Natively Intuitive Software and Hardware

Reimagining Data Through Indigenous Knowledge

This project team envisions a world where Indigenous communities leverage and invent the latest computational tools to address their priorities and are leading participants in data-driven environmental discourse, art and policy as opposed to having scientific results "disseminated" to them.

To this end, the specific objectives of this project are to advance Indigenous Computing Theory and software and hardware technologies with attention to engaging multi-sensory data experiences and environmental data justice, and to deploy and understand the potential impact of new technologies designed to center Ojibwe values.

The team proposes a novel concept and extensible physical and digital platform called the Natively Intuitive Software and Hardware (NISH) Medicine Wheel to facilitate data-driven communication across Indigenous and environmental science communities.

The NISH Medicine Wheel will consist of eight panels that are arranged intentionally to form a physical medicine wheel that stakeholders can walk around in stages. Some panels will be flat-screen displays driven by a computer, but unlike prior systems, these are intentionally intermixed with physical displays of data and contextual information in complementary media, following Ojibwe medicine wheel protocols to do both data exploration (i.e., making discoveries) and data storytelling (i.e., communicating data insights).

Project Goals

• Produce the physical infrastructure for at least two NISH Medicine Wheels that will be installed on permanent loan as directed by the community partners in their local schools and/or organizations
• Create a reproducible hardware design and software framework and gather the evidence of successful deployments needed to begin a multi-year program to scale deployment and adoption of the NISH Medicine Wheel platform across the Great Lakes region
• Create a computing research publication