Getting Serious About Original Place Names

The April Edition of Spatially Speaking (PDF), the FGDC's monthly update, includes a short article on a grant from the USGS National Geospatial Program Office to the Hawaiian Geographic Information Coordination Council (HIGICC) to enhance the web site of the Hawaii State Board on Geographic Names (HBGN).

The Hawaii names folks have been working through USGS place-name data for the island state (at the USGS' request) and making suggestions on updating the typography and spelling of those names to help users towards a more correct pronunciation of traditional names. The new grant will go towards adding audio files to the HBGN web site to demonstrate proper pronunciations.

The idea is borrowed from the Coeur d'Alene Tribe in Idaho, who have added written and recorded traditional names information on their web site. The Coeur d'Alene Tribe GIS Program has created a Native Names Project (with some USGS funding) that presents information on original names in a searchable database and in several map formats, including as a Google Earth KML.

The project is open to input on names outside of traditional Couer d'Alene areas. Philadelphia, in Pennsylvania, for example, is at the same spot as what was once known as Tsi wahswèn:to (MP3) which translates as "at the coal forked mouth."

The projects are expected to expand to include video presentations, additional history, and other information.

Idaho to Get a New GIO

Idaho Chief Technology Officer Kevin W. Iwersen has announced the hiring of a new Geospatial Information Officer. Gail Ewart will join the Idaho Office of the CIO as GIO in early December.

Ms. Ewart answered the job posting we noted here back in July. Her new role will be to "provide statewide leadership in promoting the use of GIS technology," as CTO Iwerson wrote in his announcement of the hiring.

Gail Ewart is moving to the Idaho job from the Oregon Geospatial Enterprise Office (GEO) where she was Oregon’s Framework Coordinator.