The interactive VR experience Biidaaban: First Light by Anishinaabe filmmaker Lisa Jackson offers a powerful meditation on Indigenous futurism, relationality, and cultural resurgence. Set in a rewilded future Toronto, the experience is narrated in Indigenous languages (Anishinaabemowin, Wendat, and Mohawk) and invites viewers to witness a world where the natural environment has reclaimed the city. Rather than following a linear or individual-driven plot, the story is spatial and experiential, deeply rooted in traditional Indigenous storytelling values such as interdependence, cyclical time, and the living memory of land. It challenges Western storytelling conventions by centering silence, presence, and ancestral continuity, suggesting that the past, present, and future coexist in ways that are deeply Indigenous. In this sense, it incorporates traditional practices while also reshaping them through the possibilities of immersive, digital narrative.
The digital medium is integral to Biidaaban’s effectiveness. Through the VR format, users don’t just watch or listen, they inhabit the story. This embodiment transforms storytelling from passive to participatory, reflecting the Indigenous emphasis on experiential knowledge. It helps preserve traditional narratives by embedding them in a form that can reach new generations and wider audiences while also transforming how these stories are accessed through digital immersion rather than oral transmission alone. The work exemplifies digital sovereignty by giving Indigenous creators full control over the story’s content, language, and form. It reflects decolonization by rejecting settler ideas of linear progress and instead visualizing a future rooted in Indigenous knowledge systems, values, and presence.
One of the key strengths of using digital media here is its ability to bridge cultural expression with technological innovation, affirming that Indigenous knowledge is not stuck in the past but is dynamic and future-facing. The interactive format makes the story tactile and emotional, fostering empathy and deeper understanding among diverse viewers. However, the high-tech nature of the medium also brings limitations: access to VR is still restricted, especially in rural or underserved Indigenous communities, and there's always the danger of decontextualizing cultural elements when stories are consumed outside of their intended protocols. Still, Biidaaban: First Light stands as a compelling example of how new media, when led by Indigenous voices, can serve as a powerful tool for cultural reclamation, narrative sovereignty, and imaginative decolonization.
References
Jackson, L. (Director). (2018). Biidaaban: First Light [Interactive virtual reality experience]. National Film Board of Canada. https://www.nfb.ca/interactive/biidaaban_first_light/
Filmmaker Magazine. (2018, April 25). “Our culture is in our language”: Lisa Jackson on her VR film Biidaaban: First Light and Indigenous futurism. https://filmmakermagazine.com/105184-our-culture-is-in-our-language-lisa-jackson-on-her-vr-film-biidaaban-first-light-and-indigenous-futurism/
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