The Digitally Preserving Former Indian Residential Schools in Alberta project has existed since 2018 with the goal of digitally commemorating the three remaining residential school structures in Alberta, including the commemoration of schoolgrounds, which are imbued with experience and memory. This paper examines the development of methods for the digital preservation of landscapes and the work completed thus far in commemorating the schoolgrounds of Old Sun Residential School located on Siksika Nation through digital storytelling. A story map has been created using ESRI ArcGIS StoryMap, a proprietary program that allows for the creation of narrative maps that integrate multiple media sources. The story map combines the data collected through the Digitally Preserving Former Indian Residential Schools in Alberta project, archival aerial images, and maps to tell the history of the schoolgrounds. StoryMap provides an excellent platform for digital storytelling, however the use of such a program requires considerable evaluation to ensure that responsible data principles, such as CARE, are followed. This paper will reflect on the complexities faced by community-based projects in data responsibility through the Old Sun schoolgrounds storymap example and contemplates the path forward to ensure data sovereignty and accessibility.

In response to the natural degradation of a significant pictograph rock art site on Nak’al Bun in Fort St. James, BC, an emergency salvage permit was obtained to recover fallen pictograph segments and assess the cliff face. This presentation details the recovery and the subsequent "digital repatriation" of the site through terrestrial and drone-based photogrammetry. High-resolution 3D models were generated for both the in-situ panels and the recovered fragments, creating a permanent digital record of the site’s precarious state.

While the physical segments were transitioned to the care of Nak’azdli Whut’en at a local school, the project sought to bridge the gap between CRM mitigation and community-led heritage education. The 3D assets were integrated into an "Interactive Digital Environment," to allow students and community members to virtually explore the site, interact with the fallen segments, and view the site in its original spatial context. By prioritizing the return of the three-dimensional data to Nak’azdli Whut’en, this project demonstrates how emergency CRM salvage can be elevated into a long-term, accessible resource for Indigenous youth and local heritage stewardship.

In the southwestern region of the Yukon, vast mountains ranges watch over busy people and animals as they traverse up from the lakes and valleys below. High on these mountaintops patches of snow and ice remain year-round, a draw for sheep, caribou, and hunters for generations. These interactions are evidenced by the construction of dozens of built stone structures. Precisely placed along corridors and margins of once-invisible trails, these structures reveal to us immense knowledge of animal and human behavior and activity stretching back thousands of years.

The intersection of digital documentation using drone photogrammetry allows us to explore the placement of these structures in new ways. Based on testimonies of participants, the process of data collection allowed for renewed connection to the landscape and exploration into the relationship between animals and the citizens and guardians of these places. With a moratorium on caribou hunting and the uncertainty these places face with warming temperatures, these stone hunting features provide a legacy from past generations, leaving knowledge imbedded into the landscape and allowing descendants to have experiences and gain insights otherwise inaccessible. These features reveal to us knowledge of animal relationships, teachings, and practices left as a gift to future generations.

My research explores the application of filament painting, a 3D printing technique, in reconstructing Indigenous pictographs in Alberta, Canada. Pictographs, ochre paintings on rock surfaces, are under increasing threat. Over time, exposure to natural elements has contributed to the fading of many pictographs across Alberta, with human activity also posing a considerable risk. As the pictographs become increasingly difficult to see, sharing their meaning and the urgency of their preservation with the public has become increasingly important—and increasingly challenging. Without clear representation, raising awareness and developing public engagement in preservation efforts remains a major challenge. I successfully conducted photography-based reconstruction and generated 3D models and prints of some of Alberta’s pictographs at risk. It demonstrates the potential of digital preservation methods to communicate the urgency of rock art loss to broader audiences. It creates a practical tool for raising public consciousness about the ongoing loss of rock art heritage while simultaneously creating a tangible record for future generations. My findings suggest that the effectiveness of these reconstructions is not based on exact replication, but rather on their capacity to transform abstract concerns about cultural heritage loss into a tangible, lived understanding that inspires preservation action.

Many heritage sites that hold deep significance for communities and individuals lack formal designation or official recognition of their importance. As a result, they are especially vulnerable to destruction and loss, despite serving as powerful sources of cultural identity for descendant communities. In 2017, I established the Alberta Digital Heritage Archive, a research program dedicated to the digital preservation of heritage resources that frequently fall outside existing regulatory protection frameworks but to which communities and individuals maintain strong cultural attachments. Over the past nine years, our research group has created digital twins of more than 60 heritage sites across Western Canada. During this time, we have come to understand that personal memory shapes individual identity, while shared memory shapes collective identity—and that digital heritage can help preserve both. In this presentation, we examine how digital heritage can serve as a conduit through which the deep emotional and cultural connections people maintain with heritage places become visible and more widely recognized.

Many historic buildings in Alberta are documented using survey forms, photographs, and written condition descriptions. As a result, damage or collapse is often only noticed after it has already happened. Digital recording methods such as terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) enable the creation of 3D records of buildings and more precise measurement of structural changes. This paper explores how repeated TLS surveys can be used to track structural change at The Leavings (EaPk-171), a provincially designated historic site in Alberta. The site is layered, with Blackfoot, Métis, ranching, and North West Mounted Police presence. The study focuses on a sandstone/concrete/timber barn built in the 1880s by the NWMP, which is currently collapsing.

Between 2024 and 2025, the barn was recorded during several visits using a mobile (GeoSLAM ZEB Horizon) and a stationary (Zoller +Frohlich 5010x) scanner. The resulting 3D point clouds were aligned and compared to identify areas where parts of the structure had moved, shifted or been lost.
The results show that TLS can reveal patterns of structural change that are difficult to see during normal visual inspections. This project demonstrates how repeatable 3D recording can help document and monitor structural change in vulnerable heritage buildings.