Reflecting on Indigenous Storytelling in the Digital Space - Jon Gelinas

There are so many inspiring Indigenous works that I wasn’t sure where to begin with this assignment. My first thought was to write about Cole Pauls, a Tahltan comic artist and illustrator from Haines Junction in the Yukon. His Dakwäkãda Warriors work and ideas on Indigenous Futurism evoke the early Afro-Futurism of Sun Ra and Parliament-Funkadelic, continuing into contemporary artists like Janelle Monáe and Erykah Badu, as well as informing the aesthetic of Marvel’s Black Panther movies. I’m excited to see how Paul's work will develop, though unfortunately, his creations—despite their futuristic themes—do not yet have digital adaptations.

Next, I considered Spotted Fawn Productions and their recent film Inkwo: For When the Starving Return, which I had the pleasure of watching at the Available Light Film Festival (ALFF) this past February. ALFF is presented by the Yukon Film Society, an organization where I’ve had the privilege of serving on the board for several years. One of my fellow longtime board members is filmmaker Carol Geddes, a remarkable artist (who happen to be indigenous) who has recently become Chancellor of Yukon University. I realized I’ve never taken the time to explore her filmography and diving into her catalogue felt like an overdue step and something closer to the traditional territories of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation and Ta’an Kwäch’än Council where I have the honour to live, work and play. 

Geddes’ documentary Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief pays tribute to Indigenous women everywhere by profiling five remarkable individuals who overcame systemic barriers to thrive in non-traditional professions like law and education. Her work exemplifies Indigenous visual sovereignty, emphasizing that storytelling is not just a cultural practice but a tool for self-determination and decolonization. As Geddes herself notes, “Through film and telling our stories, we are taking our place as distinct cultures in Canada” (McGeough, 2023). 

This documentary helps preserve knowledge and serves as a resource for fostering intergenerational and intercultural relationships. By sharing these women’s personal experiences and traditional knowledge through a medium enriched with images, sound, and music, it honours Indigenous storytelling practices rooted in relationality and reciprocity, while adapting them to contemporary forms. As one Elder expressed, “Our ancestors used to teach us lessons by telling stories, and that’s what legends are about” (Hausknecht et al., 2021).

Through Gedde’s film we see how digital media can preserve cultural narratives while transforming them into multimodal experiences that resonate with younger generations. These efforts embody principles of digital sovereignty by ensuring Indigenous communities retain control over their stories However, they also highlight challenges such as resource dependency and the risk of losing contextual nuances inherent in oral storytelling  (Hausknecht et al., 2021). Yet, as Geddes asserts, storytelling reinforces cultural power: “It is through hearing those stories that ideas are reinforced” (McGeough, 2023). This underscores why initiatives like hers are vital for preserving Indigenous identity in both physical and virtual spaces.

REFERENCES

McGeough, M. (2023, February 8). Carol Geddes: Haat kanadaayí géide kei nañúý. Harbour Collective. https://harbourcollective.ca/carol-geddes-haat-kanadaayi-geide-kei-nanuy/​Harbour Collective+1Harbour Collective+1

National Film Board of Canada. (n.d.). Carol Geddes. https://www.nfb.ca/directors/carol-geddes/

Simone Hausknecht, Shannon Freeman, Jenny Martin, Carrie Nash & Kelly Skinner (2021) Sharing Indigenous Knowledge through intergenerational digital storytelling: Design of a workshop engaging Elders and youth, Educational Gerontology, 47:7, 285-296, DOI: 10.1080/03601277.2021.1927484

Spotted Fawn Productions. (n.d.). INKW | Spotted Fawn Productions. https://www.spottedfawnproductions.com/inkwo/

Tundra Wizard. (n.d.). Tundra Wizard. https://tundrawizard.com/

Yukon Film Society. (n.d.-a). Yukon Film Society. https://yukonfilmsociety.com/

Yukon Film Society. (n.d.-b). Available Light Film Festival. https://yukonfilmsociety.com/alff

Yukon University. (2024, October). Yukon University installs Carol Geddes as Chancellor. https://www.yukonu.ca/news/202410/yukon-university-installs-carol-geddes-chancellor

YouTube. (2023, May 23). Carol Geddes: Northern Indigenous storyteller | Unikkausivut – National Film Board of Canada [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeRS42o3H-k