Tag Archives: Indigenous Values

M4: P2 – Keoni Mahelona and Peter-Lucas Jones on Indigenous Data Sovereignty

This event was part of McGill’s Feminist Publishing and Tech Speaker Series in 2021, and more befitting to this course was co-hosted by the Initiative for Indigenous Futures (IFF). I came across Peter-Lucas Jones in an Unreserved with Falen Johnson CBC podcast (Johnson, 2021). In that podcast Jones speaks about his machine learning software he created to revitalize Māori language, culture, and traditional knowledge. 

In this speaker series event, Jones, along with his partner Keoni Mahelona, bring up several interesting and important points about storing Indigenous languages and knowledge online. The first idea that Jones touches on is how Indigenous peoples have always stored data in song and dance (FP&TSS, 2021, 8:01). However, moving into the 21st century Indigenous groups are looking for ways to store their language and culture digitally. In doing so, Jones and Mahelona discuss ways to overcome the plight of using online platforms. To me, the most poignant notion is that although there are services offered for “free” by Facebook and YouTube, these companies are making money off the data that they collect from individuals and groups (FP&TSS, 2021, 29:33). In fact, Jones and Mahelona liken the data mining of big tech today to the land grabs of colonizers (FP&TSS, 2021, 56:27). An important way that they avoid giving into big data grabs is by creating their own platforms so that they own the data themselves (FP&TSS, 2021, 41:51). Another interesting point that is brought up is that of digital obsolescence (FP&TSS, 2021, 69:56). Digital obsolescence is prominent online. If Indigenous groups are using online platforms to keep their knowledge safe, they must ensure its continuity by keeping their links available online to circumvent online obscurity. 

This is a long (92:14) video, but brings to light many important aspects of Indigenous online spaces.

References

Feminist Publishing and Tech Speaker Series (FP&TSS). (2021, March 3). Keoni Mahelona and Peter-Lucas Jones on Indigenous Data Sovereignty. [Video]. YouTube https://youtu.be/YgPfWUdtjig

Johnson, F. (Host). (2021, May 16). How Indigenous people are promoting and learning their languages. [Audio podcast episode]. In Unreserved with Falen Johnson. CBC. https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-105-unreserved/clip/15843149-how-indigenous-people-promoting-learning-languages. 

Representing Indigenous Characters in Kids Shows on PBS

Module 2 – Entry 3 – Tyler Ohashi

Lia Fabre-Dimsdale, a Liidlii Kue Frist Nation member, earned an opportunity that she was very proud to be part of when she landed an internship from Mitacs that had her working on the design team for “Molly and Denali”. “The series features Indigenous lead characters, with Indigenous actors voicing the six main characters, and Indigenous elders consulting behind the scenes (Ryan, 2021).” Having Indigenous media created by Indigenous people gives the series more relatability for Indigenous viewers. I think this is important because it will engage young Indigenous viewers in an authentic way. The way the characters look, their voices, how they interact with each other are all accurately portrayed. Furthermore, seeing a representation of Indigenous people on TV will promote a sense of pride because they see themselves in a positive light.

Here is a link to the Global News story.

https://globalnews.ca/video/rd/eb2f7714-ca51-11eb-901d-0242ac110006/?jwsource=cl

I thought to myself how this is story reflects what we have been learning in this course because it is an example of Indigenous people using technology to promote their ways of life. The fact that “Molly and Denali” is targeted at a younger audience is very powerful because young people are the foundations for change. We must break down the stereotype that Indigenous people have faced for generations. We can start this process by instilling a sense of pride and a sense of belonging by providing young people a quality media production such as “Molly and Denali” where they see Indigenous values being shown in a public space and being received with praise.

References

Indigenous student animator obtains valuable internship with animated TV production: Watch News Videos Online. Global News. (2021, June 10). https://globalnews.ca/video/7940520/indigenous-student-animator-obtains-valuable-internship-with-animated-tv-production.

Ryan, D. (2021, May 21). Animation internship offers opportunity to broaden Indigenous representation on screen. vancouversun. https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/animation-internship-offers-opportunity-to-broaden-indigenous-representation-on-screen.