Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of these terms

Native Story Book (“Native Story Book,” “the platform,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is operated by theLakotaDev (Isaac Hollow Horn Bear). These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of the platform, including the website, the Stories Map, your profile, and every story, comment, reaction, and share posted through it.

By creating an account, accepting an invitation, or otherwise using Native Story Book, you agree to these Terms, to our Community Guidelines, and to our Privacy Policy. The Community Guidelines and Privacy Policy are part of these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the platform.

2. Who can use Native Story Book

Native Story Book is an invite-only community during its beta. To create an account you need a valid invitation, and you must:

• be at least 13 years old;
• provide accurate information about yourself and keep it current;
• not be barred from using the platform under any applicable law; and
• not have been previously removed or banned from the community.

You do not have to be Native American to join and read respectfully. If you choose to identify as Native American and name a tribe or nation during sign-up, you affirm that the identification is truthful. Native Story Book is not a substitute for, and does not speak for, any tribe, nation, or governing body.

3. Your account

You may register with an email and password or through a supported social login (Google, GitHub, or Facebook). You are responsible for your account and for everything that happens under it. Keep your credentials private, use the platform as one real person, and tell us promptly at isaachollowhorn@gmail.com if you believe your account has been accessed without your permission.

Do not impersonate another person, misrepresent your affiliation with any person or community, or create an account on someone else’s behalf without their consent.

4. Community rules & acceptable use

Our Community Guidelines describe how we expect members to treat one another and the stories kept here. They are binding. In short, you agree not to:

• post content that is hateful, harassing, threatening, or that demeans people for who they are;
• share sacred, ceremonial, or restricted knowledge that is not yours to share, or that a community has asked to keep private;
• post someone else’s story, image, or personal information without their permission;
• post unlawful, sexually explicit, or graphically violent material, or content that endangers children;
• impersonate others, spread spam, or use the platform to deceive; or
• attempt to break, scrape, overload, or gain unauthorized access to the platform or its data.

5. Your content and the rights you keep

Your stories are yours. You keep all ownership of the stories, photos, comments, and other content you post (“Your Content”). We do not claim ownership of it.

So that we can actually run the platform, you grant Native Story Book a limited, non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, and display Your Content solely to operate and provide the platform — for example, to show your story on your profile and on the Stories Map, to deliver it to the people you share it with, and to make backups. This license lasts only as long as Your Content is on the platform, and it ends when you delete the content or your account, except for content others have already re-shared and for copies kept in routine backups for a reasonable period.

You are responsible for Your Content. By posting it, you represent that you have the right to share it, that sharing it here does not break any law or agreement, and that it does not violate the rights — including cultural, privacy, and intellectual-property rights — of any person or community.

6. Cultural respect & data sovereignty

Native Story Book exists so that Native communities can keep their own record, in their own voices. Many stories carried here hold cultural meaning, and some knowledge is not meant to be public. You agree to honor the protocols of the community a story comes from, to share only what is yours to share or what you have permission to share, and to credit the teller when a story was passed to you.

We act as a caretaker of what the community entrusts to the platform, not as its owner. We will not sell Your Content, and we will work in good faith with tellers, families, and communities who ask us to correct, restrict, or remove content for cultural reasons. If you believe content here misappropriates or wrongly exposes cultural knowledge, contact us at isaachollowhorn@gmail.com.

7. Moderation, suspension & removal

Native Story Book is community-moderated. Members can report content, and our moderators may hide or remove content, and may warn, suspend, or ban accounts, when content or conduct breaks these Terms or the Community Guidelines. When your own content is hidden, you can see it in your removed-content area and, where available, submit an appeal for a moderator to review.

We try to be fair and proportionate, but we may act without prior notice when we believe it is necessary to protect people or the community.

8. Our intellectual property

The Native Story Book name, logo, design, software, and the arrangement of the platform are owned by us or our licensors and are protected by law. These Terms do not give you any right to use our branding or software except to use the platform as intended. All rights not expressly granted are reserved.

9. Third-party services

The platform relies on third-party services to work — including Google Maps for the Stories Map, Google, GitHub, and Facebook for social login, Amazon Web Services for media storage, and email providers for notifications. Your use of those features may also be subject to the third party’s own terms. We are not responsible for third-party services, and linking to or integrating with them is not an endorsement.

10. Privacy

Our Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and the choices you have. Please read it — by using the platform, you agree to it. Remember that stories and profiles are, by design, meant to be seen by others; share accordingly.

11. Termination

You may stop using Native Story Book at any time and may ask us to delete your account by contacting isaachollowhorn@gmail.com. We may suspend or terminate your access if you break these Terms or the Community Guidelines, if required by law, or if we discontinue the platform. Sections that by their nature should survive — such as content licenses already granted to others, disclaimers, and limits on liability — will survive termination.

12. Disclaimers & beta status

Native Story Book is offered on an “as is” and “as available” basis, and is currently in beta, which means features may change, break, or be removed, and data loss is possible. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including any warranty of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the platform will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free.

13. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, theLakotaDev (Isaac Hollow Horn Bear) will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for any loss of data, goodwill, or profits, arising from your use of — or inability to use — the platform. Because Native Story Book is provided free of charge during the beta, our total liability for any claim relating to the platform is limited to one hundred U.S. dollars (US$100). Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations, so parts of this section may not apply to you.

14. Changes to these terms

We may update these Terms as the platform grows. When we make material changes, we will update the “Last updated” date above and, where appropriate, give notice within the platform. Your continued use after changes take effect means you accept the updated Terms.

15. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, United States, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules, except where mandatory local law or the sovereignty of a tribal nation provides otherwise. This choice of law does not diminish any rights a tribe, nation, or community holds in its own cultural heritage.

16. Contact

Questions about these Terms? Reach us at isaachollowhorn@gmail.com. You can also read our Community Guidelines and Privacy Policy.