The Future Is Indigenous: Designing for Culturally Revitalizing STEAM Learning

• In Event: Sense of Place: Context, Indigeneity, and Migration

Abstract

This paper discusses the design and study of a model for engaging Indigenous youth in intergenerational, culturally revitalizing STEAM learning. Twenty-one Indigenous participants from 13 tribes (age 7 to 72), participated in a six-week, weekend workshop focused on integrating traditional Indigenous art-making practices (sewing ribbon skirts and ribbon shirts) with new technology (digital embroidery, laser cutting, and wearable electronics). The workshop culminated in a community fashion show. Thematic and interaction analysis of video recordings, interviews, surveys, field notes, and photographs yielded four ways in which the workshop design shaped participants’ experiences: (1) creating space for community-building; (2) foregrounding the A in STEAM; (3) intergenerational learning; and (4) balancing an emphasis on product versus process.

Authors

• Kay Ellen Ramey, University of Iowa

• Alicia Velasquez, The House of Dotl'zhi

• Kirk Cheyney, The Iowa City Fab Lab

• Margaret E Beck, University of Iowa

• Marianna G. M. Cota, INDIGENEXUS