Indigeneity Accessibility And Technology

Understanding the intersections of education, technology, and indigenous people calls for examining aspects of globalization, education policies, and practices involving diverse communities. By examining colonialism, we can see how indigenous people challenge and use digital elements for self-expression and political mobilization. Technology has played a crucial role in providing distance learning and preserving indigenous languages and cultures. However, there are concerns about the protection of cultural property, indigenous knowledge systems, and the need to resist hegemony in knowledge production. It is essential to engage in self-reflection and recognize that indigenous people in Canada have faced invasion by various colonizers, including missionaries, government agents, and academics, all of which have had damaging consequences.

Shirley referred to Murray Sinclair, Canadian Indigenous leader, lawyer, and advocate for Indigenous rights, to highlight that an ongoing colonial foundation of education that has resulted in historical amnesia regarding indigenous people. This amnesia has left a dark legacy of exploitation, poverty, cultural dislocation, and residential school abuses. As cited by Shirley, Sinclair urges individuals to self-reflect and recognize their role in this colonial history and better understand indigenous people’s pursuit of self-determination and well-being.

The internet is an exceedingly deceptive technology whose power is immensely attractive to American Indians, but until a universalistic and individualistic foundation is restructured to incorporate spatial, social, spiritual, and experiential dimensions, cyberspace is no place for tribalism. While technology can be perceived as culturally neutral, it may inadvertently reinforce cultural transformation patterns like those of the industrial revolution. Indigenous people rely on relationships and interconnectedness in learning, which current technology may struggle to accommodate.

“Indigenous pedagogies demand that we learn from each other, we learn from the land, plants, trees, animals, the water, the waterways, and from the sky, and the stories about these. The stories connect us to the past and to the future. How technology can work with us to achieve this? That is what we need to grapple with.” – Shirley Anne Swelchalot Hardman

In addressing the importance of indigenous education, it is important to recognize that everyone has a responsibility, including educators, administrators, students, and leaders. Often, students come to universities unaware of the culturally-encoded reality that excludes indigenous perspectives and ways of life. Higher education institutions tend to reproduce imperial and colonial structures, teaching curricula that perpetuate stereotypes and privilege a single way of knowing, resulting in barriers to form respectful relationships with indigenous peoples. To counteract this, all of us need to make efforts to actively engage in decolonizing and indigenizing, so we can create a more inclusive educational environment that promotes understanding of, and respect for, indigenous peoples and their communities.

“Decolonizing, as well as indigenizing, asks us to unlearn and relearn histories, confront colonial ideologies, and embed indigenous ways of knowing and viewing the world into everything we do. Recognize the place where we are more than reciting the names on the map. Each of us has a responsibility to embrace a critical understanding of decolonization and appreciate the self-determination of the indigenous people and their communities.” – Shirley Anne Swelchalot Hardman

Amber started her speech by emphasizing the evolving nature of the concept of indigeneity. She then referred to the idea of the cultural interface by Martin Nakota. Cultural interface acknowledges the existence of conflicting ideas that coexist and are connected to indigeneity. This idea resonated with the way indigenous knowledge and teachings allow for multiple perspectives, even those in opposition, to coexist. The cultural interface also relates to the way technology represents a different world and space for indigenous people: not recognizing the way people exist in the online world does not invalidate their identity. Amber also discussed the issue of physical access to technology and the privilege it entails, and emphasized the need to be mindful of systemic and structural racism that limits access to technology and the privilege each person has in varying capacities.

Although there is some overlap between the two concepts, they are different. Intersectionality is all of those components in your identity that make you who you are. Cultural interface, on the other hand, represents a space where multiple people coexist, each with their unique intersectional identities. These identities may overlap or conflict. Cultural interface allows for their co-existence. When envisioning cultural interface, it might be helpful to think of it as constellations.

Amber emphasized the challenges and complexities faced by the first-generation students from Indigenous backgrounds who pursue higher education. She highlighted the need for acknowledging and addressing diverse starting points, accessibility issues, and the importance of making necessary changes in our approaches and classroom practices. She also called for an effort by all of us to create a better future for everyone by leveraging our own unique privileges.

We need to establish a strong connection to our surroundings and gain a deeper understanding of the places and people around us, beyond just knowing their names. By recognizing our location and cultivating connections to it, we can start to appreciate the diverse aspects of various indigenous cultures. We need to link our learning to a specific location and recognize the origins and context of the information being shared, as well as the people it represents.