Indigenous People and Mobile Technologies

Abstract

In the rich tradition of mobile communication studies and new media, this volume examines how mobile technologies are being embraced by Indigenous people all over the world. As mobile phones have revolutionized society both in developed and developing countries, so Indigenous people are using mobile devices to bring their communities into the twenty-first century. The explosion of mobile devices and applications in Indigenous communities addresses issues of isolation and building an environment for the learning and sharing of knowledge, providing support for cultural and language revitalization, and offering the means for social and economic renewal. This book explores how mobile technologies are overcoming disadvantage and the tyrannies of distance, allowing benefits to flow directly to Indigenous people and bringing wide-ranging changes to their lives. It begins with general issues and theoretical perspectives followed by empirical case studies that include the establishment of Indigenous mobile networks and practices, mobile technologies for social change and, finally, the ways in which mobile technology is being used to sustain Indigenous culture and language.

Tecnología e identidad: el caso de los inuit y Facebook

“…La forma en que poblaciones indígenas alrededor del mundo usan TICs ha sido discutida en varios volúmenes (por ejemplo, Dyson et al 2015;Landzelius 2006;Dyson et al 2006), en múltiples artículos académicos (por ejemplo, Molyneaux, et al, 2012;Carpenter, et al 2013;McMahon, 2013;Srinivasan, 2006Srinivasan, , 2012Taylor, 2012, Young-Ing, 2003 y no académicos (por ejemplo, Taylor, 2011;Krebs, 2011). Estos autores y críticos básicamente han explorado la apropiación de TICs para establecer y negociar identidad en un mundo globalizado, y como herramientas que pueden ser utilizadas para la transmisión y conservación cultural 2 .…”

Inuit Identity and Technology: An Exploration of the Use of Facebook by Inuit Youth

“…In this sense, there has been a consensus among scholars that communication technologies are channels through which indigenous peoples can transmit their culture, interpret their position, claim citizenship, envision their future and convey their concerns to the world in their own terms (see Wilson and Stewart, 2008;Ginsburg, 1994Ginsburg, , 2008Budka, 2009aBudka, , 2009bDyson and Underwood, 2006;Dyson et al, 2007;Santo, 2008;Krone, 2008Krone, , 2007Landzelius, 2001Landzelius, , 2003bLandzelius, , 2006Nathan, 2000;Prins, 2000;Gearhard, 2005;Alexander et al, 2010;Scobie and Wachowich, 2010). The Internet and social networks exponentially expand channels of communication, as each user has the possibility to communicate her own perspective on what is to be Inuit through Web 2.0 and through an online social network site such as Facebook.…”

“…There is no identity-loss in this appropriation of the internet 13 , but an enhancement of possibilities for the development of a culture (Landzelius, 2003). Dyson and Underwood (2006) and Budka et al (2009) find that indigenous peoples basically use the Internet in the same way as mainstream society 14 while establishing websites and other uses with their own specific content. These concerns involve issues that go from language and cultural revitalization 15 , to tele-health, and the remembrance of the past 16 (see McMahon, 2013).…”

“…Other scholars (e.g. Dyson and Underwood 2006;Gearherad 2005;Nathan, 2000;Landzelius, 2006Landzelius, , 2003, however, have indicated that the internet's hyper textual architecture could be interpreted as compatible with the way indigenous peoples learn and relate to the world. Mass self-communication as a product of online social network sites bring new ways of interaction with people as well as a wide array of activities that can be performed on Facebook's multimedia interface, such as sharing pictures and chatting.…”

“…It is interesting to examine the use of Facebook as a tool for communication in the Arctic given its extensive use by Inuit people and the fact this issue has not been directly researched; this thesis aims at filling that gap. In spite of the lack of official quantitative information regarding the uses of information and communication technologies in Nunavut, it only takes some time surfing through different pages in Facebook, or looking at Nunavut's news sites such as Nunatsiaq News to see how Facebook has acquired relevance regarding communications across the territory and the organization of online technologies (Ginsburg, 1991;Krone, 2007Krone, , 2008Evans, 2002;Santo, 2008;Nathan, 2000;Dyson and Underwood, 2006;Fair, 2000;Ess, 2005). These authors propose that indigenous peoples accessing media could result in the loss of culture and that they could be "further colonized".…”