LlamaZOO Launches Guardian, Progressive Cultural Data Preservation and Land Management Software for Indigenous Peoples

LlamaZOO, a Spatial Business Intelligence provider with a SaaS platform, has launched Guardian, a cultural data preservation and land management software tool designed for Indigenous Peoples. Inspired by LlamaZOO’s TimberOps software, Guardian was adapted and innovated through collaborations with First Nations across British Columbia to create a product that best serves their communities and priorities. The Guardian software, currently in use by 15 Nations with additional partners in discussion, is a powerful stewardship tool that will manage the cultural, ecological, and industrial data that impact each territory.

“After a year of collaboration and working closely with First Nations, Guardian is an innovative tool which enables Indigenous Land Managers, Elders, and community members across the province to manage multiple aspects of their operations and communities,” said Charles Lavigne, LlamaZOO CEO and Co-Founder. “From knowledge sharing between elders and younger generations, to the repatriation of historically significant artifacts, and improved connectivity to remote regions, we’re confident that Guardian will help protect and enable many Nations throughout Canada.”

Guardian takes large amounts of complex landscape-level data, previously pulled from Google Earth, satellite imaging and physical mapping, and turns it into an intuitive, 3D digital twin that First Nation community leaders can use to preserve and manage their land. The data can then be leveraged in numerous ways, including:

• Cultural Data Preservation – accurately map the location of sacred sites, culturally modified trees, and other important areas so that knowledge is not lost over generations.
  
  
• Forest Fire Prevention – as forest fires burn faster and cover more ground than ever as a result of climate change, Guardian facilitates the mapping of underbrush (which causes wildfires to spread), the data is then shared within the Guardian app to assess the wildfire risk in that environment and helps identify high risk areas for prevention treatment.
  
  
• Connectivity Mapping to Remote Areas – Guardian supports conversations with telecommunications companies so that the internet and other connectivity tools can be brought to very remote, rural communities with less impact on culturally or environmentally sensitive areas.
  
  
• Education Across Generations – create 3D virtual reality experiences to bring ancestral knowledge to life through digital storytelling to educate and deepen the appreciation of traditional knowledge within the community.
  
  
• Land Planning Initiatives – drives conversations with the Chief and Council by helping them understand potential specific impacts to the land as well as cumulative effects, align stakeholders, and make informed decisions regarding mining, pipeline planning, forestry, and road planning. This enables the expansion of economic activity and jobs as Nations can take comfort knowing that sensitive sites and lands have been protected.
  
  
• Digitally Repatriate Artifacts – digitally repatriate artifacts by mapping and incorporating, with 3D scanning, the artifact to where it was found so that groups can take ownership of them. It also enables Elders to attach stories, embed media, and other content to each item and site.
  
  
• Carbon Credit Mapping – mapping of the environment including landscape, biome complexity, composition and carbon density, as well as geology, all of which can provide a better understanding of the carbon offset potential of the land. When environmental management strategies and activities are included, a more comprehensive projection of the long-term effects and impacts of potential carbon offset can be developed.

“The Guardian software has enabled us to map our land and to visualize our resources in a proactive way that supports our conversations and negotiations with industry and government,” said Robin Billy, Director of Operations, Stk’emlúpsemc te Secwepemc First Nation. “Preserving our culture, land, water sources and ancestral knowledge is very special to us, this technology supports that preservation while facilitating meaningful conversation. For our people, it’s also critical in passing this knowledge along to younger generations. That has been brought to life using the 3D virtual reality experiences that Guardian can provide. We’re proud to share and deepen the appreciation of traditional knowledge within the community, and to explore the additional ways our Nation can maximize this tool.”

To learn more about LlamaZOO and Guardian visit: llamazoo.com/guardian