Indigenous Cyber-relationality: Discerning the Limits and Potential for Connective Action

Marisa Duarte, Arizona State University
As Indigenous social movements increasingly rely on social networking sites (SNS) toward connective action, community groups also perceive the limitations of ICTs toward social change. For a range of reasons, grassroots activists, tribal elders, cultural knowledge-keepers, attorneys, IT experts, and law enforcement identify the vulnerabilities that radical uses of SNS introduce in already marginalized communities. Indigenizing SNS with regard for the colonial entanglements of social media platforms creates the grounds for discerning how Indigenous peoples carry protocols of respect, belonging, kinship, and shared purpose into digital spheres.