Tag Archives: Indigenous culture sharing

M3- POST 5

In my research on how technology and digital media are used by Indigenous people, I found the following articles:

Oppenneer, M. (2009). Using ICTs for indigenous cultural preservation: Challenges and strategies. Ethnos Project. (Link)

The importance of Indigenous knowledge and its contribution to our global society has been recognized recently.  We now know that we need to acknowledge the value and significance of Indigenous knowledge to protect it and use it in our global problem-solving plan. In our modern world, however, the most accessible method to do so is to use digital technology and multimedia. That, as Oppeneer (2009) discusses, would impose challenges for Indigenous communities, which can result in the digital divide and inequity.

“Challenges can arise when there is disharmony between the design of the technology and the knowledge traditions of the Indigenous communities using the technology.”

One challenge is the fact that these technologies have been designed with western values and are not associated with the traditional values of Indigenous people.

“Indigenous people are a poor match for technologies that “reflect Western values of individualism, the privileging of texts and the commodification of knowledge, trends that run counter to and likely many indigenous traditions.”

That’s what is mostly known as “computer-mediated colonization”. Ess and Sudweeks (2012) discuss that many computer-based technologies were built based on the cultural values and beliefs of their builders. They will carry their original properties with them when we integrate them into new environments. They wouldn’t probably fit in a community with different cultural backgrounds, so we are faced with digital colonization.

Oppeneer (2009) explains three different projects tested in Australia “to show how the disharmony between the technology and tradition can be addressed.”

One of these projects is organizing digital materials reflecting the cultural identities of the Warumungu Aboriginal community. This project was supposed to “provide a free and open source community archive platform that provides international standards-based content management tools adaptable to the local cultural protocols and intellectual property systems of indigenous communities, libraries, archives, and museums.” You can find more information about it here.

I think these types of projects would help the Indigenous communities to find and share their voice and preserve their culture in the digital world.

“For Indigenous communities willing to embrace ICTs, change is part of the new reality. Change means new technologies, new formats, and new expectations. For such communities, embracing this change will be vital to maintaining tradition in the modern age. It can become a critical aspect for the reintegration of knowledge back into the community.” (Oppeneer, 2009)

Reference

Ess, C., & Sudweeks, F. (2012). Foreword. In P. H. Cheong, J. N. Martin & L. P. Macfadyen (Eds.), New media and intercultural communication. Identity, community and politics (pp. xi –xx). New York: Peter Lang.

M2 P2 How Will Extended Reality Impact Language Learning?

XR technology is a developing technology and when it comes to using XR for learning languages, the technology is not yet where it needs to be.  This article talks about how important AI and chatbot technology is to making a completely immersive environment and for XR technology to reach its potential as a language learning tool. Chatbot technology is advancing rapidly; however, that technology is focused on widely used languages such as English. Indigenous languages face an uphill battle to have AI chatbot technology developed for those languages, but not impossible.

https://www.extendedrealitylearning.com/how-will-xr-impact-language-training/

Module 2 – Post 4 – Musqueam Place Names Mapping Portal

Financially supported by the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage Aboriginal Languages Initiatives, the Musqueam Place Names Mapping Portal is the public portion of Musqueam’s recorded Place Names. Data is made available by the Musqueam Indian Band. As you click on points of the map you are greeted with illustrations or historical photography of the place, and (if available) audio of the name spoken in hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ language. While browsing this online learning tool authored by Musqueam, I discovered:

  • A strong and clear disclaimer that the materials in this place names map is Musqueam Heritage, must be treated with respect, and no part of it can be transmitted, reproduced or stored in a retrieval system – so I have not included any images of this resource out of respect. 
  • There was a story lines section where you could follow a path of select place names in a purposeful order. The illustrations portrayed the cultural context of the places. For example, a gathering on Jericho beach with drumming, a potlatch, watching relatives arrive in canoes, etc.
  • Credit is given each artist, photographer, and audio clip.

I appreciate seeing another example of a learning tool that is Indigenous-developed. The intent on the opening page to state the digital boundaries we have as visitors interacting with the materials is an example of self-determination of an e-learning space.

The multimedia-based and interactive depiction of place names shows a holistic, multi-pronged approach to learning about the land, especially when relevant cultural traditions are included for context.

Jessica Presta: Module 1, Post 2

For my second blog post, I wanted to share some of the small ways I try and incorporate Indigenous voices and representation in my daily life. Through the use of digital technologies and the advent of social media, I am able to expose and connect myself to Indigenous content creators, and they, are able to create content and share to a worldwide audience.

One content creator I love and follow is Cree, James Jones, and goes by the name Notorious Cree. He shares his journey of reconnecting with his own culture through traditional dance and uses his platform to encourage others to do the same and to find pride in who they are. James Jones has found a way to connect with his audience through orality, using videos which are educational, and include teachings about his dance and his culture. To view his works, click here.

Another content creator who I enjoy following to learn about their culture is Shina Novalinga. She is Inuk and is known for her TikTok videos where she throat sings with her mom as well as her activism. Her content ranges from educational material about Inuit culture to some of the challenges people in her community and other northern Indigenous communities face. To view her works, click here.

I genuinely feel that social media is in the hands of the creator, giving them a platform from which they can tell their stories without the (colonial) influence of others. Both of these content creators have over 3.5 million followers, thus their reach is far. They control their stories and how they want to share their culture with the world, empowering themselves, breaking stereotypes and showcasing the diversity among Indigenous people across North America.

M1 P3 Blockchain and Indigenous Data Sovereignty

Another area of interest I have is Indigenous Data Sovereignty. Using blockchain to ensure that sensitive information reaches the intended audience has the potential to alleviate many concerns that different Indigenous groups may have in regards to recording and documenting culturally sensitive information.  Indigenous people may be more willing to record and disseminate culturally sensitive information digitally if there were secure options to do so. For example, the Plains Apache family that Prins (2002) had worked with were reluctant to film the ritual of the medicine bundle as they deemed it too sensitive to be recorded. If blockchain was an available technology at the time, the Plains Apache family may have felt more secure about recording that culturally sensitive ceremony if they knew that it would only be viewed by an audience they were comfortable sharing it with.

 

Prins, Harald E.L., “Visual Media and the Primitivist Perplex: Colonial Fantasies, Indigenous Imagination, and Advocacy in North America,” in Media Worlds: Anthropology on a New Terrain, eds. Faye D. Ginsburg, Lila Abu-Lughod, and Brian Larkin, Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002, 58- 74.

https://www.hpcwire.com/off-the-wire/study-explores-use-of-blockchain-to-protect-indigenous-genomic-data/