Kim Christen

I am a settler scholar, living and working on the homelands of the Nimíipuu (Nez Perce) Tribe and the Palus people. I acknowledge their presence here since time immemorial and recognize their continuing connection to the land, to the water, and to their ancestors. I recognize that this territorial acknowledgement is only one step in a larger set of practices that take as their starting point Indigenous sovereignty–in its territorial, material, cultural and intellectual property manifestations. As a settler scholar, I am committed to engaging in respectful relationships that enable reparative practices, policies, and programming.

I am the Associate Vice President & Associate Vice Chancellor (Pullman campus), Research Advancement and Partnerships in the Office of Research at Washington State University. I am also a Professor in the Digital Technology and Culture department and the co-founder and former Director of the Center for Digital Scholarship and Curation. My research explore the intersections of cultural heritage, traditional knowledge, information ethics, and the use of digital technologies to meet local needs. I am the executive director of Mukurtu CMS, a free and open source content management system and community access platform and co-Director with Jane Anderson, Maui Hudson (Whakatōhea) and James Francis (Penobscot) of Local Contexts, an educational platform focused on intellectual property rights information including Traditional Knowledge (TK) Labels for use by Indigenous communities to manage and share their digital cultural materials. This site contains links to my publications, presentations, and projects.