Creating a User-Friendly Interactive Interpretive Resource with ESRI’s ArcGIS Story Map Program

The introduction of new technologies to archaeology brings opportunities for making archaeological work more accessible to the public. The ESRI ArcGIS platform has facilitated this effort and offers exciting ways to do this, including the ESRI Story Map program. Part of the cloud-based ArcGIS Online platform, the Story Map application allows for the integration of narratives, images, and maps in a user-friendly format. A collaborative effort led by Montclair State University has applied this technology to Dr. Christopher Matthews’s work with Higher Ground Intercultural and Heritage Association in Setauket, New York, to counter the dominant historical narrative of the town that neglects the contributions and very existence of a strong and long-standing community of Native American and African American people. Many of the results of this project are presented in the case study discussed here: “A Counter-Map of Setauket, New York.” This article explains how this counter-map was created in the hope that other archaeologists may apply this technology to their own work.