Right now, there is a young girl in each of our tribes who is working her way through the lesson plans at Code Academy. Or she has taking it upon herself to work through the CS50x course that is available free and online from Harvard University—or any of the other tech certificate courses offered through edX. Perhaps she is a student in one of the Bureau of Indian Education schools or she is attending a public school in Oklahoma City. Regardless of where she is now, we know that she and the other like-minded girls and boys who have an aptitude for programming will play an essential role in the 21st Century for Indian Country. What does tribalism have to do with programming and, by extension, technology? Tribalism encourages us to consider the roots of our economies, the viability of the Trust Responsibility for our tribes, and even the possibilities of integrating the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples into our homelands. So, actually, the question(s) ought to instead ask how programming—and STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) in general—will assist us with our local economies, with the quality of living in our communities, and with the other components of tribalism.Get the Story:
Julia Good Fox: Tribalism and Technology: Computer Liberation (Indian Country Today 3/8)
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