I think popular social media platforms like Tik Tok, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter can have significant impacts on attitudes, beliefs, and perspectives towards different cultures. Connecting this idea to my first entry on mobile technologies, I wanted to look into the impact of social media on Indigenous cultures. How are the cultures portrayed and how is it affecting Indigenous youth?
Here are examples of Indigenous cultures on social media:
- Model Uses Social Media to Promote Indigenous Rights
- Artist Uses Tik Tok to Educate on Indigenous Culture
- How James Jones (Notorious Cree) Harnessed Social Media to Reclaim and Share His Culture
Notorious Cree (Photography: Norman Wong)
Related to this topic, I was able to find an ethnographic study case by Kariipanon et al. (2017) on how social media and mobile phones are affecting Indigenous youth and two research papers on the implications of digital technology use among Indigenous young people in Australia by Rice et al. (2016) and Kral’s (2011). It is very promising to know that if used properly, technologies and media tools can help students creatively express their identity and take on leadership roles in the community (Kral, 2011).
References
Kariippanon, K., Senior, K., & SAGE Research Methods Complete A-Z List. (2017). Engagement and Qualitative Interviewing: an ethnographic study of the use of social media and mobile phones among remote indigenous youth. SAGE Publications Ltd.
Kral, I. (2011). Youth Media as Cultural Practice: Remote Indigenous Youth Speaking Out Loud. Australian Aboriginal Studies (Canberra, A.C.T.: 1983), 2011(1), 4-16.
Rice, E. S., Haynes, E., Royce, P., & Thompson, S. C. (2016). Social media and digital technology use among Indigenous young people in Australia: a literature review. International Journal for Equity in Health, 15(1), 81. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-016-0366-0
I was bewildered and amazed because I finally understood the significance of the “hoop” dances, and what each number of hoops signified. The video that you posted on your blog about “Notorious Cree,” answered a very old question that stems from my early childhood years…I watched a beautiful interpretive dance being performed in a cultural festival by a dancer of Indigenous descent, and I had always wondered, why the hoop was used and what each of the 5 hoops symbolized when used together or not…fast forward 3 decades later, you have answered that question for me Seo-Whi! So thank you 🙂
-Selene
Hi Selene,
No worries! I’m glad the resources I’ve found helped answer your questions. I always thought the “hoop” dances were so beautiful and I’m glad I did a little bit of research into this to know more about it.