Akin to the coming together of two distinct river-like bodies of flowing knowledge, Back to Indigenous Futures “meets” interdisciplinary academic culture and Traditional Ecological Knowledge at the confluence of Dakota and Micronesian projects of shared cultural revitalization.
We seek to enhance capacity for a changing world and foster just and equitable societies.
We seek to build resilient communities, redress debilitating social effects of settler colonialism, and stimulate and model new forms of academic knowledge and research practice.
Back to Indigenous Futures is driven by an interdisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Minnesota, in collaboration with Dakota and Micronesian community partners. Funded by the Provost’s Grand Challenges grant, in response to the challenge “Enhancing Individual and Community Capacity for a Changing World.”
Traditional Ecological Knowledges with Dakota and Micronesian communities supporting indigenous collaborations including through traditional welcoming protocols and ceremonies
Using embodied computing, virtual reality and community-based participatory design and architecture to reconnect to indigenous land and seascapes and create future buildings and landscapes