When Data Becomes a Story: Inside the NAIT Indigenous Community Atlas Project
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What is the Northern Landscape Sensitivity Atlas and why does it matter?
Behind every map is a story, and behind every story is a responsibility. To understand and protect the landscapes that sustain us, the Northern Landscape Sensitivity Atlas brings together science, data and narrative to help communities and decision makers navigate the delicate balance between development and conservation in Northern Alberta. Dave Blaine from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology joins us to share why this project matters, how storytelling transforms data into action, and what's next for this innovative approach to land use planning. Whether you're a planner, a researcher, or simply curious about how maps can shape the future of our environment, this episode is for you. Let's dive in.
Welcome back to Geographical Thinking. I'm Michelle Brick and I'll be your guide as we explore ideas, stories, and conversations through the lens of geography. Joining me today is Dave and welcome to Geographical Thinking.
Thanks so much for having me today.
Let's tell the people, Dave, who are you? Why why are you here? What brings you to our ears today?
That's uh a crazy and long convoluted uh question. I've actually uh I'm I'm a geographic information systems analyst and research associate at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. Uh we're part of our applied research side. There's two halves to Nate. There's the credit side with uh instruction and uh degree granting, things like that, and then there's applied research. And in that space, We support uh industry, government, community, all comers who have an innovative question they'd they'd like to they'd like for us to help them answer. So I'm part of the Center for Data Management and Visualization. And you know, GIS falls very, very nicely within that rubric. And we've been working for going on four years now with indigenous communities, starting in the Northwest Territories.
And that's where this Northern Landscape Sensitivity Atlas really got underway. Working with the SATU Red. Renewable Resources Board in the SATU settlement region of the Northwest Territory. So this is broad, wide landscape uh between the Mackenzie Mountains and Great Bear Lake. And we've been supporting community in building this interactive web application that unifies spatial, cultural, media, all different kinds of data.
Sounds like really important work bringing all of these elements together. I'm wondering what is your role in bringing all of this to life? Are you primarily focused on the technical side, being a GIS analyst, or are you in with storytelling or helping to bridge that gap between the two?
Yeah, it's definitely uh it's definitely aspects of both. Uh in Like I said, a very long and convoluted academic and professional pathway that brought me to this place. Uh undergraduate degree in archaeology, uh applied degree in GIS, uh, just completed my master's in interdisciplinary studies, where I decided, hey, why not take a dual focus in heritage and social history? And writing in new media, because you know, let's put all the pieces together. So, yeah, I'm a broadly interdisciplinary uh researcher, but I've also got a background in media, photography, uh broadcast television. So the visual storytelling dimension is kind of like that connective tissue that has unified everything that I've done across disciplines, whether it's archaeology, GIS,
Whatever, like we're telling a visual story at some point. If it's a map, if it's a diagram of a site, if it's a photograph of an interesting place or people doing interesting things. Like for me, that visual communications dimension is the the whole point of the process. And I'm not gonna lie, I feel like if we could all If we could all just interact with tabular data, we wouldn't need GIS, right? But most of us are visual in the way we interact with things and that makes it accessible. And then storytelling is what makes it relevant.
And I think it's interesting to bring up that storytelling, knowing from your background you've been in different areas with the archaeology and going into broadcasting.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the Northern Landscape Sensitivity Atlas and why does it matter?
0:06–7:13
2
How did Dave’s interdisciplinary background shape his role in the Atlas project?
7:13–14:15
3
Why is visual storytelling essential for turning GIS data into community action?
14:15–20:47
4
How did the project evolve from an emergency‑management tool to a community‑led atlas?
20:47–28:10
5
What methods were used to capture Indigenous place names and oral histories in the map?
28:10–34:19
6
How does the Atlas support land‑use decisions, treaty rights, and environmental monitoring?
34:19–40:13
7
What lessons were learned about data sovereignty, funding, and project timelines?
40:13–45:55
8
What advice does Dave have for groups wanting to combine data and storytelling in their own atlases?
45:55–49:49