Indigenous Futurisms is a movement consisting of art, literature, comics, games, and other forms of media which express Indigenous perspectives of the future, past, and present in the context of

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

and related sub-genres. Such perspectives may reflect Indigenous ways of knowing, traditional stories, historical or contemporary politics, and cultural realities.

Background

In the anthology, ''Walking the Clouds: An Anthology of Indigenous Science Fiction'', Dillon outlines how science-fiction can aid processes of decolonization. Using tools like

slipstream A slipstream is a region behind a moving object in which a wake of fluid (typically air or mustard) is moving at velocities comparable to that of the moving fluid, relative to the ambient fluid through which the object is churning. The term sli ...

worldbuilding Worldbuilding is the process of constructing a world, originally an imaginary one, sometimes associated with a fictional universe. Developing an imaginary setting with coherent qualities such as a history, geography, and ecology is a key task f ...

and

anthropological Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

First Contact scenarios, Indigenous communities construct self-determined representations and alternative narratives about their identities and futures. Indigenous Futurists critique the exclusion of Indigenous people from the contemporary world and challenge notions of what constitutes advanced technology. In so doing, the movement questions the digital divide, noting that Indigenous peoples have at once been purposefully excluded from accessing media technologies and constructed as existing outside of modernity. The widespread use of

personal computer A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or tec ...

s and the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

following the Digital Revolution created conditions in which, to some extent, Indigenous peoples may participate in the creation of a network of self-representations. Dr. Grace Dillon, editor of ''Walking the Clouds: An Anthology of Indigenous Science Fiction'', encouraged stories through IIF, the Imagining Indigenous Futurisms Science Fiction Contest. Lou Catherine Cornum is a writer, scholar, and Indigenous Futurist known for their work Space NDNs. Chickasaw scholar Jenny L. Davis emphasizes the importance of 'Indigenous language futurisms,' where she shows that Indigenous languages are important to articulating and understanding Indigenous temporalities.

Concepts

Time

The concept of time in Indigenous Futurisms moves away from Western traditional interpretations, both culturally and within the genre of speculative fiction. Time, according to Indigenous Futurists, encompasses and connects the past, present and future all at once. Artists may explore

alternate histories Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, alter ...

, distant and near futures, separate timelines,

time travel Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a ...

, the multiverse, and other topics in which time is not limited to a linear conceptualization. Historical themes of

colonialism Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colony, colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose the ...

, imperialism,

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Lat ...

, conflict, the environment, trade and treaties, which have impacted Indigenous cultures, are recurring and reexamined, creating new narratives in the process. Artists play with questions of race, privilege and "Whiteness", both in history and within the speculative genre; they are expanded upon, subverted, erased, reversed, etc., thereby linking culture to time, space, and what lies in-between. The term ''biskaabiiyang'' (

Anishinaabe The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawat ...

), used by

Dillon Dillon may refer to: People *Dillon (surname) * Dillon (given name) * Dillon (singer) (born 1988), Brazilian singer *Viscount Dillon, a title in the Peerage of Ireland Places Canada *Dillon, Saskatchewan United States *Dillon Beach, Californi ...

, exemplifies how Indigenous creators reflect on the impact of colonization by returning to their ancestral roots, conflating past with present and future, as well as reframing what the world would or could be like. In other words, Indigenous Futurisms do not solely address the future, but create a range of scenarios and phenomena in which reimaginations of space, time, and

Indigeneity Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

are celebrated.

Literature

A predominant source of Indigenous Futurism, literature lends itself to many aspects of this category. Many of the stories revolving around Indigenous Futurisms contain an Indigenous main character, however, this does not define the genre, when referring to literature in Indigenous Futurisms we are referring to the Author, or the conceptualized stories, as defined in Dr.

Grace Dillon Grace L. Dillon is an American academic and author. She is a professor in the Indigenous Nations Studies Program, in the School of Gender, Race, and Nations, at Portland State University. Similar to the concept of Afrofuturism, Dillon is best known ...

’s anthology. Literature is currently the most diverse subject in Indigenous Futurisms, from stories such as '' Trail of Lightning'' by Rebecca Roanhorse, an urban-fantasy set in the near future consumed by monsters, to books such as ''Love After the End,'' compiled by

Joshua Whitehead Joshua Whitehead is a Canadian First Nations, two spirit poet and novelist. An Oji-Cree member of the Peguis First Nation in Manitoba,CyberPowWow website, a site used for Native American artworks starting in 1997 to 2004. Many pieces of Indigenous Futurist artwork contain iconography or symbolism that reference Native American mythology or people. Another major facet of Indigenous Futurist artwork is the adaptation of existing culture and nomenclature. For instance, artist Bunky Echo-Hawk's “If Yoda was Indian” displays show a new perspective on

Yoda Yoda () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' universe, first appearing in the 1980 film ''The Empire Strikes Back''. He is a small, green humanoid alien who is powerful with the Force and is a leading member of the Jedi Order until it ...

from the franchise '' Star Wars''. Kristina Baudemann focuses on storytelling and art and the integration of science fiction into indigenous art in ''Indigenous Futurisms in North American Indigenous Art''. She says that indigenous people are resilient and sustainable and their art incorporates those characteristics.Baudemann, Kristina. (January 2016). ''Indigenous Futurisms in North American Indigenous Art''. Liverpool University. ''

Extrapolation In mathematics, extrapolation is a type of estimation, beyond the original observation range, of the value of a variable on the basis of its relationship with another variable. It is similar to interpolation, which produces estimates between know ...

'' Volume 57, Issue 1-2 One specific indigenous artist, Ryan Singer, of the Navajo nation, uses many different mediums of art to create his pieces. He has two pieces of Princess Leia, from the '' Star Wars'' series that portrays the princess as Hopi and shares the idea of decolonization. In his first painting, ''Hopi Princess Leia'' (2009),Singer, Ryan. (2009). ''Hopi Princess Leia''. Art. he shows the Hopi Princess Leia holding a gun pointing straight at the audience while also staring directly at the audience as well. In his second Hope Princess Leia, named ''Hopi Princess Leia II'' (2010),Singer, Ryan. (2010). ''Hopi Princess Leia II''. Art Leia is seen holding a bigger gun and still looking directly at the audience. Baudemann analyses this depiction and says it creates awareness of the colonial gaze, which is harmful to indigeneity. In these paintings Princess Leia is seen clad in a Hopi blanket, wearing the hairstyle typical to unmarried Hopi girls. She is in front of her pueblo homes protecting them with her gun. Baudemann emphasizes the idea that Hopi homes should be seen as homes and not monuments that can be looked at by outsiders and they should not be appropriated. Princess Leia, in the ''Star Wars'' movies, loves her home and tries her hardest to protect it which is why Singer chose princess Leia to be depicted in these paintings. Besides nominal artwork, Indigenous Futurisms are also displayed in film. A great example of Indigenous Futurisms rests in

FutureStates ITVS (Independent Television Service) is a service in the United States which funds and presents documentaries on public television through distribution by PBS and American Public Television, new media projects on the Internet, and the weekly ser ...

�
The 6th World
a short film that uses imagery, symbolism, and cultural practices of the Navajo people, in conjunction with the idea of colonizing

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

. Other interpretations in film include the 2021 television series Reservation Dogs, a show following Native American teenagers as they embark on a journey to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. Indigenous Futurisms in Film most commonly do not track or display Western wants and desires, and instead, reflect non-colonial encounters such as utopian sovereignty and dystopian assimilation. The continued development of Indigenous Futurist frameworks account for the diversity of creative efforts and histories between the Native American filmmakers and communities to influence the outside world. Some Indigenous Futurist films include:
Awakened
(2016)
The Burden of Being
(2020), directed by Rodrick Pocowatchit
The Path Without End
(2011), directed by Elizabeth Aileen LaPensée
The 6th World
(2012), directed by Nanobah Becker
Wakening
(2014) and Night Raiders (2021), directed by

Danis Goulet Danis Goulet (born 1977) is a Cree-Métis film director and screenwriter from Canada,Chris Knight"Danis Goulet's film a first for New Zealand-Canada Indigenous co-operation" ''National Post'', June 26, 2020. whose debut feature film '' Night Raide ...

Video Games

While not as prominent as literature, art, film, video games provide a more hands on approach to the teaching and display of Indigenous Futurism. Indigenous Futurist games range widely from games such as '' Thunderbird Strike,'' an action game where you take on the form of the legendary

Thunderbird Thunderbird, thunder bird or thunderbirds may refer to: * Thunderbird (mythology), a legendary creature in certain North American indigenous peoples' history and culture * Ford Thunderbird, a car Birds * Dromornithidae, extinct flightless birds ...

, gathering lightning to destroy mining equipment and factories on a terrorized and barren earth, to games such as '' Never Alone,'' which tells the story of a

Iñupiat The Iñupiat (or Inupiat, Iñupiaq or Inupiaq;) are a group of Alaska Natives, whose traditional territory roughly spans northeast from Norton Sound on the Bering Sea to the northernmost part of the Canada–United States border. Their current ...

person and an arctic fox as they explore a dire atmosphere and experience the mythology of the Alaskan natives for themselves.

Virtual Reality

Virtual reality (VR) is a medium in which the concept of screen sovereignty can be used to combat misrepresentation of Indigenous people in media. Indigenous VR makers are shaping the culture of technology through VR in order to properly represent Indigenous people and their culture. Currently, white media creators dominate the digital media field and digital technology industries. Indigenous Matriarch 4 is a virtual reality company that provides Indigenous people with the tools they need to participate in and remake the virtual world. Because Indigenous people are often misrepresented in media, VR has become a place to creatively express Native American culture and ideas. Indigenous VR has also provided Indigenous people with the opportunity to be leaders in a new technology field, and to be involved in technology fields that previously excluded them and that had very little representation of Native American and Indigenous communities. Virtual reality is being used to create space and capacity for Indigenous creatives to tell their stories. VR is used by many Indigenous practitioners to reimagine traditional storytelling and express themselves and their culture, promote health and wellbeing, and foster self-esteem and pride. New virtual platforms have also been created that retell significant moments in Indigenous history as well as connect to the present, like the platform AbTeC Island (Aboriginal Territories in Cyberspace). The 2167VR Project (2017), in partnership wit
The Initiative for Indigenous Futures (TIIF)
commissioned the works of many Indigenous artists such as

Kent Monkman Kent Monkman (born 13 November 1965) is a Canadian First Nations artist of Cree ancestry. He is a member of the Fisher River band situated in Manitoba's Interlake Region. He is both a visual as well as performance artist, working in a variety ...

, Postcommodity and Scott Benesiinaabandan, notable for his work
Blueberry Pie Under a Martian Sky
'. This immersive project exhibits virtual reality works set 150 years forward in time, paralleling Canada's 150th anniversary, each offering a different perspective on the role Indigenous peoples and identities will have in building the future.

Exhibitions

To increase this movement's visibility and bring attention to Indigenous voices, the

Institute of American Indian Arts The Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) is a public tribal land-grant college in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The college focuses on Native American art. It operates the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA), which is housed in the historic S ...

(IAIA) has established a branch, the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA), located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, which collects and exhibits over 10,000 Indigenous works. The MoCNA has an exhibition entitled ''Indigenous Futurisms,'' featuring the works of 27 contemporary Indigenous artists. Following the pandemic, the MoCNA has transferred the collection to an online gallery and made available a VR experience which the public can access through their devices.

Related movements

The term ''Indigenous Futurism'', more commonly written as ''Indigenous Futurisms'', was coined by Dr. Grace Dillon, professor in the Indigenous Nations Studies Program at Portland State University. The term was inspired by

Afrofuturism Afrofuturism is a cultural aesthetic, and philosophy of science and history that explores the intersection of the African diaspora culture with science and technology. It addresses themes and concerns of the African diaspora through technocultu ...

and Africanfuturism, all of which encapsulate multiple modes of art-making from literature to visual arts, fashion, and music. Indigenous Futurisms are also connected to Chicanafuturism, "a spectrum of speculative aesthetics produced by U.S. Latin@s, including Chican@s, Puerto Ricans, Dominican Americans, Cuban Americans, and other Latin American immigrant populations. It also includes innovative cultural productions stemming from the hybrid and fluid borderlands spaces, including the U.S.-Mexico border."

Criticism

Indigenous Futurisms as a term has received mixed feedback among Indigenous Brazilian musicians. Many Indigenous artists do not embrace this concept because they view preserving culture to be much more important than thinking about the future. For example, Indigenous rapper Kunumi MC, disagrees with the term, arguing that it is a white man's term unreflective of Indigenous people, saying: “We, native Indigenous people living in tribes, don’t think about the future,” he says. “The white man has a vision of progress, not us. Our progress is to preserve our culture ... to live in the present, I have to remember my past.”

Indigenous Futurists

Prominent artists working within the field of Indigenous Futurisms include

Loretta Todd Loretta Sarah Todd is a Canadian Indigenous film director. Her first dramatic feature, ''Monkey Beach,'' is based on the iconic novel by Eden Robinson, recently launched to a strong audience and critical response, screening at TIFF Industry Select ...

(Cree/Métis), a filmmaker who runs IM4, the Indigenous Matriarchs 4 XR Media Lab; Elizabeth LaPensée (Métis), a game designer and digital artist; Skawennati (Mohawk), a multimedia artist best known for her project ''TimeTraveller™'', a nine-episode machinima series that uses science fiction to examine

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

histories; * A Tribe Called Red, musicians *

Barry Ace Barry Ace (artist) (born 1958) is an Anishinaabe ( Odawa) photographic and multimedia artist and curator from Sudbury, Ontario. Ace's work includes mixed media paintings, and mixed media textile and sculptural work that combines traditional Anis ...

(Anishinaabe) multimedia artist based in Sudbury * KC Adams (Cree/Ojibway) multimedia artist based in Winnipeg * Jason Baerg (Métis), multimedia artist
Scott Benesiinaabandan
(Anishinaabe) intermedia artist based in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

* Roy Boney, Jr. (Cherokee Nation), animator, illustrator, comic artist, painter * Rosalie Favell (Métis/Cree) digital artist based in Ottawa * Jason Garcia (Santa Clara Pueblo), ceramic artist, painter, printmaker *

Jeffrey Gibson Jeffrey A. Gibson (born 1972)''U.S. Public Records Index'' Vol. 2 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2010. is an American Mississippi Choctaw/Cherokee painter, and sculptor. He has lived and worked in Brooklyn; Hudson, New York; and Ge ...

, (Mississippi Choctaw/Cherokee), painter and sculptor *

(Métis/Cree) filmmaker and screenwriter based in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Stephen Graham Jones Stephen Graham Jones is a Blackfoot Native American author of experimental fiction, horror fiction, crime fiction, and science fiction. Although his recent work is often classified as horror, he is celebrated for applying more "literary" stylings ...

(Blackfeet), author *

Cheryl l'Hirondelle Cheryl L'Hirondelle (also Waynohtêw, Cheryl Koprek; born September 20, 1958) is a Canadian multidisciplinary media artist, performer, and award-winning musician. She is of Métis/Cree (non-status/treaty), French, German, and Polish descent. Her ...

(non-status Métis descent), multimedia artist * Elizabeth LaPensée (Anishinaabe/Métis descent), and Irish game designer * Darcie Little Badger (Lipan Apache), author * Jamie Okuma (Luiseño/Shoshone-Bannock) beadwork artist and fashion designer *

Virgil Ortiz Virgil Ortiz (born 1969) is a Pueblo artist, known for his pottery and fashion design from Cochiti Pueblo, New Mexico. Ortiz makes a variety of pottery, including traditional Cochiti figurative pottery, experimental figurative pottery, traditiona ...

(Cochiti) ceramic sculptor and designer * Rodrick Pocowatchit (Comanche, Pawnee and Shawnee nations) filmmaker based in Kansas * Wendy Ponca (Osage), fashion designer, textile artist *

Wendy Red Star Wendy Red Star (born 1981) is an Apsáalooke contemporary multimedia artist born in Billings, Montana, in the United States. Her humorous approach and use of Native Americans in the United States, Native American images from traditional media dr ...

(Apsáalooke), installation artist, photographer. * Ryan Singer (Navajo), painter * Skawennati (Mohawk), multimedia artist * Will Wilson (Navajo), photographer * Bunky Echo-Hawk (Yakama and Pawnee) multimedia artist * Rebecca Roanhorse (non-enrolled Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo) author *

(Anishinaabe) anthropological professor at

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two decad ...

References

{{reflist, 30em

External links

Virtual reality environment of "Indigenous Futurisms: Transcending Past/Present/Future
at the

IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts The Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) is a public tribal land-grant college in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The college focuses on Native American art. It operates the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA), which is housed in the historic S ...

Art movements Futurism Indigenous art Indigenous mass media