N/A | 1000 |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
- 20. What tools would you use to measure each metrics? Please refer to the guide for a list of tools. You can also write that you are not sure and need support. (required)
Programs & Events Dashboard, Event Metrics, survey software.
Financial proposal
edit- 21. Please upload your budget for this proposal or indicate the link to it. (required)
- 22. and 22.1. What is the amount you are requesting for this proposal? Please provide the amount in your local currency. (required)
5000 USD
- 22.2. Convert the amount requested into USD using the Oanda converter. This is done only to help you assess the USD equivalent of the requested amount. Your request should be between 500 - 5,000 USD.
5000 USD
- We/I have read the Application Privacy Statement, WMF Friendly Space Policy and Universal Code of Conduct.
Yes
Endorsements and Feedback
editPlease add endorsements and feedback to the grant discussion page only. Endorsements added here will be removed automatically.
Community members are invited to share meaningful feedback on the proposal and include reasons why they endorse the proposal. Consider the following:
- Stating why the proposal is important for the communities involved and why they think the strategies chosen will achieve the results that are expected.
- Highlighting any aspects they think are particularly well developed: for instance, the strategies and activities proposed, the levels of community engagement, outreach to underrepresented groups, addressing knowledge gaps, partnerships, the overall budget and learning and evaluation section of the proposal, etc.
- Highlighting if the proposal focuses on any interesting research, learning or innovation, etc. Also if it builds on learning from past proposals developed by the individual or organization, or other Wikimedia communities.
- Analyzing if the proposal is going to contribute in any way to important developments around specific Wikimedia projects or Movement Strategy.
- Analysing if the proposal is coherent in terms of the objectives, strategies, budget, and expected results (metrics).