Pandemic Participation

Abstract

This article revisits the three foundational principles of Participatory Mapping practice identified in Good practices in participatory mapping. These include processes that strive for transparency, are unencumbered by time, and prioritize trust - the ‘Three T’s’. Authors Kelly Panchyshyn and Jon Corbett analyze the relevance of these principles under the spectre of the global COVID-19 pandemic. This reflection is carried out within the context of Kelly’s Master’s research. Over the course of 2020, Kelly worked with staff and citizens of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation to map Indigenous and non-Indigenous plant harvest foodways within Łu Zil Män, an expansive stretch of land on the edge of Whitehorse, Yukon. In exploring both the barriers and opportunities created by conducting this project during a pandemic, the authors determine that the ‘Three T’s’ remain essential for conducting meaningful participatory mapping. However, they also argue that each T takes on new dimensions within contexts of isolation and social distancing, particularly for Northern and Indigenous communities.