Guest post by Jenny Andrews*
* Jenny Andrews is a copyeditor for CLEBC and a linguaphile with her heritage languages (Ukrainian and Michif) close to her heart. She is active in her Métis community, involved in Michif French revitalization, and is also currently learning Southern Michif. Jenny also enjoys beading, noodles, and tiny dogs.
July 7, 2026
[We must consider] the perils and fallacies of the idea of using the master’s tools to dismantle the master’s house.[1]
WELCOME TO THE FIRST POST of a brief, three-part series about Indigenous First Technology. In this part: What is Indigenous First Technology, and why does it matter?
Indigenous First Technology is the intersection of digital technology, innovation, and Indigenous self-determination. It highlights Indigenous-led tech solutions, data sovereignty, digital equity, and Indigenous community-owned infrastructure. It emphasizes “designing and stewarding technology to renew and strengthen [Indigenous] cultures, lands, languages, and ways of being for future generations”.[2]
Why it matters:
- environmental protection and preservation
- Indigenous cultural and linguistic continuity
- digital equity
- dismantling of colonial frameworks and systems
Visit the First Nations Technology Council and Animikii websites to learn more.
For more about the frameworks guiding Indigenous data sovereignty, see:
[1]A. Lorde, Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches (Crossing Press, 1984), p. 91.
[2] www.technologycouncil.ca/about/
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We acknowledge that the land on which we work is the unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples, including the territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.