Milestones: A Review of Biskaabiiyaang’s 2023 Journey
Welcome to our first year in review blog! As we bid farewell to 2023, it's with immense pride and gratitude that we reflect on Biskaabiiyaang’s journey. This past year marked a series of triumphs for our project. We were honored to be a part of the United Nations World Summit on the Information Society, where we shared our process in creating online learning spaces with global impact and contributed to conversations that will shape the future.
Most excitingly, 2023 saw the launch of Biskaabiiyaang’s playable demo, which invites anyone, no matter where you’re from, to experience firsthand both the virtual environment we’re building and the Indigenous stories, knowledge, and language we’re transforming for the metaverse.
Join us in celebrating a year of accomplishments and a glimpse into our future!
Image from Unceded Airwaves’ channel poster: citr.ca/radio/unceded-airwaves
Unceded Airwaves, CITR-FM
We were honoured to be guests on the weekly radio show Unceded Airwaves, hosted by the Indigenous Collective at CiTR-FM. Unceded Airwaves showcases the diversity and brilliance of Indigenous cultures while highlighting influential Indigenous kin.
Kleo Skavinski interviewed our project’s Chief Visionary, Maya Chacaby, and PR lead, Carolyn Cronin, about Biskaabiiyaang’s gamified virtual world and how it teaches Anishinaabemowin (the Ojibwe language.) The discussion covered the project’s inspirations, the creative journey of decolonizing game mechanics, what it means to be a treaty person, and how to live well with one another on a digital interactive platform.
You can listen to a full recording of the show here at CiTR-FM’s website.
Our social media card, sharing all the details of our session
UN World Summit on the Information Society
If you’re a regular reader of our blog, you may have seen that Biskaabiiyaang had the privilege of sharing our project’s insights and experiences while constructing an Indigenous-led metaverse at the UN World Summit on the Information Society Forum (WSIS Forum.)
Our session, facilitated by Maya Chacaby of York University and Benoit Buyse of UniVirtual, was a welcoming environment of collaboration and understanding that explored the potential for a truly inclusive metaverse. It allowed participants to learn the priorities for metaverse development defined by Indigenous community groups represented by Nokiiwin Tribal Council. It also provided space to find common ground on which networks of trust and respect can be built.
We encourage you to watch the full recording of our session, “Gamifying Indigenous Knowledge to create a path towards Healing and Reconciliation through the Metaverse”, available here. (Navigate to the Session Recording.)
You can also read and download the session’s Outcome Document here. The document provides a summary of the key issues discussed, achievements, commitments made during the session, our actionable plan, and our suggestions for the future of WSIS Forum.
The cover of York’s Indigenous Framework, found at https://indigenous.yorku.ca/framework
york university’s academic innovation fund invests in biskaabiiyaang a second time
We were proud to receive a second round of funding from York University’s Academic Innovation Fund (AIF) to support the design of our Indigenous-led metaverse.
AIF supports projects that advance York University's priorities in terms of teaching, learning, and student experience. For Biskaabiiyaang, the priority is advancing the University’s eLearning and Experiential Education programmes while upholding York’s Indigenous Framework. Professor Maya Chacaby, a Sociology Department Member at Glendon Campus, is the Project Lead and Biskaabiiyaang’s Chief Visionary.
York University’s support of the project helps design our virtual world and develop its Indigenized curriculum.
Read our blog celebrating our first round of AIF funding here.
Image of Maya from @AnishNation’s live coverage of the event, originally posted here: https://twitter.com/AnishNation/status/1666106273794863105/photo/1
Anishinabek Nation: Anishinaabe Giizhigad Celebrations
On the occasion of Anishinaabe Giizhigad (Anishinaabe Day), we had the great pleasure of unveiling the Biskaabiiyaang demo as part of the celebrations hosted by Anishinabek Nation. This event commemorates the proclamation of the Anishinaabe Chi-Naaknigewin and the adoption of the Ngo Dwe Waangizid Anishinaabe.
Attendees of this celebration were among the first to experience our demo, introduced during Maya Chacaby’s session. We greatly appreciate the space we were given to share our project at this wonderful celebration. You can watch a full recording of the Anishinaabe Giizhigad Hybrid Event here at Anishinabek Nation’s YouTube channel.
Screenshot showing player exploring Biskaabiiyaang’s demo area
Indigenous Metaverse Demo Launch
After years of development through community sessions covering everything from collecting Indigenous knowledge, language, and stories from community Elders, to designing the world of Biskaabiiyaang in a 3D, interactive environment, our demo was launched!
Our demo introduces you to Biskaabiiyaang through an orientation campsite area and trail. Get to grips with traversing terrain, discover and interact with objects hidden throughout the environment, and learn Anishinaabemowin along the way. Explore post-apocalyptic ruins and learn how Indigenous history and culture plays a part in returning magic and beauty to this virtual world.
Our demo was produced by our metaverse partner, UniVirtual. It is their mission to create virtual learning that is available to everyone.
You can download the demo (for Windows and Mac) here: https://www.biskaabiiyaang.com/demo
Screenshot of the Sweetgrass Cards. Image shows examples of the “shiny” sides.
Sweetgrass Teaching Activity Launch
To celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day 2023, we launched an Indigenous teaching we’ve transformed into an online game: the sweetgrass cards.
Sweetgrass is a Kindness medicine. There are many teachings about the power of Sweetgrass, and this activity represents only one. After reading the teaching, begin your journey to become a Sweetgrass Warrior, fighting lateral violence with daily acts of lateral Kindness and shielding your community and kin. You will also hear Anishinaabemowin translations of positive, kind words, learning and experiencing the beauty of the language while you play.
Visit sweetgrassteachings.com for the full experience.
The physical deck of sweetgrass cards. Imagey courtesy of Nokiiwin Tribal Council.
A physical deck of the sweetgrass cards can be ordered directly from Nokiiwin Tribal Council. More information is included on the Sweetgrass Teachings website.
SDG Digital GameChangers Awards imagery for the ‘People’ category
SDG Digital GameChanger Awards Finalists
Following our session at WSIS Forum 2023, covered above, Biskaabiiyaang were proud to be finalists in The International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) SDG Digital GameChangers Awards. This award honours individuals and organizations working towards the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals through digital projects and efforts.
The ITU is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies and is committed to connecting all the world's people – wherever they live and whatever their means. Biskaabiiyaang were finalists in the award’s “People” category, which supports projects, applications, and policies that utilize the power of digital to empower people and communities, create opportunities, and address social challenges.
Read more about the award, the winners, and finalists, here.
York University’s President & Vice Chancellor, Rhonda L. Lenton, explores Biskaabiiyaang’s campsite orientation area
Connected Minds Research Project
We announced our collaboration with “Connected Minds: Neural and Machine Systems for a Healthy, Just Society”, a groundbreaking interdisciplinary research program led by York University.
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 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.
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.
Read more about Connected minds here on our blog.
A screenshot of the article in the Diplomatic Courier, linked below
Salzburg Global Seminar 2023
Our project was featured in the Diplomatic Courier article, “For Artists and Activists, a Crucial Moment in AI and Video Games” that followed a Salzburg Global Seminar session examining technological solutions. Biskaabiiyaang was championed at this event by project ally Manouchehr Shamsrizi, social entrepreneur, policy adviser, co-founder of gamelab.berlin in Humboldt University of Berlin’s Cluster of Excellence, and gaming and metaverse expert of Germany's Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen.
Potentials for Foreign Policy and International Cultural Relations
Manouchehr Shamsrizi also published a study, “Metaverse and Gaming”, developed for Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen. The study examines the potential of metaverses and gaming for foreign cultural and educational policy. Biskaabiiyaang are proud to feature in the study as an exemplary project.
“Biskaabiiyaang is an outstanding example of effective knowledge transfer between university research and the tech/gaming community through cooperation and participation with stakeholders from civil society, especially First Nations. It also joins the ranks of gaming/(proto-)Metaverse projects that illustrate that successful international cultural relation projects do not necessarily require technological leadership.”
Read the full study here.
As we conclude our 2023 review, we would like to thank everyone who has joined us on our journey towards biskaabiiyaang so far. The collective spirit displayed by our communities, allies, and supporters helps propel our project forward and fills us with enthusiasm for the future. While there is much work to be done in the research and development of Biskaabiiyaang’s virtual world, we’re so proud of the steps we’ve collectively taken to achieving our project’s mission.
Thank you, and Happy New Year!