Digital cultures, stories, & technologies, by NDNs for NDNs
Meme by Arnell Tailfeathers
In 2021, I was awarded a Canada Research Chair in Digital Wahkohtowin & Cultural Governance. My sincerest gratitude to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and Toronto Metropolitan University Arts for their generous support of my research.
I facilitated the Digital Wahkohtowin & Cultural Governance Lab (or Digital Kinship Lab). Digital Kinship Lab collaborated with Indigenous artists, film and television makers, and social media content creators to produce digital media. Digital Kinship Lab shared 2LGBTIA+ Indigenous stories to counter stigma in media and policy and erasure within the humanities, and provided foundations for a decolonial humanities and cultural heritage grounded by Indigenous governance. The lab’s digital outputs have been featured by media and academic journals nationally and internationally.
2LGBTIA+ Knowledge: Digital Kinship Lab mobilized the digital knowledge production of 2LGBTIA+ Indigenous peoples that has been excluded from policy, academia, art, film and television, and museums. The Lab’s community-based research advanced 2LGBTIA+ Indigenous governance and leadership in arts, heritage, and culture, and developed arts, culture, and heritage policy that was guided by the lived experiences of 2LGBTIA+ Indigenous peoples.
Ethics and Practices: Digital Kinship Lab developed ethical standards for community creation and distribution of digital knowledge, in consultation and collaboration with Indigenous community leaders. Digital Kinship Lab developed non-hierarchical models for digital publishing and digital media production, to support the practices of Indigenous digital creators.
Critical Culture & Heritage Policy: Digital media is Indigenous cultural heritage. Digital Kinship Lab hosted digital media production gatherings. The Indigenous community leaders Digital Kinship Lab collaborated with support the development of Critical Culture & Heritage Policy. Reflecting on historical and contemporary relationships with Canada’s culture and heritage institutions, Digital Kinship Lab developed critical policy campaigns in service of Indigenous communities, activists, and knowledge producers.
Jas M. Morgan 