Geographical Information Systems (GIS)

(GIS) at the Central Council is a relatively new experience made possible by the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs (DOI/BIA) and the National Geospatial Resource Center (NGRC). They provide this valuable software to make GIS a possibility for many Native American and Native Alaskan tribes.

The Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), a leader in GIS technology, has developed a partnership with the NGRC to provide this valuable software to eligible tribes and non-profit Native American organizations across the nation. This has given us an opportunity to utilize this powerful tool to help our staff and clients meet goals and make well informed decisions.

GIS is highly graphical and works on the premise that all things geographical can be represented by lines, points, or polygons. For example, a tree can be represented by a point, but also a polygon if you take into account the trees canopy which is an area value. A line feature can be a stream or a fence or a feature of only one dimension. These points, lines, and polygons are entered into a database of like features as individual records. They can then be attributed with any type of information deemed suitable for a particular GIS. A GIS of streams in a particular watershed would most likely store information on an individual stream such as length, average volumes, average depths and temperatures, (if fish are present, etc.). Once all the data and shapes have been coordinated, the information, both spatial and tabular, can be retrieved instantly.

The Native Lands & Resources (NLR) also uses GIS as a forestry tool which allows us to map all of our Native Allotments in detail. This helps with issues such as assessing true values of natural resources, possible development opportunities, boundary determination and trespass issues. The ability to have all the records in one location makes information editing and retrieval much more efficient.

The NLR Department has also acquired some very useful tools to augment our GIS program. For our mobile GIS needs we have purchased a Trimble Recon PDA. This hand held computer is made for data collection in the field during inclement weather and rugged terrain. It is complete with a GPS receiver and ESRI ArcPad 7 software. Data and maps of a specific location can be pre-loaded onto the PDA, along with custom data entry forms, making data collection quicker and more accurate. To augment data collection in the field, a high performance laptop was purchased and loaded with a version of ArcMap 9.1 We also purchased a Hewlett Packard hp Designjet 500 for our plotting needs. This 42 inch plotter produces high quality maps and is also great for banners and displays when needed. The NLR Department has state of the art equipment for all of our GIS needs at CCTHITA.

More about GIS...

Native Lands And Resources is offering ESRI Intro to ArcGIS I classes

National Geospatial Resource Center

GIS.com- What is GIS?

ERSI- GIS from the begining