Create Your Own Story Map- Unfortunately our resources to aid in creating maps is no longer available as of 6/30/2024. We keep these parameters up in the digital realm as a resource for others who may want to make a map.
Share your story
References for how we started our process.
- We set up our original story map with an eye toward the material you may want to work with. Please review our maps HERE to see what can be accomplished and for ideas.
- After reviewing and assessing whether this is the right venue to tell your community story, contact mappingindigenousla@gmail.com to initiate your Story Map topic. We are broad in our approach towards the stories we would like to connect people to. You, after all, may have more insight to one of the hundreds of instances of Indigenous place-making that occurs in the city. All are welcome to initiate the telling of their story –whether you’re a formal institution, a family who relocated to LA, a group of indigenous folks performing service in the area, a school group, or even a sports group! We also encourage youth to tell your stories!
- As you proceed, remember that respect for all Indigenous groups who live and create communities in LA is mandatory for inclusion in our project.
- A one paragraph e-mail describing the following:
- Name of group or Story Map presented
- Who will be involved
- Scope of time
- Key points you will address
While it is not necessary, we recommend using or creating a Gmail account in order to use Google Docs to correlate your textual and visual material. In our experience this enabled us to minimize accounts and keep all of our materials in the same place.
- Items to have ready to input:
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- Visual material including photos or archival material in .jpg or .tif
- Video or audio of interviews with community
- Useful web links
For your visual materials to be usable with the ESRI Story Maps program, you will need to upload your images to an image-hosting website and your videos to a video-hosting website. We recommend using Picasa and Youtube, both of which can be accessed through a Gmail account.
To make a map using ARC-GIS you will need to create a Word document or Google Drive document with the text for your Story Map. Please note that we found it helpful to divide it up into sections that will correlate with the tabs on the Story Map. Share your document with us at mappingindigenousla@gmail.com so we can provide feedback and help with formatting, etc. Use the “comments” feature in the Word or Google document and indicate where you would like the visual elements displayed– i.e. photos, videos, website links, etc.
All materials must have a consent form from your participants (including yourself) before we can display your map. You can find English and Spanish PDFs of the consent forms to print out and have signed here: English and Spanish. When you submit the map, you can either scan and e-mail them to mappingindigenousla@gmail.edu or mail them to us at the address on the homepage.
For more in-depth technical tips and detailed instructions on how to build your own Story Maps, click HERE for a PDF guide.
- Collecting visual materials in our experience can take the most time, but it also is what can make a truly dynamic experience using Story Maps. Interview your team members, yourself, and do so in video or in text! Show us and tell us the uniqueness of how you come to relate to the land, water, and cityscape of LA as an Indigenous person!
- Tips for the Narrative:
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- Think through how you would like to tell your story: chronologically, importance of events, etc.
- Each tab should have no more than two paragraphs. Too much text detracts from the digital storytelling.
- Maps should have a maximum of 10 tabs. Otherwise, there may be too much data for the Storymap to function properly. Remember: access and functionality of the story are key!
- Edit your content. With enough notice, we may be able to assist with this.
- When you have finished, try inserting your narratives and uploading the material yourself. You will need to create a free account with a protected password. Think carefully about who will have access and please make sure more than one person can update and be available for us to contact.
- Please contact mappingindigenousla@gmail.com to schedule a meeting. We will are able to meet off-campus, if schedules can be arranged, or we can arrange for free parking on the UCLA campus. Please keep in mind, summer months tend to have the most availability for us to lead workshops for our students and faculty.