Participatory Approaches to Ethical Design with Indigenous Cultural Heritage in the Digital Age

Digital technologies offer both opportunities and challenges in the development of heritage content in the field of design. Addressing specific cultural aspects and ethical considerations can be achieved through participatory design methods. Based on our previous work with Indigenous Sámi communities in archives and museum contexts, we present a framework that encourages users to approach their work and projects from diverse perspectives. The framework comprises five key aspects that should be viewed with respect to ethical considerations: motivations, community, cultural context, personal reflections and technological choices. Our framework aims to provide a tool for designers, developers and cultural experts collaborating on cultural heritage projects that incorporate technology. The juxtaposition of perspectives allows for the blending of different lenses from the past and future through present-day collaboration in a fruitful and respectful manner.