Angelina Havaris
March 29th, 2021
Feminuity’s
article on Mohawk multimedia artist Skawennati, is an interview with the artist about her work, specifically her medium Machinima, which Skawennati describes as “making movies in virtual environments” (Ge 3). For her machinimas, she customizes the avatars, writes the script, does wardrobe and hairstyling for the characters, and also finds voice actors to provide the dialogue, similar to the production crews for a movie or tv show. Her intention behind the machinima,
She Falls for the Ages — which is a retelling of the creation story in a futuristic setting — was to showcase Indigenous people in futuristic settings due to both her own fascination with what her people would be doing in the future and to showcase different images of the common narrative where Indigenous people are used to represent the past.
She also discusses her other machinima
TimeTraveler™, which features an Indigenous who lives in the future and works as a bounty hunter and who does not have a strong connection to his Mohawk community. Throughout the story, he becomes rich and famous, which Skawennati did in order to show a type of success that is often not shown for Indigenous people.
What I really found fascinating about both of Skawennati’s machinimas was how she blended both Indigenous culture and futuristic elements together in order to create settings that could very much be what the future looks like. From the set design to the music, I thought that each of these elements created a cohesive narrative as to what future events may take place and Indigenous peoples’ roles in these future events. Skawennati takes speculative fiction and unravels the genre’s core by imploring what the future could be.
Intrigued by both the article and the machinima, I was prompted to do further research and found that Skawennati’s work is categorized as part of a growing movement known as
Indigenous futurism. The movement comprises art, media, film, comics, and video games that places Indigenous perspectives in the realm of science fiction. These mediums present alternative versions of what the future could look like while also questioning our traditional understanding of technology, which should be noted as largely being shaped by western notions of advancement and progression.
One of the largest contributors to the Indigenous Futurism movement has been video games, with Skawennati noting that she uses the online game Second Life when creating her machinimas. In my own indulgent research, I found several Indigenous-produced video games and wanted to showcase a few of these video games. From a retelling of a traditional tale to a not-so-distint future where there is a pandemic, it is so exciting to see what kinds of video games Indigenous creators have or are currently producing.
Since video games are an extension of storytelling, I believe that the medium allows for Indigenous creators to share their stories and reach new audiences through the immersive experiences that they provide. This experience also allows for players to engage with these in-game worlds and possibilities in a way that reflects the Indigenous Futurism movement itself, which focuses on telling Indigenous stories through innovative platforms, bringing together the past, present, and the future.
Hill Agency: PURITY/DECAY in development by Achimostawinan Games. The game is a detective mystery with a cybernoir-inspired aesthetic. For more information, visit the
website
Ge, Amy. “Asserting Aboriginal Territories in Cyberspace: Interview with the Artist Skawennati.” Feminuity, 16 July 2019, https://www.feminuity.org/blog/interview-with-the-artist-skawennati. Accessed 29 March 2021.
Miller, Tara. Meeygun and Mary. n.d. Achimo Games. Website. Accessed 29 March 2021.
"Never Alone (Official Launch Trailer)". YouTube. Uploaded by Never Alone - Kisima Ingitchuna, 13 Nov. 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lM_80zVzwpI
Skawennati. Renewal n.d. Skawennati.com. Website. Accessed 29 March, 2021
"Umurangi Generation - Launch Trailer". YouTube. Uploaded by veselekov, 19 May. 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQ7CFN2ZPZc