Biskaabiiyaang Joins Groundbreaking York University Research Project, Connected Minds
Indigenous Metaverse part of research to develop socially responsible technologies
Biskaabiiyaang: The Indigenous Metaverse is pleased to announce its collaboration with “Connected Minds: Neural and Machine Systems for a Healthy, Just Society”, a groundbreaking interdisciplinary research program led by York University and the largest in the university’s history.
Connected Minds aims to address the challenges posed by rapidly emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure equitable benefits for all in a machine-driven world. The initiative is funded by significant investment from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF). It emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration through over fifty project partners and collaborators from the private sector, public and philanthropic sectors, and Indigenous organizations.
The research plans to explore new and ongoing projects, including a more inclusive metaverse, virtual reality, neurotechnologies for healthy aging, Indigenous data sovereignty, and the impact of AI on human brain function. While prioritizing the needs of equity-deserving communities with a special focus on the Indigenous Peoples of Canada, it includes a research program that is co-created and co-led by Indigenous Peoples.
One of Connected Minds’ ongoing projects is Biskaabiiyaang, an Indigenous metaverse that safeguards and revitalizes Indigenous Knowledge and language. Within its virtual world, visitors experience an Indigenized curriculum and learn Anishinaabemowin (the Ojibwe language) together. Through systems of digital empowerment, First Nation community members and Elders contribute their expertise to Biskaabiiyaang’s richly detailed environments, creating an online, living archive of Indigenous cultural heritage that includes Indigenous Knowledge, histories, sciences, and philosophies.
It is essential that First Nations have access, ownership, and control over their data in a rapidly changing digital world. As part of Connected Minds, Biskaabiiyaang will assist in developing a framework to guide future innovations in technology with a focus on inclusivity.
“Our work will seek to address the unexpected consequences of technological innovation, like the growing digital divide between broader society and Indigenous Peoples in terms of access to internet and also the colonization of it as well,” says Sean Hillier, Director of York University’s Centre for Indigenous Knowledges & Language and associate director of Connected Minds.
“We continue to see researchers in Indigenous communities saying, ‘how do we implement ownership, access, control and possession of our knowledge in a virtual world?’ We don’t have the capacity to do so.”
Dr. Maya Chacaby, Biskaabiiyaang’s Chief Visionary, explains how Biskaabiiyaang strives to answer that question through collaborative design practices.
“The very heart of Biskaabiiyaang is the community-driven co-creation of the metaverse. In our project, community stories shape the virtual world. Indigenous Knowledge is central to our development, from the choice of game mechanics to Anishinaabe youth and Elders crafting the adventures users go on.
We want Biskaabiiyaang to be a space for Indigenous worlding that is owned and controlled by community. This has been fundamental to our process since before development began and will continue until long after its completion.”
York community members recently gathered to celebrate the launch of Connected Minds. You can watch the celebration event recap on the university’s YouTube channel, here. Attendees had the opportunity to visit Biskaabiiyaang’s Indigenous metaverse as part of an immersive virtual reality experience.
Here, York University’s President & Vice Chancellor, Rhonda L. Lenton, explores Biskaabiiyaang’s campsite orientation area.
The partnership of Connected Minds and Biskaabiiyaang represents an exciting milestone in our project’s pursuit of Indigenous resurgence. Together, we will develop groundbreaking resources that will make a profound impact on the world of socially responsible technology.
About Biskaabiiyaang
Biskaabiiyaang is an Indigenous-led metaverse that delivers Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) language and First Nation cultural competency programs. Through partnerships with Nokiiwin Tribal Council, York University, and metaverse builders UniVirtual, Biskaabiiyaang archives and safeguards the living heritage of Indigenous Peoples.
The project runs in tandem with the UN International Decade of Indigenous Language and aims to support Anishinaabe resurgence by delivering Indigenous knowledge, histories, language, sciences, and philosophies in a unique, immersive environment. Through experiential education, learners explore and engage with an Indigenized curriculum and connect with community Elders during social, real-time events. Biskaabiiyaang is a safe space to learn, collaborate, and adventure together, regardless of geographical location.
For more information, contact:
Carolyn Cronin – Marketing & PR
carolyn@univirtual.com