Matrix will be hosting a half day symposium on broadening perspectives on data and computing October 3, 2024 at the ECS plenary room, ECS 660.

Please register via: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/matrix-fall-symposium-broadening-computing-and-data-science-tickets-1014992027477

Schedule:

11:15-11:30 Coffee
11:30 Opening
11:30-12:30 keynote – Jon Corbett
Lunch Break – food provided
1:15-2:00pm – Breakout – Now What?

Keynote Abstract: Indigenous Epistemologies in Modern Computing

Indigenous epistemologies offer unique insights that can enrich our understanding of technology. While western perspectives have dominated technological advancements, Indigenous knowledge systems, rooted in oral history, storytelling, and ceremony, provide alternative ways of understanding the world. These systems often employ language that western culture might perceive as metaphorical, but for Indigenous peoples these uses of language reflect our realities of lived experience. And, by prioritizing community, collaboration, and shared resources over capitalist-driven enterprise, we can develop more inclusive and equitable computing technologies.It is these examinations of modern computing seen through an Indigenous lens that reveal valuable concepts of interconnectedness and interdependence that can, for example, inform our understanding of network structures and data flows. Similarly, an Indigenous emphasis on both cyclical and non-linear concepts of time combined with ancestral knowledge can offer new perspectives on data storage and retrieval.Exploring the intersection of Indigenous knowledge systems and modern computing by prioritizing community, collaboration, and shared resources over capitalist-driven enterprise, provides a rich and multifaceted perspective to computing. By examining how Indigenous ways of knowing can inform our understanding of technology, we can gain valuable insights, develop more inclusive and equitable technologies, and ultimately contribute to a more just and sustainable future.

Bio
Jon Corbett is a nehiyaw-Métis (Cree/English) computational media artist, professional computer programmer, and assistant professor with Lived Indigenous Experience in the School of Interactive Art & Technology at Simon Fraser University.
He holds a BFA from the University of Alberta in Art and Design, an MFA from the University of British Columbia in Interdisciplinary Studies, and is currently a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of British Columbia.
His research focuses on Indigenous forms of expression through “Indigitalization,” which he describes as a computational creative practice that braids together Indigenous and decolonial computing practices facilitated through traditional and computer-based expressive media art forms. He explores and (re)constructs Indigenous digital identity by prototyping computational models of Indigeneity using culture, kinships, histories, and relations with land.

His research products thus far include a nehiyaw-based programming language, physical hardware designs for the nehiyaw syllabic orthography, and software/application solutions that use Indigenous storywork as design tools. In addition to being showcased in several books and articles, his artwork has been featured at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in New York City, NY, and the Biennale d’art contemporain autochtone / Contemporary Native Art Biennial (BACA) in Montreal, QC.