The “It’s Our Story” Flag is a conceptual art piece that measures 12’ x 19’ feet. The Flag will be campaigning across America during the fall of 2008. It is comprised of 744 handmade Story Sticks that represent video portraits from 61 cities. Over 542 of these interviews will be available for viewing via mini dvd players.
In addition to being a beautiful representation of the DMI archives it will serve as a platform for our voices to be heard answering one question.
Why is the project so important ?
This one question will be brought alive by the actual footage of the respondents who were asked.
Over 60 responses are presented from a simulated search of what will be possible when our website is finished. The 2.25 hours of dialouge captured displays just 1/3 of 1% of the answers, insights, and personal experiences of living with, around, and for people with disabilities housed within the DMI archives.
Here’s a small sample of the faces and the story sticks that represent their voices that make the “It’s Our Story” Flag. We will be touring America during the Fall of ‘08 displaying our flag wherever we can to raise awareness and attention to the It’s Our Story mission. The primary objective will be to show the progress made these past three years to the disability community.
Story Sticks have been a part of Native American culture for centuries. By weaving, beading, and feathering sticks, people were able to create beautiful, functional pieces of art. Used as a tool for moderation in community meetings, these sticks represent the power of free speech.
We have honored this historic cultural trend by modeling the “It’s Our Story” flag as a communnity of individual voices coming together to create a whole greater than the sum of its parts.
We have adapted the traditional style of making Story Sticks into a digital perspective. As we film and collect interviews, we “weave” a network of critical information vital to maintaining a community identity. When we encode and process the data, we make the “beads” of wisdom available to everyone who wants to see them. When we share the archives online, we give “feathers” to the wings that let this knowledge soar across our culture.
Making digital Story Sticks is a much more complicated process, but it sends the same message. It shows a community’s need to talk to itself. It shows dedication by individuals who want to see their culture flourish. Story Sticks now have the power to reach a larger community with the voices of those who they are made for.Making digital Story Sticks is a much more complicated process, but it sends the same message. It shows a community’s need to talk to itself. It shows dedication by individuals who want to see their culture flourish. Story Sticks now have the power to reach a larger community with the voices of those who they are made for.
Story Sticks of our past were made with phsyical objects. Hand-crafted, each one was a representation of an individual’s lifestyle. These Story Sticks were used in social gatherings as a symbol of power and respect. Whoever spoke with a Story Stick did so without fear of reprisal. Story Sticks gave freedom of voice to people who wanted to share their stories.
Digital Story Sticks are complex, there is a lot of technical expertise involved. Thankfully, as technology advances, this process becomes more accessible. The “It’s Our Story” web-site will enable people who have an interest in the disabilitiy experience the ability to create an online voice to craft change with. The results will shape our future by utiliizing the tools available to us today for the story-tellers of tomorrow.
Over the next few months we will be creating personal blogs for every person interviewed and inviting new voices to be heard. These will be hosted on an independent server until ours is developed. This digital link will be an intergral part of building new content while enhancing a community stream of consciousness.
The blog component is made for you to contribute images, video, and thoughts to provoke, inspire, and support the development of an online voice. It’s a personal scrapbook that will remain private until your ready to unleash your contributions to the online world.
