Indigenous people in video games

Indigenous people have been involved in a range of video game projects where they have the opportunity to depict themselves. These games range in the style, from collaboration that involves consulting with a limited Indigenous people (including Assassin's Creed III) to games that are entirely developed and designed by Indigenous people, such as Never Alone and Thunderbird Strike.

• Aboriginal History Media Arts Lab{{Cite web|url=https://ammsa.com/publications/windspeaker/aboriginal-media-lab-be-used-challenge-stereotypes|title=Aboriginal media lab to be used to challenge stereotypes}} (Techno Medicine Wheel [2008] in a collaboration between Cease Wyss and Elizabeth LaPensée{{Cite web|last=Moulder|first=Victoria A.|date=2017|title=Transcoding Place Through Digital Media|url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/85004115.pdf}}{{Cite web|last1=LaPensée|first1=Elizabeth|last2=Moulder|first2=Vicki|date=2017|title=Walking and wiring the land: Indigenous art practice in games | ACM Interactions|url=https://interactions.acm.org/archive/view/january-february-2017/walking-and-wiring-the-land}})
• Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (Animism The Game [2010], Mawisowin [2012], and Your Mix [2008])
• Aboriginal Territories in Cyberspace Skins Workshops{{Cite web|url=https://www.rit.edu/gccis/gameeducationjournal/skins-designing-games-first-nations-youth|title=Skins: Designing Games with First Nations Youth | Journal of Game Design and Development Education|access-date=2020-04-25|archive-date=2020-07-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200712232040/https://www.rit.edu/gccis/gameeducationjournal/skins-designing-games-first-nations-youth|url-status=dead}} (Otsì:! Rise of the Kanien’kehá:ka Legends [2009],{{Cite web|url=https://mediaindigena.com/award-winners-2010-imaginenative-film-media-arts-festival/|title=Award Winners: 2010 imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival – mediaINDIGENA|date=25 October 2010 }} The Adventures of Skahiòn:hati: Legend of Stone Giant [2011], Skahiòn:hati: Rise of the Kanien’kehá:ka Legends [2012],{{Cite news|last=Sterritt|first=Angela|date=2014-01-04|title=Aboriginal communities in cyberspace|work=CBC|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/aboriginal-communities-in-cyberspace-1.2483001}} Ienién:te and the Peacemaker's Wampum [2013],{{cite web| url = https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.2483001| title = 302 Found}} He Ao Hou [2017],{{Cite web|url = https://indiegamesplus.com/2018/10/he-ao-hou-teaches-hawaiian-tradition-with-a-galactic-journey|title = 'He Ao Hou' Teaches Hawaiian Traditions with a Galactic Journey|date = 15 October 2018}}{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Wao Kanaka: Realm of the People [2018]{{Cite web|last=Martens|first=Todd|date=17 October 2019|title=Games offer an alternate, nuanced way to approach the climate crisis|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2019-10-17/games-offer-some-of-the-most-nuanced-takes-on-our-global-climate-crisis|website=Los Angeles Times}})
• Achimostawinan Games (Hill Agency: PURITY&decay [2023],{{Cite news|last=Johnson|first=Rhiannon|date=2017-10-14|title='Indigenous cybernoir': Video game designers crafting futuristic detective story|work=CBC|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/indigenous-female-game-designers-cybernoir-1.4354351}} Sealskin [2016]{{Cite web|last=Sinclair|first=Brendan|date=2020-03-31|title=Making Indigenous games won't limit their appeal|url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-03-31-making-indigenous-games-wont-limit-their-appeal|access-date=2021-12-28|website=GamesIndustry.biz|language=en}})
• Arviat Code Club{{Cite web|title=te(a)ch: Teaching code for youth empowerment and wellness|url=https://www.northernpublicaffairs.ca/index/volume-5-issue-2-innovations-in-community-health-and-wellness/teach-teaching-code-for-youth-empowerment-and-wellness/|access-date=2021-12-28|website=Northern Public Affairs|language=en-US}}
• Black Cherry Digital Productions (Path of the Elders [2010] in partnership between the Mushkegowuk Cree, Carlton University, and Pinegrove Productions){{Cite web|title=The First Mile: On the Path of The Elders|url=http://meeting.knet.ca/mp19/mod/resource/view.php?id=4016|access-date=2021-12-28|website=meeting.knet.ca}}
• Brujería at Werk (1870—Cyberpunk Forever [2018],{{Cite web|last=Kunzelman|first=Cameron|date=2018-09-14|title='1870' Reclaims a Cyberpunk Future from Colonial Wreckage|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/1870-reclaims-a-cyberpunk-future-from-colonial-wreckage/|access-date=2021-12-28|website=Vice|language=en}} Don't Wake the Night [2019]{{Cite web|last=Kunzelman|first=Cameron|date=2019-06-04|title='Don't Wake the Night' Tackles Morality Better Than Any AAA Game|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/dont-wake-the-night-tackles-morality-better-than-any-aaa-game/|access-date=2021-12-28|website=Vice.com|language=en}})
• Coyote Science Inc. (Coyote Quest [2017], a collaboration between Loretta Todd and Elizabeth LaPenséeArchived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211209/nYGmZp5RIu4 Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20201117084456/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYGmZp5RIu4 Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite AV media| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYGmZp5RIu4| title = Loretta Todd: Indigenous Storytelling In Cyberspace, Green College Leading Scholars' Series | website=YouTube}}{{cbignore}})
• Green Circle Productions (Manidoonsug: Little Spirits [2015] in consultation with Mississauga New Credit and Anishinaabe around the Greater Toronto Area{{Cite web|date=2015-07-23|title=Celebrating Indigenous Gaming and Comics|url=https://pinnguaq.com/stories/celebrating-indigenous-gaming-and-comic-books/|access-date=2021-12-28|website=Pinnguaq}})
• Guilherme Meneses (Huni Kuin [2016] in a collaboration with the Kanixawá tribe of Brazil and Peru{{Cite web|last=Dupere|first=Katie|date=2016-03-07|title=Indigenous tribe in Brazil creates video game to help preserve culture|url=https://mashable.com/article/indigenous-video-game-huni-kuin|access-date=2021-12-28|website=Mashable|language=en}}{{Cite news|date=2016-03-02|title=Indigenous people in Brazil help create computer game|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-35706657|access-date=2021-12-28}})
• Indian Land Tenure Foundation ([https://whenriversweretrails.gamepedia.com/When_Rivers_Were_Trails_Wiki When Rivers Were Trails] [2019] in collaboration with Elizabeth LaPensée and the Games for Entertainment and Learning Lab)
• Metia Interactive{{Cite web|last=Yanes|first=Nicholas|date=2019-02-25|title=Maru Nihoniho discusses Māori culture, New Zealand's gaming industry, Metia Interactive and her latest game "Guardian Maia"|url=https://www.scifipulse.net/maru-nihoniho-discusses-maori-culture-new-zealands-gaming-industry-metia-interactive-and-her-latest-game-guardian-maia/|access-date=2021-12-28|website=SciFiPulse.Net|language=en-US}} (Guardian Maia: Episode 1 [2019] and Episode 2 [forthcoming],{{Cite web|last=Newman|first=Heather|date=2018-12-12|title=How The Award-Winning Creator Of Cube And Tākaro Is Bringing Māori Culture To Video Games|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/hnewman/2018/12/12/how-the-award-winning-creator-of-cube-and-takaro-is-bringing-maori-culture-to-video-games-new-zeland-tech-scene/|access-date=2021-12-28|website=Forbes|language=en}} Maori Pa Wars: Indigenous Tower Defense{{Cite web|date=2018-09-05|title=Newest te reo Māori game app Māori Pā Wars launches|url=https://www.teaomaori.news/newest-te-reo-maori-game-app-maori-pa-wars-launches|access-date=2021-12-28|website=Māori Television|language=en}})
• Monigarr (Kakwitene VR [2019]{{Cite web|last=Greenwood|first=Michael|date=2018-09-18|title=North Country at Work: Akwesasne's Monica Peters designs virtual worlds|url=https://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/39534/20190918/north-country-at-work-akwesasne-s-monica-peters-designs-virtual-worlds|access-date=2021-12-28|website=NCPR}})
• Northern Plains Games (Tipi Kaga [2019]){{cite web | url=https://www.kipiradio.com/lakota-game-developer-carl-petersen-makes-international-debut-of-tipi-kaga/ | title=Lakota game developer Carl Petersen makes international debut of Tipi Kaga | KIPI Radio | 93.5 FM | date=12 November 2019 }}
• Ogoki Learning Systems (Babaamosedaa Let's Go for a Walk [2014], Brokenhead Bingo [2015], and Rez Bomb [2015]{{Cite news|last=Dadigan|first=Marc|title=Learning a Native Language? Ojibway Programmer Has an App For That|url=https://indiancountrytoday.com/archive/learning-a-native-language-ojibway-programmer-has-an-app-for-that|access-date=2021-12-28|newspaper=Ict News|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=2012-05-16|title=Ogoki Learning Systems Inc. – The Ojibway Language App – FirstMile|url=http://firstmile.ca/ogoki-learning-systems-inc-the-ojibway-language-app/|access-date=2021-12-28|language=en-CA}})
• [https://www.raanaa.no/en/index.html Raanaa - The Shaman Girl], episodes 1-6 (Miksapix Interactive [Android/iOS, 2017-2023 ], idea developed by indigenous Sámi Mikkel Sara & written by Teresá Joret Mariánná ((Marjaana Auranen)), developed by Red Stage Entertainment)
• Raindrop Games (Arrival: Village Kasike [2012] partnered with Roberto Mukaro Borrero and the United Confederation of Taino People{{cite web| url = http://uctp.blogspot.ca/2012_11_01_archive.html| title = The Voice of the Taino People Online: November 2012}})
• Revolve (Music Mogul [2014] with Indigenous musicians including A Tribe Called Red, Elisapie, Joey Stylez, [http://music.cbc.ca/#!/artists/Madeskimo Madeskimo], and Red City{{Cite news|last=Wheeler|first=Kim|date=2015-02-07|title=Music Mogul designed to teach indigenous students business skills|work=CBC|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/music-mogul-designed-to-teach-indigenous-students-business-skills-1.2944805}})
• [https://www.skabma.com/ Skábma - Snowfall] (Red Stage Entertainment [2022], with indigenous Sámi co-owner & writer Teresá Joret Mariánná and Northern Sámi artists and voice-actors)
• Silver Spook Games (Neofeud 1 [2020],{{Cite web|date=2018-02-06|title=Neofeud - A Dystopic Cyberpunk adventure - REVIEW|url=https://indiegamebuzz.com/neofeud-a-dystopic-cyberpunk-adventure-indie-game-review/|access-date=2021-12-28|website=Indie Game Buzz|language=en-CA}} Neofeud 2 [forthcoming])
• SlipCycle (Terra Nova [2019]){{Cite news|last=Muzyka|first=Kyle|title=Telling the story of first contact ... with a futuristic video game|work=CBC|url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved/looking-towards-the-future-indigenous-futurism-in-literature-music-film-and-fashion-1.5036479/telling-the-story-of-first-contact-with-a-futuristic-video-game-1.5047127}}{{Cite web|date=2019-11-13|title=Concordia graduating student's Indigenous video game wins a major prize - Terra Nova invites players to experience first contact between settlers and Indigenous people in the future|url=https://educationnewscanada.com/social/h53w/article/education/region/Quebec/26/799772/-Terra-Nova-invites-players-to-experience-first-contact-between-settlers-and-Indigenous-people-in-the-future.htm|access-date=2021-12-28|website=Education News Canada|language=en}}
• Upper One Games (Never Alone [2014]{{Cite web|last=Hannah Jane|first=Parkinson|date=2014-09-29|title=Alaska's indigenous game Never Alone teaches co-operation through stories|url=http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/29/never-alone-alaskas-indigenous-game-never-alone-teaches-cooperation-through-stories|access-date=2021-12-28|website=The Guardian|language=en}})
• Veselekov (Umurangi Generation [2020]{{Cite web|last=Lewis|first=Celia|date=2020-05-31|title=The Umurangi Generation is Asking You To Care|url=https://medium.com/vistas-mag/the-umurangi-generation-is-asking-you-to-care-e9d02c5d2fff|access-date=2021-12-28|website=Vista Magazine|language=en}})
• Virtual Songlines{{Cite news|last=Morris|first=Nathan|date=2018-09-18|title=Using new tech to preserve an ancient culture|language=en-AU|work=ABC News|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-19/new-tech-for-ancient-culture-preserving-aboriginal-heritage/10264432|access-date=2021-12-28}} (Virtual Awaba [2018]https://lakemactoday.com.au/2018/07/10/taking-a-journey-back-in-time/{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }})
• Wisdom of the Elders with Elizabeth LaPensée (Survivance [2011]{{Cite web|last=LaPensée|first=Elizabeth|date=2013|title=Survivance: An Indigenous Game for Change|url=https://www.neliufpe.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/13.pdf}})
• Yijala Yala Productions, part of Big hART (Love Punks [2012]{{Cite web|last=Matheson|first=Jesse|date=2021-11-01|title=The Rise of Indigenous Storytelling in Games|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2015/01/16/the-rise-of-indigenous-storytelling-in-games|access-date=2021-12-28|website=IGN|language=en}})

There are also numerous video games which include or have been fully translated into Indigenous languages. MoniGarr produces many Indigenous language games for multiple platforms.{{Cite web|last=Beer|first=Molly C.|date=2020-02-25|title=The next chapter of Indigenous representation in video games|url=https://www.polygon.com/features/2020/2/25/21150973/indigenous-representation-in-video-games|access-date=2021-12-28|website=Polygon|language=en-US}} Both of the video games made by kānaka maoli participants of the Skins Video Game workshops held in Hawai'i, He Ao Hou [2017] and Wao Kanaka: Realm of the People [2018], were designed so that the player can play in ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i as well as in English. Similarly, Karihonniennihtshera (Teachings) by Kahentawaks Tiewishaw can be played in English, wherein it teaches the player how to identify flora and fauna in the Kanien’kéha language, or played entirely in Kanien’kéha.

Adventure game Skábma - Snowfall was translated and voice-acted in endangered Norther Sámi language. The game was awarded as a Nordic Game of The Year and The Best Art awards in Nordic Game and The Best Creative Achievement of the Year 2022 in Finnish Game Award 2023. Northern Sámi language option is also included to Raanaa - The Shaman Girl game.

Full immersion is a design preference for some Indigenous game developers. Honour Water [2016]{{Cite journal|last=LaPensée|first=Elizabeth|date=2018-09-01|title=Honour water: Gameplay as a pathway to Anishinaabeg water teachings|url=https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/des/article/view/30405|journal=Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society|language=en|volume=7|issue=1|pages=115–130|issn=1929-8692}} is a singing game entirely in Anishinaabemowin, much like the virtual reality game Along the River of Spacetime [2020].{{Cite web|last=Richards|first=Sierra|date=2018-04-23|title=Professor LaPensée Wins Guggenheim Fellowship Award|url=https://cal.msu.edu/news/professor-lapensee-wins-guggenheim-fellowship-award/|access-date=2021-12-28|website=College of Arts & Letters|language=en-US}} Carl Petersen emphasizes full immersion in his games, which include Lakota instructions.{{Cite web|url=https://indianyouth.org/news/detail/carl-petersen-develops-a-lakota-video-game-to-revitalize-language|title=Carl Petersen Develops a Lakota Video Game to Revitalize Language | Running Strong|website=indianyouth.org}}

In addition, there are games that have been localized to Indigenous languages. For example, Pinnguaq localized Osmos and Ittle Dew to Inuktitut{{Cite web|url=https://pinnguaq.com/work/game-app-development|title=Apps|website=Pinnguaq}} and Mushroom 11 [2015] is available in Inuktitut and Algonquin.

Obsidian's expansion for Fallout: New Vegas, Honest Hearts, features tribals living in Zion National Park who have developed a language that is a fusion of English, German, and Navajo.

Research of Indigenous video games, ranging from representations to design and development, are on the rise. In 2017, Indigenous Studies journal Transmotion devoted a special issue to such research.Transmotion 3:1 (2017) {{cite web| url = https://journals.kent.ac.uk/index.php/transmotion/issue/view/25| title = Vol 3 No 1 (2017): Indigenous Gaming - guest edited by Elizabeth LaPensée {{!}} Transmotion}}

Scholars vary in their fields, methods, and topics. Dean Mahuta (Māori){{Cite journal|url=https://ojs.aut.ac.nz/te-kaharoa/index.php/tekaharoa/article/view/101|title=Māori in video games - A digital identity|first=Dean|last=Mahuta|date=January 25, 2012|journal=Te Kaharoa|volume=5|issue=1|via=ojs.aut.ac.nz|doi=10.24135/tekaharoa.v5i1.101|doi-access=free}} studies games in which Māori represent themselves. Outi Laiti (Sámi) does similar work for Sámi representations while also participating in game jams as interventions.{{Cite journal|url=https://ijme-journal.org/index.php/ijme/article/view/1728|title=Social Aspects of Learning: Sámi People in the Circumpolar North|first1=Outi Kaarina|last1=Laiti|first2=Satu-Maarit|last2=Frangou|date=March 4, 2019|journal=International Journal of Multicultural Education|volume=21|issue=1|pages=5–21|via=ijme-journal.org|doi=10.18251/ijme.v21i1.1728|doi-access=free}} Researchers including Deborah Madsen{{Cite journal|url=https://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:100383|title=The Mechanics of Survivance in Indigenously-Determined Video-Games: Invaders and Never Alone|first=Deborah Lea|last=Madsen|date=April 25, 2017|journal=Transmotion|volume=3|issue=2|pages=79|via=archive-ouverte.unige.ch}}{{Cite web|url=https://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:110579|title=Playing with Form: Elizabeth La Pensée's Indigenously-Determined Video-Games|first=Deborah Lea|last=Madsen|date=April 25, 2018|via=archive-ouverte.unige.ch}} and Michelle Lee Brown{{Cite journal|url=https://journals.kent.ac.uk/index.php/transmotion/article/view/257|title=Never Alone: (Re)Coding the Comic Holotrope of Survivance|first=Michelle Lee|last=Brown|date=July 31, 2017|journal=Transmotion|volume=3|issue=1|pages=22|via=journals.kent.ac.uk}} have analyzed design in Indigenous games from an Indigenous lens. Elizabeth LaPensée looks at design and development processes as a designer,{{Cite web|url=http://analoggamestudies.org/2016/03/indigenous-board-game-design-in-the-gift-of-food/|title=Indigenous Board Game Design in The Gift of Food | Analog Game Studies}}{{Cite journal|url=https://journals.kent.ac.uk/index.php/transmotion/article/view/243|title=Transformations and Remembrances in the Digital Game We Sing for Healing|first=Elizabeth A.|last=LaPensee|date=July 31, 2017|journal=Transmotion|volume=3|issue=1|pages=89|via=journals.kent.ac.uk}}{{Cite journal|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/669726|title=Relationality in Indigenous Food and Medicine Games|first=Elizabeth|last=LaPensée|date=September 13, 2017|journal=Resilience: A Journal of the Environmental Humanities|volume=4|issue=2|pages=191–200|doi=10.5250/resilience.4.2-3.0191|s2cid=148910578|via=Project MUSE|url-access=subscription}}{{Cite journal|url=https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/des/article/view/30405|title=Honour water|first=Elizabeth|last=LaPensée|date=September 1, 2018|journal=Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society|volume=7|issue=1|pages=115–130|via=jps.library.utoronto.ca}}{{Cite journal|title=When Rivers Were Trails: cultural expression in an indigenous video game|first=Elizabeth|last=LaPensée|date=March 29, 2020|journal=International Journal of Heritage Studies|volume=27|issue=3|pages=281–295|doi=10.1080/13527258.2020.1746919| issn=1352-7258 |s2cid=216196579}} reinforced by work by Gabriel de los Angeles, Jeanette Bushnell, Jonathan Tomhave,{{Cite journal|url=https://journals.kent.ac.uk/index.php/transmotion/article/view/251|title=How do you say watermelon?|first1=Jonathan|last1=Tomhave|first2=Jeanette|last2=Bushnell|first3=Tylor|last3=Prather|date=July 31, 2017|journal=Transmotion|volume=3|issue=1|pages=45|via=journals.kent.ac.uk}} and Maize Longboat.{{Cite thesis|url=https://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/985763/|title=Terra Nova: Enacting Videogame Development through Indigenous-Led Creation|first=Maize|last=Longboat|date=August 25, 2019|publisher=Concordia University|type=masters|via=spectrum.library.concordia.ca}}

Player-oriented research seeks to understand how Indigenous games are received,{{Cite web|url=https://mediatropes.com/index.php/Mediatropes/issue/view/2235|title=Vol 7 No 2 (2020): Oil and Media, Oil as Media: Mediating Petrocultures Then and Now | MediaTropes|website=mediatropes.com}} both by wider audiences{{Cite journal|url=https://www.academia.edu/41716509|title="Indigenizing Education with the Game When Rivers Were Trails." Amerikastudien / American Studies. 64.1 (2019): 75-93. Print.|first1=Nichlas|last1=Emmons|first2=Elizabeth|last2=LaPensée|journal=Amerikastudien / American Studies|date=January 2019|volume=64|issue=1|page=75|doi=10.33675/AMST/2019/1/8|s2cid=231212050|via=www.academia.edu|doi-access=free}} as well as Indigenous players. Related, Jakub Majewski's research examines how Australian Aboriginal gamers portray themselves through role-playing games,{{Cite journal|url=https://research.bond.edu.au/en/publications/transmitting-and-preserving-cultural-knowledge-through-open-world|title=Transmitting and preserving cultural knowledge through open-world role-playing games|first=Jakub|last=Majewski|date=April 25, 2014|journal=Role of Higher Education Institutions in Society: Challenges, Tendencies and Perspectives|volume=1|issue=3|pages=130–136|via=research.bond.edu.au}}{{Cite journal|url=https://www.academia.edu/35706377|title=The Potential for Modding Communities in Cultural Heritage|first=Jakub|last=Majewski|journal=The Interactive Past: Archaeology, Heritage, and Video Games|date=January 2017|via=www.academia.edu}} while Naithan Lagace studies how Indigenous representations in commercial games affect Indigenous players.{{Cite web|url=https://mspace.lib.umanitoba.ca/handle/1993/33700|title = Indigenous Representations and the Impacts of Video Games Media on Indigenous Identity|year = 2018|last1 = Lagace|first1 = Naithan}}

Further research discusses copyright, protection of Indigenous knowledge, and appropriate portrayal of Indigenous cultures in regards to video games.{{Cite book|last1=Ariese|first1=Csilla E.|url=https://www.academia.edu/33084726|title=The Interactive Past: Archaeology, Heritage & Video Games|last2=Politopoulos|first2=Aris|last3=Mol|first3=Angus}}{{Cite journal|url=https://www.academia.edu/33180968|title=Oldest Culture, Newest Medium: What Emerges from the Clash?|first=Jakub|last=Majewski|date=17 November 2016|via=www.academia.edu}}

• Race and video games
• Indigenous Futurisms
• List of Native American video game characters

{{Reflist|32em}}

Category:Indigenous peoples

Category:Video game culture