Boozhoo News River Readers,

With only a few short weeks until the solstice and winter break, we know you’re time is valuable. A quick note to let you know we’ve extended the application deadline for the Niiwin #DataBack Fellowship to Dec 15th!

We’ve seen an influx of questions come in since last week’s coverage from our friends at Future of Good. We want to make sure that those just finding out about the first cohort have a chance to get their applications in too. We’ve also created a helpful FAQ - it’s linked below!

We appreciate the time you spend here, and as always - here’s the news,

This week’s stories include: 

• Parallel paths: revitalizing Indigenous governance practices while reaffirming Indigenous sovereignty

• Canada’s accelerated approach to artificial intelligence and AI beyond the hype.

• Classic winter tale reimagined in celebration of Indigenous identity - introducing the Métis Nutcracker!

For Organizations Ready to Do Data Right 

The big picture: The #DataBack Fellowship is for community-based organizations at the beginning of their data journey who want to build strong foundations, not rush to implementation.

Why it matters: When you're protecting potentially sacred data such as Survivor stories and archival materials, understanding Indigenous data sovereignty and governance matters more than clicking buttons quickly.

Key points: 

• Fellows in the Niiwin #DataBack Fellowship will understand ‘why’ before they learn ‘how’

• It starts with Indigenous data sovereignty: what it means, why it matters, and how it shapes every decision you'll make in Niiwin.

• As a fellow you’ll learn approaches that let your community's logic guide how data gets structured, searched and shared.

• You don't need to have everything figured out. You need to be willing to learn, ask questions, and build alongside us. 

Learn more: Applications close December 15th at the end of day. The learning program kicks off mid-January, followed by hands-on Niiwin training and regular check-ins throughout the year. Learn more by reading the The #DataBack Fellowship FAQ’s.  

Curated Articles:

Data nullius: why the AI playbook is straight from the era of colonial empires

Terra nullius is a Latin term that translates to “no one’s land” or “land belonging to no one”. It was used by colonisers to “legally” – at least by the laws of the colonisers – lay claim to land. What’s happening with AI is a kind of “digital colonialism”, in which powerful (mostly Western) tech giants are using algorithms, data and digital technologies to exert power over others, and take data without consent. But resistance is possible – and the long history of First Nations resistance demonstrates how people might go about it.

The AI hype-machine: Canada’s ill-advised ‘national sprint’ on artificial intelligence

In episode six of the Courage My Friends’ season nine, we welcome impact strategist with Animikii, Indigenous Technology, Jeff Doctor, technology and human rights lawyer with Tekhnos Law and senior fellow with The Citizen Lab, Cynthia Khoo, senior researcher with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood. We discuss Canada’s accelerated approach to artificial intelligence and the mobilization of civil society groups against it, multiple impacts of largely unregulated AI on people, planet and democracy, Indigenous perspectives on data sovereignty and digital colonialism and the meaning of AI beyond the hype.

Honouring Indigenous self-determination by applying parallel paths

Despite the remarkable achievements of Canada’s higher education institutions, there remains an endemic and unresolved issue present on virtually every campus: systemic ignorance of Indigenous knowledge systems. One bright light on a path forward is the notion of parallel paths which comes from a concept brought forward by the knowledge keepers who contributed to the University of Calgary’s Indigenous Engagement Strategy ii’ taa’poh’to’p in 2017. The principle of parallel paths revitalizes Indigenous governance practices while reaffirming Indigenous sovereignty.

Reconciliation without accountability is just talk — especially when it comes to Indigenous health

Canada’s latest auditor general’s report reveals an uncomfortable truth: billions of dollars and countless commitments later, the federal government still cannot demonstrate meaningful improvement in health services for First Nations. As a family physician working in my First Nation, Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory in southern Ontario, I see the evidence of this failure not in spreadsheets but in people — patients navigating a health system that remains structurally unequal. Nearly 10 years after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) Calls to Action, it is clear that reconciliation without accountability delivers only rhetoric, not care.

Métis Nutcracker: Classic winter tale reimagined in celebration of Indigenous identity

When Molly Solomon brings her contemporary Fancy Shawl Dance to life in Brock University Dramatic Arts’ (DART) mainstage production, she will draw strength from her Ojibwe name, Ishkode Kwe. The name, translated to “Fire Woman” and “First Spark in my Heart,” was gifted to the third-year DART student by her grandmother — and she wears it proudly, just like the handcrafted regalia she dons on stage. Solomon plays the Maple Sugar Fairy in Brock’s upcoming production of Métis Nutcracker, which opens Friday, Dec. 5 at the Marilyn I. Walker Theatre. The new play was written by award-winning Canadian playwright and DART Assistant Professor Matthew MacKenzie, citizen of the Métis Nation of Alberta, and is directed and choreographed by celebrated theatre artist Monica Dottor. “I hope every Indigenous child sitting in the audience sees themselves and their beliefs reflected in the beauty of the show,” Joy-Fraser says. “It’s magical storytelling embedded in nature, which is so much a part of who we are.”