Concordia University’s Aboriginal Territories in Cyberspace (AbTeC) was established in 2005. It is a network of artists, academics, and technologists whose goal is to ensure Indigenous-populated spaces in Cyberspace. In 2017, Concordia shared a curated collection from AbTeC through an art show, Owerà:ke Non Aié:nahne / Combler les espaces vides / Filling in the Blank Spaces. This show “illustrate[ed] a multitude of ways in which Indigenous artists, researchers, educators, designers and community activists are creating and employing new media to strengthen and complement their cultures and communities” (Jason Edward Lewis, co-founder of AbTec, as cited by Dunk, 2017).
The AbTeC website includes a gallery of projects, both past and present. One of the projects, She Falls for Ages, was created by AbTeC’s other co-founder, Skawennati. The project’s website describes it as a “sci-fi retelling of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) creation story reimagines Sky World as a futuristic, utopic space and Sky Woman as a brave astronaut and world-builder.”
How the Loon Got Its Walk, created in a Skins machinima workshop at the MacKenzie Art Gallery
One of their ongoing projects is the Skins Workshop, which is part of their Indigenous Futures initiative:
The Skins Workshops teach Indigenous youth how to adapt stories from their community into experimental digital media, such as video games. One of our goals is to encourage our youth to envision themselves in the future while drawing from their heritage. We believe this helps to promote and preserve our stories, languages and cultures while also exposing our youth to the digital tools of today and tomorrow.
References:
Dunk, R. (2017, October 30). Indigenous digital art — past, present and future. Concordia University News. https://www.concordia.ca/cunews/main/stories/2017/10/30/indigenous-digital-art-leonard-bina-ellen-art-gallery.html
Skawennati. (n.d.). http://www.skawennati.com/SheFallsForAges/.