Decolonizing Technology through a Tipi: Creation of an Indigenous Mobile Application at York University

This research explores the possibilities of how Information technologies can be designed and created by/for/with Indigenous peoples in order to be potentially decolonized. Indigenous members of the Centre for Aboriginal Student Services at York University participated in the design of a mobile application to address the needs of, and challenges faced by Indigenous students within a largely non-Indigenous university environment in Canada. The interdisciplinary design of said application integrated Indigenous knowledge of Tipis into a software development methodology in order to create a safe space and include some fundamental cultural elements. The analysis of current cases in the context of Indigeneity and technology around the world provided the principles to design this integrated software design methodology.