Tag Archives: Indigenous

Jessica Presta: Module 4, Post 4

The other question I was curious about answering, was how culturally compatible sharing content on social media is with their culture. What I often find in reference to this is how sometimes creating and sharing content allows Indigenous content creators to practice the art of storytelling and how they need to respect their elders as knowledge keepers, therefore not over share.

Storytelling, which is a common Indigenous practice used to teach and educate others, is used by many Indigenous content creators on their platforms. However, they have to strike a balance between sharing their identities and their cultures while still respecting their elders as knowledge keepers. Often, many content creators explain how they share parts of who they are, and parts of their culture, which they feel is safe and appropriate for them to share within these digital environments. They also discuss intentionally not sharing parts of their culture or traditional practices that are considered sacred. Here are some examples of Indigenous content creators discussing how they find ways to remain culturally compatible with their online activity.

The rest of the article along with TikTok’s from these Indigenous content creators can be found here. 

Jessica Presta: Module 4, Post 3

Indigenous people’s use of digital technologies and social media provides them with a medium from which they can share their culture and their identity. By doing so, they combat long standing barriers to visibility. Therefore, I wanted to investigate what features of social media allow them to boost their visibility to larger audiences on these platforms. As I mentioned in my last blog post, a platform that prioritizes abundance and uses unbiased algorithms is a first step to increasing your visibility among users. Another way is through the use of hashtags. One such hashtag that is frequently used among Indigenous content creators and is boosting their visibility among each other and people outside of their culture is #NativeTikTok.

The use of hashtags on TikTok is easily viewable due to TikTok’s transparency with a lot of the data they collect. With a simple search in my own app, these are some of the statistics I found related to Indigenous based hashtags, and their views. Notice #NativeTikTok has 8.8 BILLION views!!

And as you can see, not only can I search for content that has used that hashtag, but I can also look at who is currently doing a LIVE video, I can listen to top trending sounds that are associated with that hashtag, I can watch videos that have used that hashtag, see users as well as the top trending content that has used that hashtag. This cache of content has been created by Indigenous people from all over the world, connecting them and creating a global community like never before. Not only do Indigenous people get to learn about their own cultures and traditions, but they get to learn about hundreds of other distinct native nations worldwide.

The act of being able to share their culture and some traditions, when before it was illegal to do so, is empowering. Having a tool like TikTok that allows Indigenous content creators to break the cycle of invisibility and to be known as contemporary, modern people, enables them to smash stereotypes in order to be truly seen as equal.

 

Jessica Presta: Module 4, Post 2

Taking a closer look at the benefits of social media for Indigenous people lead me to this article: Social Media in Remote First Nation Communities which looks at the link between social networking sites and community resilience in Ontario. Their study surveyed 663 respondents from the Sioux Lookout region of northwestern Ontario with the goal of finding a deeper understanding of the way social media supports community resilience while preserving culture in some of the most remote First Nations communities in Canada. 

What they found was resiliency in First Nations communities depends on access to social capital, sharing stories, and networking. It comes as no surprise that social media can foster and facilitate these things. By keeping communities in Northern Canada connected over long, cold winters, more active communication and information seeking activities are engaged in creating social capital. This bonding of people through the use of social media creates communities which builds social capital and in turn, builds economic capital.

Sharing stories aids community members in understanding their histories, plights, and culture. It also offers opportunities to imagine a positive future and maintain the continuity of their culture. Social media supports networking through the UI’s design and ability to allow for connections within and among community members. It also allows for Indigenous people to connect with other Indigenous people outside of their communities and geographies, while influencing the wider society.

These affordances then translate into a more resilient community that can communicate within and outside of their members while preserving their culture. These connections within their community support social gatherings such as land-based activities, eating traditional foods, and other cultural activities.

Jessica Presta: Module 3, Post 5

Here is a short, 9 minute interview with Vanessa and Deanne. They talk about how they are able to use TikTok to connect with members of their community to amplify their voices and bring awareness to important causes. Their personal stories are inspiring and impactful. This is a great representation of how Indigenous people are using these platforms to share their narrative, unadulterated.

As discussed by Vass Bednar and Jesse Hirsch (2022) in their opinion piece, TikTok is proving to be more effective in amplifying Indigenous voices than Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). They identify some of the key features of TikTok that allow for its success to do this:

  • Different algorithmic priorities
  • Greater opportunities for creators to find success
  • Data collection practices through the use of short, densely packed videos that loop
  • Responsive algorithmically curated content
  • Creators get rapid and responsive feedback
  • Easy to connect with audiences
  • Creators access to analytics
  • The ability to be a part of groups and subcultures
  • Model of abundance, lots of creators, lots of content, minimal restrictions

Indigenous content creators have had large success on the platform due to the popularity of their content and an unbiased algorithm that minimizes barriers to promoting their content. This largely contrasts to the barriers and control exerted by broadcasting companies such as CBC.

Another interesting finding I came across during my research of social media as a lever of Indigenous identity, is the TikTok accelerator program aimed at uplifting Indigenous voices and stories.

To learn more about this program and how it supports Canadian Indigenous content creators, click here. 

Module 3 (Post 4) – Indigenous Cultures and Astrophysics

This article from National Indigenous Television, News, and Programs (a division of Australia’s Special Broadcast Service), explores how Indigenous oral histories have preserved scientific knowledge for generations. Krystal de Napoli, a Gomeroi astrophysicist, explains how the Dreaming stories of Torres Strait Islanders contains ancient knowledge about stars and astronomy.

I really enjoyed this read and thought it did a wonderful job of explaining how stories can contain multitudes of knowledge from many different interconnected subject areas and allow for a deeper understanding of the environment.

You can find the article here.

Jessica Presta: Module 3, Post 1

As my research focus for the final project has pivoted to looking at how Indigenous people identify and represent themselves online, some key questions had to be answered. First, my project-mate and I have to agree on a definition of identity, determining whether or not this is ascribed, prescribed or subscribed. Second, we need to situate our research in our respective places, looking at similarities and differences between Indigenous groups in British Columbia and Ontario.

As a starting place for my research, I began looking into what level of Indigenous representation exists online in my local context. Once I get a sense of how Indigenous people use social media to share their identities online, I can start to make inferences about how to interpret their definition of identity. Then I can take these inferences and so how they align with what is in the literature.

In my investigations, I came across some unique and inspiring Indigenous content creators who are sharing parts of their identity across platforms such as YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. The first content creator I want to share is Owen Unruh.

He is a Vernon born, two-spirit, Nêhiyaw (Cree) with ties to the Driftpile First Nations. He was adopted and raised in Fort Nelson. Growing up he experienced immense shame as a result of his queerness and Indigenous identity. Due to this he turned to drugs and has struggled with addiction. Owen leverages social media platforms such as TikTok to share his journey with addiction recovery, reclaiming his identity and reconnecting with his cultural roots. His goal with sharing his story is to inspire other Indigenous youth to feel comfortable in their skin and to value sobriety.

@owen.unruh

I always think of what to say after the fact ???? #vancouver #toronto #fyp #addiction #native

♬ original sound – Owen Unruh

Module 1 (Post 5) – Connecting with students in remote locations

While following links from my previous post, I found information about a program called Connected North that uses communication technology to reach students in remote Indigenous communities. The idea is to give youth access to First Nations, Inuit, and Metis role models that can help the students understand the applications of what they learn in school and give them opportunities for meaningful connections with professionals in a variety of fields as well as students in other locations. According to the site, a majority of teachers find the program helps engage their students. I am excited to read some more about this program and see if there is the potential to use this type of technology to help my soon-to-be first year undergraduate students prepare for university.

 

Jessica Presta: Module 2, Post 4

My research into why Indigenous people are under-represented in healthcare as professionals has taken me down a path of understanding the institutionalized racism that exists in our healthcare system in BC. It comes as no surprise that our colonial history has led to powerful systemic structures that perpetuate racism towards the Indigenous people of our province. Understanding this history was the first step to uncovering some of the barriers which discourage Indigenous people from seeking out healthcare education. Then I looked at the education system, specifically nursing education, to get a sense of how these systems are also deeply colonial and what work is being done to decolonize these spaces. I came across this webinar hosted by The Center for Nursing Philosophy on the topic of decolonizing nursing. They had an expert panel of speakers representing research on decolonization in nursing from around the globe.

The first speaker is Dr. Lisa Bourque Bearskin, associate professor and Inaugural BC Research Chair in Indigenous Health in Nursing at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia, Canada, who introduced the concepts of decolonization and truth and reconciliation. She begins at 6:49 min and speaks for approximately 15 minutes. A notable takeaway for me was learning about Indigenous nurse pioneers such as Mary Seacole, Edith Monture, and Mary Mahoney who had a great impact on the profession and who are left out of nursing academia. Rather, we are taught about Florence Nightingale, a Caucasian woman of English decent who is coined the founder of modern nursing. These expert panelists call for the decolonization of nursing academia to enhance the success of BIPOC students.

Module 3 Post 3 (Sam Charles)

Linking technology with Indigenous cultures, traditions and knowledge is the focus of this post. My final project focuses on using video to share Indigenous knowledge (specifically through storytelling), so the following sites are examples of using technology for this purpose.

  • 3D technology can preserve culture
  • Berkeley program
  • MIT looks to collaborate with Indigenous groups
  • ITU report on how Indigenous peoples have shaped technologies
  • Misinterpretation of Indigenous technologies

This first link describes how some Indigenous groups are using 3D technologies to preserve the culture.

The Berkeley Center for New Media offers a cool program where they explore linking technology with Indigeneity.

MIT hosted a conference connecting technology with Indigenous groups. The conference had lots of Canadian connections, but I haven’t found a follow-up since other than this conference.

Excellent overview by the ITU of how Indigenous knowledge and partnerships have helped to produce several notable technologies, with use cases ranging from medical to forensic to environmental. At the same time, many communities have turned to the latest tech to help secure their heritage and navigate the challenges of climate change.

A discussion from Swinburne University of Technology about how the Indigenous technology and its usage is often misunderstood.

 

Jessica Presta: Module 2, Post 3

Another resource I wanted to call out for educators looking to decolonize their curriculum is the ‘First peoples principles of learning‘. This poster was created by the First Nations Education Steering Committee (FNESC) and as a classroom resource aimed at highlighting the main principles of First Peoples learning practices. The role and responsibilities of the FNESC is to support First Nations students and advance First Nations education in BC. Their website has a plethora of resources aimed at supporting this goal.