PULLMAN – A prototype open-source software package to reconnect indigenous communities with their cultural heritage is available for feedback, according to Kimberly Christen, assistant professor of comparative ethnic studies.“Mukurtu,” a standards-based adaptable open source software digital archive and content management system software tool suite, will allow indigenous communities to manage their cultural heritage materials.
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An early demo is available at http://www.mukurtuarchive.org/; feedback to Christen is welcome. A more complete demonstration site of the open source, freeware suite – conceived by Christen and in development led by WSU – will launch in spring 2011. Final production is expected to be complete in August 2011.
In March 2010 the Mukurtu project was awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities Digital Humanities Start-Up grant to produce the beta-version of the Mukurtu tool. Since then the team has expanded with partners and developers including Michael Ashley (UC Berkeley), director of development, and Nicholas Tripcevich (UC Berkley), lead Drupal developer.
According to Christen, the CMS tool “allows for granular access levels based on indigenous cultural protocols; provides for diverse and multiple intellectual property systems through flexible licensing templates; incorporates dynamic and user-friendly administration tools; provides flexible and adaptable metadata fields for traditional knowledge; and provides robust import/export functions for the exchange of metadata with national collecting institutions.”