Indigenous Video Games
Kathy-Anne Gabrielle Hughes

Within the HERITALES (2nd International Heritage Film festival), a conference will be given on September 21 entitled Indigenous Video Games, by Kathy-Anne Gabrielle Hughes, from USA. 

Indigenous video games challenge assumptions about authenticity and protection for Indigenous heritage. In making accessible and engaging content, video games made by, for and with Indigenous communities foster public awareness and understanding, offering an alternative to the shallow and often offensive representations of Indigeneity put forth by mainstream video games and other forms of media. Video games offer opportunities to represent Indigenous traditions and knowledges in a manner approved and controlled by Indigenous creators and communities. They project our voices the digital, global stage, and create a space for education and activism through engaging, empathic play. Although technology is often viewed as a threat to tradition, Indigenous video games offer a compelling example of the ways in which Indigenous communities and creators are harnessing and innovating in digital spheres, having an impact in both their communities and on the public perception of Indigeneity. Highlighting the complexities emerging from legal efforts to protect and preserve Indigenous cultural production and knowledges, this paper asks: do the legal and academic efforts being made to define and protect traditional knowledge and cultural expressions help or harm tradition, which by its very nature changes, or does the promotion of culture from within a community offer more compelling and nuanced forms of protection?

 

Organização: CIDEHUS | Cátedra UNESCO em Património Imaterial e Saber-Fazer Tradicional
Em 21.09.2017
12:00 | Palácio do Vimioso | Sala 205
Anexos