A new app that explores D.C.’s indigenous history launched Tuesday.
The app, called “Guide to Indigenous D.C.”, teaches users about the Native homelands D.C. was built on and includes a virtual tour and a walking tour. The tour consists of seventeen stops in D.C. and Northern Virginia that each represent an important part of Indigenous history. Stops on the tour include the National Mall (the site of the Indigenous People’s March), the Liberty and Freedom Lummi Totem Poles, the Mural of Piscataway History and Culture, and the National Museum of the American Indian.
The American Indian College Fund and the AT&T Center for Indigenous Politics and Policy (AT&T CIPP) at the George Washington University collaborated on the free app. Elizabeth Rule, Assistant Director at the AT&T CIPP, said that the idea for the app grew out of conversations among Native people across the city about “what folks do and do not know about Indigenous history and ongoing Indigenous advocacy and organizing.”
Rule said that the project still has room to grow. She hopes to add different thematic tours within the app and to map Indigenous advocacy organizations in the city.