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• 1 2020-05-11T21:23:55-07:00 Curated: Mapping Pullman 1 plain 2020-05-11T21:23:55-07:00 This section is a limited curation of maps which help to illustrate the legacy of colonial discourses of measurement--as well as some alternative approaches to mapping certain communities--within the Palouse region, and Pullman specifically.
  
  This is a portion of the map of the Indian nations and tribes of the Territory of Washington and of the Territory of Nebraska west of the mouth of the Yellowstone, made in 1857. Courtesy of the Early Washington Maps project.
  
  Here is a view of that full map.
  
  
  When Cintron writes about discourses of measurement, he is working from city maps much like this one: plat maps are meant to divide the land into easily identifiable sections. This plat map of Pullman from 1881 (courtesy of WSU MASC) was originally made in order to expand the city out and to accommodate future settlers. At the time this map was created, however, there were far fewer people than its zoning would suggest. Here we can see discourses of measurement--specific plans for a population which would expand, grow, and build here--working to colonize a swath of land which already belonged to native communities. Divorced from the reality of how many people were actually living in Pullman at the time, or how many were certain to come West and settle in Pullman, this map remains a stark reminder of the ideological work of colonizing space. This map and all that it represents must be accepted as a heritage of Washington State University. And it is this map--its zoning and infrastructure--which has become a persisting view of this area.
  
  The discourse of the plat map has given birth to new discourses of measurement: in perhaps the closest thing that humanity has ever had to a universal map, only the discourse of the plat map and its heritage find representation. In the process, other discourses about the land have been erased.
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  I have suggested that one method by which we might begin to counter discourses of measurement in a decolonial approach would be to map community networks. The next several examples show that Pullman has been mapped in terms of experience before, though these maps all rely upon the discourse of the plat map. These resources were obtained through WSU's own collection in Manuscripts and Special Collections (MASC). 
  
  An early, humorous map, the "Hysterical Map of W.S.C. Campus" made by students.
  In the same vein, this map acts as a commentary on campus life.
  Part of a joint project between the City of Pullman and the WSU Center for Civic Engagement, this more recent document maps out a walking tour of pullman, complete with landmarks which were referenced and explained elsewhere in text.
  
  Notably, every one of these maps draws upon the colonial discourses in mid-19th century mapping of the Palouse area.