Cultivating Safe Spaces with Elaine Alec
April 13, 2021 — The team at Animikii first met Elaine during a virtual retreat, where she presented the importance of knowing one’s self and the effects and impacts of vicarious trauma, particularly in the workplace. On April 11-12, 2021, Thunderbirds Jen Polack and Robyn Ward attended Elaine Alec’s workshop called “Cultivating Safe Spaces”. In this workshop, they learned about ways to promote safe...
Read More
Jeff Ward at SFU's FCAT Undergraduate Conference
March 18, 2021 — Animikii's Jeff Ward had the distinct honour of being the Keynote Speaker at Simon Fraser University's (SFU) Faculty of Communication, Art, and Technology (FCAT) Undergraduate Conference (UGC). FCAT UCG is a celebration and exploration of the diverse range of student work produced at SFU, where students came together to present 63 projects. An additional 230 faculty, staff, students, friends, alumni, and community members joined this...
Read More
B Corp Month: Local Week!
March 4, 2021 — Calling all our wonderful followers on Lekwungen lands, did you know Animikii is part of a pretty impressive community of B Corps right here on Vancouver Island? If this is news to you, you should check out 3 of our favourite local B Corps to celebrate the first week of #BCorpMonth! Elate Cosmetics "At Elate, we encourage creating opportunities for...
Read More
Celebrating Pink Shirt Day
February 24, 2021 — Everyone has a right to exist, every day, as their most authentic self. Animikii is speaking out against bullying, homophobia, Two Spirit (2S) & LGBTQIA+ discrimination, racism, and hatred, in schools, tech, businesses, public service, and every other area of professional life. On days like today, we like to remind ourselves to be kind to each other and celebrate our differences....
Read More
Celebrating Black History Month
February 16, 2021 — February is a time to lift up and honour Black voices, a time to acknowledge painful shared histories and a time to celebrate the stories all around us. Indigenous, Black, and Afro-Indigenous people are working in solidarity around the world to take meaningful actions and imagine better futures. New history books are being written, ceremonies lost to colonization are being...
Read More
Celebrating Louis Riel Day and Family Day
February 15, 2021 — Today is Louis Riel Day (and Family Day) and we figured we'd continue on our tradition of, instead of forcing you to listen to us, we'd redirect you to some amazing resources developed by our partners and allies across Turtle Island. "My people will sleep for one hundred years, but when they awake, it will be the artists who give...
Read More
Celebrating Chinese-Indigenous Stories for the Year of the Ox
February 12, 2021 — Happy Year of the Ox! To celebrate the day, we started to look at Indigenous-Chinese relations on Turtle Island and - while history is subjective - we found some amazing stories about Indigenous, Chinese, and Chinese-Indigenous peoples supporting and protecting each other that we would love to share with you. Gung Hay Fat Choy! The revolution will be translated Touring BC’s...
Read More
Indigi-X Workshop Series: Building an Indigenous Brand
February 2, 2021 — Merging Creativity with Culture On February 2, 2021, Animikii’s lead designer Mark Rutledge presented how to build an Indigenous brand to a virtual audience that spanned Canada, New Zealand, and Fiji (and over 100 degrees Fahrenheit temperature difference!). The presentation was based on Mark’s original article - “Indigenous Design: Beyond Medicine Wheels, Ox Carts, & Inukshuks” - which explores how, when,...
Read More
Animikii at Natives in Tech Conference 2020
November 21, 2020 — On November 21st, 2020, Jeff Doctor presented at the Natives in Tech Conf 2020 - a virtual gathering of Native and non-Native technologists: educators, artists, hackers, and all-round rad human beings who are working to empower and support Native communities around the world. Jeff was there to discuss the basics of Indigenous Data Sovereignty (ID-Sov), why it’s important, how he...
Read More
Animikii Mentoring First Nations Technology Council Students
November 3, 2020 — Earlier this year, Animikii entered into a new, exciting partnership with First Nations Technology Council (FNTC) to provide ongoing mentorship to its graduates of their Focus Web Development program—an intermediate web development course developed by the First Nations Technology Council using best practices in Indigenous and adult education—at no cost to either the mentee or FNTC. Everything is Awesome? Software...
Read More
Virtual Things You Can Do To Celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day
June 19, 2020 — This year, we celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day on Sunday, June 21st. Since this day isn't yet a statutory holiday (except in the Northwest Territories as of 2001 and Yukon as of 2017), many of us will not have the day off to celebrate. In 2016, Animikii published an article and video about why we think this should be a...
Read More
Why we say "Indigenous" instead of "Aboriginal"
June 17, 2020 — Organizations, businesses, and universities across the country have shifted the language that they use to describe Indigenous Peoples - largely in response to calls coming from within Indigenous Communities themselves. One of the most noteworthy debates surrounding this shift occurred in 2008 when Chiefs from the Anishinabek Nation campaigned against being called “Aboriginal.” According to Chief Patrick Madahbee of Aundeck...
Read More