Boozhoo News River Readers,

This week we’re sharing a feature from the University of Victoria on the appointment of  Hesquiaht First Nations scholar and assistant professor, chuutsqa Rorick as a Canada Research Chair! We’ve also got highlights from WebSummit Vancouver, the Indigenous Engaged Research Symposium, and more. 

Thanks for being here, we’re always grateful for the time you spend reading News River.  

This week’s stories include: 

• 5 major takeaways from Web Summit Vancouver 2026

• Seattle University School of Law Hosts Conference on Indigenous Perspectives on AI

• ‘Spend Time on the Land’: Indigenous Stewardship Practices Critical for Conservation

Reclaiming Hesquiaht, word by word

The big picture: The appointment of assistant professor chuutsqa Rorick as a Canada Research Chair (CRC) is a pivotal milestone for the University of Victoria (UVic) Faculty of Education. This national honour is part of a $295 million annual investment designed to help Canadian universities attract and retain world-class researchers who advance the frontiers of knowledge. 

Why it matters: For chuutsqa, a Hesquiaht First Nations scholar, the designation reflects the ongoing work of Hesquiaht and other Indigenous Peoples who continue to uphold Nation-governed knowledge systems, which have been systematically marginalized by colonial education for over a century.

Highlights: 

• By centring Indigenous-led approaches to language revitalization, this work supports the ongoing reclamation of Indigenous languages and the strengthening of knowledge systems grounded in land and relationships—moving the focus from the trauma of cultural loss to the power of land-based resurgence.

• At the heart of this work is the Hesquiaht Language Program, an initiative born in 2014 when she invited the Nation’s remaining fluent speakers to gather for a weekend of documentation, that evolved into a collaborative model that reflects “relational accountability.” A significant portion of chuutsqa’s research focuses on land-based learning, a methodology that recognizes the natural environment as an active participant in education.

• chuutsqa is currently stewarding over 1,000 hours of audio recordings from the 1970s. To ensure this wisdom remains in the right hands, chuutsqa is developing searchable digital resources and offline servers to house these archives, ensuring that the Nation’s language data is not “scraped” by AI or exploited by outsiders.

What they’re saying: “Technology is an indispensable tool, but it must be used without sacrificing the integrity of the knowledge itself.” — chuutsqa Rorick

Learn more: Read the full article here.

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Curated Articles:

‘Spend Time on the Land’: Indigenous Stewardship Practices Critical for Conservation

Researchers, government, non-profits need to partner with Indigenous Peoples for effective biodiversity governance. The stewardship practices of Indigenous and other land-based peoples have been critical for the survival of the planet for millennia. Now facing the modern climate crisis, researchers argue recognizing and upholding traditional knowledge systems is imperative and should inform conservation efforts. “Conventional conservation is heavily biased towards Western science and management solutions crafted by institutions such as universities, government ministries and NGOs,” says Dr. Faisal Moola, a geography professor in the College of Social and Applied Human Sciences, whose award-winning research explores Indigenous-led conservation of nature and environmental policy. Moola is a co-author of a new paper published in BioScience, a collaboration of 19 researchers across five continents. Recent attention has focused on the outsized contribution of Indigenous lands and waters for conservation, but researchers argue the ways in which Indigenous Peoples interact with nature also have numerous benefits for biodiversity.

Introducing our 2026 ReFocus photojournalism fellows

IndigiNews is proud to announce the cohort of Indigenous photojournalists who have been selected to take part in our first ReFocus Photojournalism Fellowship this month in Mi’kma’ki (Halifax). This fellowship was created as a new annual opportunity for emerging professionals to learn and hone their craft — with the larger goal to increase the number of Indigenous photojournalists in “Canada.” When IndigiNews first announced this opportunity, we were blown away at the interest we received. Our first cohort represents a mix of ages, experience levels and backgrounds, with a focus on photojournalists with connections to Mi’kma’ki, where the fellowship is being hosted this year. The nine fellows — including three IndigiNews reporters — will participate in an all-expenses paid, on-campus program during the week of May 18. We are excited to update our readers as the week goes on!

5 major takeaways from Web Summit Vancouver 2026

From sovereign AI infrastructure and Indigenous tech governance to creative talent pipelines and university-backed startup funding, Web Summit Vancouver 2026 offered a snapshot of where B.C.’s tech sector is headed next. As politicians, founders and investors packed into the Vancouver Convention Centre for the second edition of Web Summit Vancouver, one message repeatedly surfaced across panels: B.C. wants to play a larger and more self-defined role in the future of global tech. The ambition showed up in conversations around AI, Indigenous data governance, commercialization, infrastructure and talent development. Opening remarks from B.C. Minister of Finance Brenda Bailey set the tone early, emphasizing technology’s growing importance to the province’s broader economy. “Sovereignty in tech means Indigenous people leading at every layer, from infrastructure to investment to the stories that get told through new media,” Natiea Vinson, CEO of the First Nations Technology Council said, calling technology not the end goal, but a mechanism to strengthen Indigenous communities and cultures.

Seattle University School of Law Hosts Conference on Indigenous Perspectives on AI

Seattle University School of Law will host its 9th Annual Innovation and Technology Law Conference on Friday, June 5, 2026, bringing together leading scholars, attorneys, technologists, and Indigenous leaders to explore the rapidly evolving relationship between artificial intelligence, law, governance, and Indigenous sovereignty. The conference will examine critical issues at the intersection of artificial intelligence and Indigenous rights, including cultural appropriation in AI systems, Indigenous data sovereignty, ethical natural resource use, tribal sovereignty and regulation, and Indigenous-led approaches to technological innovation. Featured speakers include nationally recognized experts and leaders such as Abigail Echo-Hawk of the Seattle Indian Health Board, Rebecca Tsosie of the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, Trevor Reed of UC Irvine School of Law, Krystal Two Bulls of Honor the Earth, and Jeff Ward of Animikii.

In Photos: Indigenous Engaged Research Symposium

The 2026 symposium explored how to support data sovereignty in Indigenous-engaged research and the importance of community engagement. For the past three years, the offices of the Vice-Provost (Indigenous Programming & Research) and the Vice-President (Research) have co-hosted research symposia focused on supporting and elevating Indigenous-engaged research at the University of Alberta. This spring, on April 15 and 16, 2026, the portfolios came together to discuss the practical and ethical dimensions of Indigenous data governance and the importance of fostering reciprocal, long-term relationships with Indigenous communities. Guest speakers included: Jeff Doctor (Cayuga Nation citizen from Six Nations of the Grand River Territory).

Digital strategies by media collectives of Indigenous people in Brazil

A new doctoral dissertation by Camila Emboava Lopes, at Umeå University, highlights the importance of media production by Indigenous Peoples to the field of media and communication studies. She says that media produced collectively by minorities such as Indigenous Peoples can be considered alternative because it is often produced outside the centres of power. “Such groups often operate with fewer resources, and find creative ways to make their voices heard, combining on-site and digital communication strategies”, Camila Emboava Lopes says and continues: “This doctoral dissertation provides an analysis of how different media initiatives developed by Indigenous producers in Brazil use digital media in their communication work.”