A Landless Territory: How Do We Articulate Cyberspace Within the Discourse of Indigenous Studies?

By Wendy Chan on December 10, 2014

Navigating the realm of cyberspace can be challenging – within the field of Indigenous Studies, the topic is delicate but essential. As part of CTLT’s Classroom Climate: Aboriginal Initiatives series, David Gaertner facilitated the session How Do We Articulate Cyberspace (A Landless Territory) Within the Discourse of Indigenous Studies? The session explored examples of Indigenous new media and discussed the importance of analyzing, understanding, and teaching with Indigenous technology.

David, a Postdoctoral Fellow in the UBC First Nations Studies Program, began by addressing the perceived gap between indigeneity and technology. He explained that it is tied to the broader misconception that Indigenous cultural practices are products of the past. In actuality, Indigenous culture is contributing to an exciting and innovative future – Indigenous peoples are not only combining tradition and innovation in technology, but they are also shaping how technologies are developed and utilized.

To show how Indigenous artists and creators are breaking through the tradition/innovation divide, David presented several examples, including Quelemia Sparrow’s podplay “Ashes on the Water,” which was inspired by the Squamish First Nation’s Women’s Paddle Song. Podplays emphasize a unique connection with the land. In “Ashes on the Water,” audiences listen to the audio of the play, which guides them through the park and to the water, where, in the original production, they then saw a site-specific dance. “Ashes on the Water” is available through Neworld Theatre.

A second example David spoke about was Mukurtu, a digital archive and content management tool. It was designed specifically for use by Indigenous communities in order to share and curate their history. A unique feature of Mukurtu is its flexibility and adaptability; it allows users to integrate an array of cultural protocols so that content is accessed and shared in a way that fits each community’s distinct practices. Another similar tool is CyberPowWow – a space for Indigenous artists to come together and share their work, creating a virtual gallery of artwork and library of texts. Since its development in 1996, CyberPowWow has made a significant contribution to the shape of contemporary Indigenous new media.

Although these innovative spaces create new opportunities, David noted that one must consider the implications of open access. David quoted the 2009 UBC Open Access Week’s definition of open access as “the unrestricted sharing of research results with everyone, everywhere, for the advancement and enjoyment of science and society.”

David acknowledged that though open access has numerous benefits, it comes with a set of challenges. He mentioned that, historically, Indigenous peoples have had their knowledge stolen. Now, open access implies an entitlement to another person’s space and knowledge. While some insist, “information wants to be free,” it is crucial to understand exactly who is benefitting from free sources of information.

Similarly, David pointed out that cyberspace is itself a privileged space. When some of his Indigenous students return to their home communities, they have dial-up Internet access at best – nowhere near the capacity needed to view resources such as Mukurtu and CyberPowWow. Other critics point out that not only is cyberspace a privileged space, but it is one that is too intrinsically linked with Western ideals and understandings. David referenced Loretta Todd, an Aboriginal filmmaker and artist, who believes that virtual reality is an extension of Western ideals. According to some critics, virtual space is contradictory to indigeneity – Indigenous ideology has no room in the realm of cyberspace.

While there will continue to be challenges within Indigenous technology, David noted that artists and creators of Indigenous media have already taken the first step: they are aware of and acknowledge the difficulties they face. They are continuing to work around challenges, such as class disadvantages, to think of innovative ways to bring their stories and creations into the community. With artists committed to doing this, David said he looks forward to the future of Indigenous new media.

What is the future? David pointed to projects such as “Sacred Ground,” which is what he calls an example of “augmented reality” – technology that asks the user to engage with the real world. Sacred Ground is a mobile application that superimposes images and audio over landscape to explore the Indigenous history of the land. Sacred Ground is just one of many innovative projects that are continuing to emerge. “There are so many people doing things I can’t even imagine,” David said. He’s confident that Indigenous new media has a bright future.

David is a proponent of bringing these types of Indigenous new media into the classroom. He teaches FNSP 401F: Indigenous New Media, which was offered for the first time in September 2014. His course, from which this session was developed, focuses on analyzing, comparing, researching, and writing about Indigenous new media. David encouraged professors to look into the options available to them. “These technologies are readily available and they can make your classroom a more dynamic space.”

David is also currently working on “Knowing the Land Beneath Our Feet,” a collaborative multimedia Indigenous walking tour initiative led by Sarah Ling and Spencer Lindsay. The project is created in partnership with the First Nations Studies Program (FNSP) and Coordinated Arts Program (CAP), as well as CTLT Aboriginal Initiatives Strategist Amy Perreault, members of the Musqueam community, and numerous other advisors. The project will showcase Indigenous history and presence across campus including names, artwork, and architecture. It aims to teach students, faculty, staff, and visitors to better understand their presence on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the hən’q’əmin’əm’-speaking Musqueam people. The project will be piloted in Spring 2015 in FNSP and CAP classes and user groups, with a full implementation and public launch to follow.

The session was part of the CTLT Aboriginal Initiatives’ Classroom Climate series, a yearlong program that brings together faculty, teaching assistants, researchers, students, and staff to critically engage in Aboriginal topics. Sarah Ling, Graduate Academic Assistant for Aboriginal Initiatives, emphasized the importance of the series. She strongly believes that thinking about Indigenous topics and issues are important and applicable to every field. Sarah hopes that participants of David’s session, as well as participants of past and future Classroom Climate workshops, share what they learned with others, even after the session concludes. As she expressed, “The dialogue doesn’t stop.”

This article was published in the December 2014 CTLT Newsletter, Dialogues. Below is a list of articles included in the issue:

 

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