Biskaabiiyaang: Creating a Path Towards Healing and Reconciliation

Brief Overview

“Biskaabiiyaang: Creating a path towards Healing and Reconciliation” is an Indigenous metaverse that provides participants with an opportunity to take a journey of healing and reconciliation together, by experiencing culturally based healing practices, language reclamation, and virtual teachings from Elders. This project serves as a place where anyone, Indigenous or non-Indigenous, from Youth to Elders can learn about Anishinaabe culture and Anishinaabemowin in an interactive way that is suitable for different methods of learning.

Biskaabiiyaang is an Anishinaabemowin concept that describes that moment of returning home after a long journey. This concept is suitable for our long journey towards Truth and Reconciliation, given the harmful legacy of colonialism. A metaverse is a virtual landscape where versions of real-world landscapes and realities can be accessed anywhere in the world with technology such as computers, phones, and other smart devices.

The research in this project is built through balanced reciprocity where communities share lived experience, and further one another’s understanding of what constitutes a healthy community.

Goals and Outcomes:

1. Prioritizing an inclusive approach by including Indigenous women, Two-Spirited people, youth, and those who identify as Disabled across several Indigenous communities to help inform and advise the planning process
2. Create and sustain an Indigenous metaverse as a vehicle for Indigenous community members to engage with culture-based healing practices and language reclamation
3. Inviting Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples to collaboratively generate a path forward rooted in dignity, peace, and prosperity
4. Provide mentoring and training in the creative tech industry

In partnership with the Truth and Reconciliation Network Coordination Hub, this project continues to share knowledge through one-pagers, YouTube tutorials, social media, and other materials listed.

Links and Resources

Information about the game

• Webpage for more information on the game
• sweetgrassteachings.com

External Media

• CBC site link
• Biskaabiiyaang’s presentation at the International Orkney Science Festival 2024
  • Orkney’s official page for the session
  • The live recording is available here
  • Blog page about the presentation
• UniVirtual (Biskaabiiyaang project partner and technical service provider) blog detailing the technical development of the Biskaabiiyaang demo and their ongoing relationship-building with Indigenous community through Nokiiwin Tribal Council

Who’s Involved

• Primary Investigator: Maya Chacaby
• Rebecca Caines
• Robyn O’Loughlin
• Community Parterns:
  • Nokiiwin Tribal Council
  • Audrey Gilbeau

Updates

• Biskaabiiyaang Demo Launch: The Biskaabiiyaang demo introduces you to the virtual world of the Indigenous Metaverse through an orientation campsite area and trail. It helps players get to grips with traversing terrain, discovering hidden objects, and learning Anishinaabemowin along the way. In it, you can explore post-apocalyptic ruins and learn how Indigenous history and culture plays a part in returning magic and beauty to this virtual world. You can download and play now here.
• Two: Spirit Builder Training & Sweetgrass Activity: Recently, we honoured the Spirit Builder training that is at the heart of the Biskaabiiyaang project for Nokiiwin Day (18 June). Our blog about it is here and there’s additional info at the Nokiiwin website here which includes information on how to become a Spirit Builder.