1. Aboriginal Youth and
Technology:
The challenges and opportunities
Linda Pham
ETEC 521 – 66A
University of British Columbia
August 1st, 2011
2. Technology
Today’s world is surrounded by technology
and it appears inevitable that technology
affects cultures and individuals
everywhere.
3. Technology
Aboriginal people are no exception to this
technological effect. Technology usage and
engagement bring both challenges and
opportunities to aboriginal people.
4. Technology
The youth population is unique in that most
young individuals have been exposed to
or been engaged with some sort of
technological tools such as computers, the
internet, cellular phones, televisions,
radios, and smart phones to name a few.
5. Technology
For aboriginal youth, technology plays an
important role by providing opportunities
that contribute to individual development
as well as cultural revival and
revitalization.
8. Aboriginal youth face these
challenges:
1. Disadvantages of technology use
2. Learning about the history of oppression and their own
thoughts in contrast to the colonizer’s thoughts, and dealing
with stereotypes
3. Their identities are seen as irrelevant or exotic in a
globalised present
4. Challenges for improving the education for indigenous
students
5. Their culture becomes eroded or corrupted by the
encounters with powerful modern technologies
9. Aboriginal youth gain these
opportunities:
1. Use technology to revive and revitalize their own cultural
practices and representations
2. To express their identity through digital media and internet
representations
3. Counter a history of oppression and learn their own
thoughts in contrast to the colonizer’s thoughts
4. Use the Internet, cd rom production, and independent
filmmaking to inform their own communities and the
broader global audience about traditions, stories, and ways
of making meaning from their own traditional perspectives
5. Use technology to learn and develop in the mainstream
society while retaining their heritage and cultural identities
11. 1. Disadvantages of technology use
Like other aspects of globalisation, technological
advancements represent a double-edged sword for
Indigenous youth.
12. 1. Disadvantages of technology use
There is a digital divide that exists for Aboriginal people,
including children and youth in the home and school
settings.
13. 2. Oppression, stereotypes and the
colonizer’s thoughts
There are aboriginal youth who dream of leaving,
confronted by the disappearance of traditional values and
the difficulty of living in a world made by non-Aboriginals,
and who are, sometimes, condemned to a tragic fate.
14. 2. Oppression, stereotypes and the
colonizer’s thoughts
A young aboriginal artist:
“The negative portrayal of Native people by the media
affects Aboriginal people and how they internalize the
negative stereotypes and begin to believe how they are
perceived by the western culture”.
15. 3. Irrelevant and exotic identities
Urban Aboriginal students face a number of unique
problems – they are unable to find suitable connection with
cultural knowledge and do not see themselves represented
in the curriculum.
16. 4. Education for aboriginal students
Internet technology can strengthen First Nations education
17. 4. Education for aboriginal students
The digital divide is in the experience of the student rather
than access. For example, many First Nations students go
to school where they experience mainly textbook-based
learning with limited access and experience with internet
activities that could enhance and further their educational
experience.
18. 4. Education for aboriginal students
Research confirms what Aboriginal parents, students, and
educators already knew: institutions of formal schooling
are failing to provide Aboriginal students with the
educational environment and experiences that they need to
achieve success.
19. 4. Education for aboriginal students
Aboriginal students are encouraged to attend school in
the spite of a long, negative, and hurtful relationship
between Aboriginals and schooling.
20. 4. Education for aboriginal students
Almost all educators lack the requisite knowledge and
training for meaningfully teaching Aboriginal subject
matter.
21. 5. Erosion and corruption of culture
When Indigenous young people gain access to technology,
the challenge is to give culturally-valid meaning to the use
of new technologies.
22. 5. Erosion and corruption of culture
Unless Indigenous people are involved with implementing
the integration of technology into their communities, the
technology may work against other aspects of their
indigenous cultures.
24. 1. Culture revival and revitalization
Technology can be used to raise awareness about
Indigenous rights and to create global youth networks.
25. 1. Culture revival and revitalization
Longhouse Media has a mission to catalyze Indigenous
people and communities to use media as a tool for self-
expression, cultural preservation, and social change.
26. 1. Culture revival and revitalization
The internet is a tool that really helps in teaching
endangered languages to Aboriginal people, especially
children and youth. Besides interacting with elders, they
can use computer programs to learn languages.
27. 2. Expression of identity
There was a pilot workshop conducted by the Aboriginal
Territories in Cyberspace (AbTeC). In this pilot program,
Native Youth from the Mohawk Kahnawake Survival
School help to design videogames based on traditional
stories from their tribe.
28. 2. Expression of identity
The goal of AbTeC is to encourage Aboriginal use of online
and media based technologies to strengthen Native
cultures.
29. 2. Expression of identity
Within the larger site of “Taking it Global,” the Aboriginal
Youth Network (AYN) is a resource that is a unique site
created by Aboriginal youth for Aboriginal youth.
The site is making attempts to promote cultural identity
within Aboriginal culture specifically in Canada, making
the attempt to connect across the country.
30. 3. Countering oppression
Aboriginal Youth Media (AYM) is a British Columbia-
based organization that promote and share 21st century
literacy skills. They strive to provide youth-friendly
training in a culturally-relevant learning environment. The
youth can connect with elders, other Aboriginal youth
groups, and business mentors.
31. 3. Countering oppression
They also strive to promote the diversity of Indigenous
languages, cultures, and the ways of knowing and
teaching. AYM also claims to decolonize and “Youth-
enize” curriculum by including youth and elder voices,
Indigenous knowledge, and technology to create a unique
and inclusive learning environment.
32. 4. Teach the global audience
Video technology assists Native Youth in telling their
stories, rediscovering their culture, and strengthening their
voices in the community and the world.
33. 4. Teach the global audience
Native Lens is a program of Longhouse Media, which
supports the growth and expression of Indigenous youth
through digital media making.
34. 4. Teach the global audience
First Nations Technology Council:
“As early adopters of technology, many young First
Nations people are mixing technology with traditional
art. In some communities, students as young as 10 are
learning new media skills, recording the stories of their
Elders, digitizing community stories, using and
designing computer graphics and building web-sites”.
35. 5. Learn and develop
The technology also opens opportunities for Indigenous
youth in the technology and knowledge-based industries
and fosters youth Indigenous employment.
36. 5. Learn and develop
Nicola Valley Institute of Technology caters to Aboriginal
students. The goal of NVIT is to become the school of
choice for Aboriginal students because they believe they
are best suited to educate Aboriginal students. They hope
to create Aboriginal leaders who can make a difference in
their communities. NVIT states that it involves elders in
the direction of the university and keeps it Aboriginal
focus.
37. 5. Learn and develop
With technology, First Nations youth are able to see many
more possibilities out there in the world and explore, for
themselves, who they can become.
38. Aboriginal youth are a unique group of people who,
like the rest of the globe, face the technology-
dominated world. They hold the responsibility to
use and engage with technology in ways that
respect, restore, and preserve their culture and
heritage.
~
39. References
Aboriginal Perspectives. Retrieved July 11, 2011, from
http://www3.onf.ca/enclasse/doclens/visau/index.php?
mode=theme&language=english&theme=30666&submode=teachers
Aboriginal Youth Media Team. Retrieved July 13, 2011, from http://aymteam.com/index.html
Bruce, J. (n.d.) Indigenous Youth. UNESCO. Retrieved July 19, 2011, from
http://www.unesco.org/ccivs/New-SiteCCSVI/institutions/jpc-youth/youth
openforum/Section_for_Youth/Resources_and_tools/Other_documents_on_youth/OXFAM_INTERNATIONAL
_YOUTH_PARLIAMENT/Chapter3_Indigenous_Youth.pdf
Dion, D., Johnston, K., & Rice, C. (2010). Decolonizing our schools: Aboriginal education in the Toronto District School
Board. Toronto District School Board. Retrieved July 11, 2011, from http://www.tdsb.on.ca/_site/ViewItem.asp?
siteid=185&menuid=781&pageid=603
First Nations Technology Council: Youth Cafe. First Nations British Columbia. Retrieved on June 6, 2011, from
http://fnbc.info/node/531
Lamen, B., and Lewis, J. (n.d.) Skins: Designing games with First Nations youth. Rochester Institute of Technology.
Retrieved on July 11, 2011, from http://www.rit.edu/gccis/gameeducationjournal/skins-designing-games-first-
nations-youth
Language Technologies. Northwest Indian News [Video file]. Posted to http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=gajx9FlGZAs
40. References (Continued)
Native Lens. Longhouse Media. Retrieved on July 7, 2011, from http://www.youtube.com/user/nativelens
Nicola Valley Institute of Technology. Retrieved on July 10, 2011, from http://www.nvit.ca
Peer Perspectives: Expressions of Aboriginal Youth. World News. Retrieved on July 11, 2011, from
http://wn.com/AMESGaliano
Taking it global. Retrieved on June 26, 2011, from www.tigweb.reg
Williams, D. (2009, September 2). Internet technology and first nations education [Video file]. Video posted to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1RUesqalw4&playnext=1&list=PL96F8DAA1B6BC9C71
