User:Samirasrour/Indigenous Futurisms

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, distant and near futures, separate timelines, time travel, the multiverse, and other topics in which time is not limited to a linear conceptualization. Historical themes of colonialism, imperialism, genocide, 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), used by Dillon, 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 are celebrated.

Art and Film

 * 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

Virtual Reality
The 2167VR Project (2017), in partnership with The Initiative for Indigenous Futures (TIIF), commissioned the works of many Indigenous artists such as Danis Goulet, Kent Monkman, 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.

Indigenous Futurists

 * Barry Ace (Anishinaabe) multimedia artist based in Sudbury
 * Scott Benesiinaabandan (Anishinaabe) intermedia artist based in Montreal
 * Danis Goulet (Métis/Cree) filmmaker and screenwriter based in Toronto
 * Rosalie Favell (Métis/Cree) digital artist based in Ottawa
 * Rodrick Pocowatchit (Comanche, Pawnee and Shawnee nations) filmmaker based in Kansas

Exhibitions
To increase this movement's visibility and bring attention to Indigenous voices, the Institute of American Indian Arts (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.