BTAA-GIN Blog

Registration now is open for Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA) GIS Conference! Date: November 13, 2020 Location: Virtual (Zoom) This is a one-day conference that brings geographic information users across disciplines from different Big Ten institutions. It will be entirely online. Registration is free and open to all. We recommend to use your school or work email for registration if possible. The Map Gallery is still open for submission until October 31st! Please submit your map proposal here . More information on the conference including the schedule is available here. For questions about the program, please contact Nicole Kong (Associate Professor, GIS Specialist, Purdue Libraries and School of Information Studies) at kongn@purdue.edu .

By Melinda Kernik and Laura McElfresh This interview is part of our Data Provider Series, which highlights local governments and institutions that offer open GIS data. In each interview, providers tell us about their missions and data resources. We hope this will be a great way for readers to learn more about local GIS developments and new initiatives. Name: Zeb Thomas Title: GIS Data Systems Coordinator Division/Department: MNIT Services Partnering with the MN Department of Natural Resources Website: https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/ 1. What is the mission of your agency? The DNR has three primary missions: 1) to conserve and manage natural resources; 2) to provide outdoor recreation opportunities; and 3) to support commercial uses of natural resources. These missions are sometimes in conflict, but all relate to promoting a high quality of sustainable life & good management of our environment…the better the data you have, the better you can conserve and manage resources. 2. How is your

Geospatial Data Project - Tutorials This month, the BTAA Geospatial Data Project is unveiling a series of tutorials to showcase the practicality of the BTAA Geoportal for teaching and learning about maps, geospatial data, and GIS techniques. These tutorials cover a wide range of activities designed to meet the needs of instructors and students in different fields and levels of competency in data retrieval, use, and analysis. The inaugural collection contains the following six tutorials as slides that can be incorporated into in-person, hybrid, or fully online instructional contexts: Find a Map Image for Simple Use Find a Map Image for Simple Use, by Danny Dotson at Ohio State University, is designed to help students locate a map for a given topic and use it in a document. This tutorial reviews the steps required to locate a relevant map, using the BTAA Geoportal, how to download or copy the scanned map, how to insert the map into a given document, and provides an overview of basic fair

By Kathleen Weessies and Daniel Dotson Map showing the distribution of the native tribes of Alaska and adjoining territory Held at: Pennsylvania State University Libraries Alaskan Native Communities in 1875 Alaska formally transferred from Russia to the United States as a territory 153 years ago on October 18, 1867. Take a look back in time at this U.S. government-issued map of the Alaskan Territory made in 1875. It was made to consolidate the government’s understanding of the distribution of Alaska’s indigenous people. The map uses different names and spelling than what is used today. The entire Territory barely had a population of around 30,000 at the time. An inflow of people from the Lower 48 states didn’t happen until gold was discovered 25 years after the making of this map. Detail: The future site of Juneau, Alaska in 1875