Indigenous Memory Project

Saponi Syndicate

Indigenous Memory Project

A platform blending ancestral wisdom and emerging tech to preserve Indigenous languages, ceremonies, and knowledge—reseeding Indigenous futures.

Brooklyn, NY, USA

USA

Not registered as any organization

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Across Turtle Island, Indigenous communities are experiencing the rapid loss of cultural memory due to colonization, displacement, and forced assimilation. This loss goes beyond language—it includes ceremonies, birthing and reproductive traditions, ecological knowledge, coming-of-age rituals, and ancestral governance systems. These are not just cultural practices; they are frameworks for sovereignty, wellness, and survival. As a citizen of the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation (OBSN), I’ve seen how fragmented access to our own histories impacts youth, elders, and educators. Community-led efforts, like the Yésahá:hi language class at Elon University, are powerful but often under-resourced, disconnected, and lacking supportive digital tools that honor cultural protocol. Globally, Indigenous peoples make up just 5% of the population yet steward 80% of the planet’s biodiversity. The erasure of Indigenous knowledge is not only a cultural crisis—it’s a planetary one. The Indigenous Memory Project builds a culturally aligned digital platform to preserve and revitalize language, ceremony, ecological knowledge, and healing practices. This work supports intergenerational learning, community resilience, and technological sovereignty. Most importantly, it ensures we protect our rightful place in the future, guided by the philosophy of the next Seven Generations.

The Indigenous Memory Project is a digital platform and multimedia archive designed to preserve and revitalize Indigenous knowledge systems—including language, ceremony, land-based practices, oral history, reproductive traditions, and ecological wisdom. Guided by tribal protocols and intergenerational collaboration, the platform centers community voice, cultural consent, and technological sovereignty. Users will be able to explore a living database of Indigenous memory through interactive features: oral history recordings, language revitalization tools, ceremonial timelines, cultural protocols, and an Indigenous language map. The platform will also catalog current community-led efforts—such as language signage initiatives, midwifery practices, coming-of-age ceremonies, and seed sovereignty programs—to inspire connection and solidarity across nations. The technology integrates ethical AI, voice recognition, and multimedia documentation. Our goal is to ensure that content is co-created and governed by Indigenous communities. Tools will be available in mobile-friendly formats and accessible offline in rural areas. We are also developing an optional storytelling toolkit and educator portal for classroom and land-based learning. More than an archive, this is a living ecosystem. The Indigenous Memory Project helps preserve ancestral wisdom while empowering future generations to carry it forward—honoring the past, speaking to the present, and reseeding Indigenous futures through digital storytelling.

The Indigenous Memory Project serves Indigenous peoples across Turtle Island, with a focus on youth, elders, educators, birth workers, language keepers, and cultural practitioners. These communities have inherited centuries of cultural erasure, yet continue to carry the seeds of deep knowledge, resilience, and wisdom. Many of our people—especially youth—are growing up without access to their full cultural inheritance. Elders hold vital knowledge of ceremonies, plant medicine, land relationships, and birthing traditions, but without tools to preserve and share it, we risk losing this wisdom forever. Educators, parents, and grassroots leaders are working to revitalize culture and language, yet are often isolated or under-resourced. This platform is designed to meet these needs while protecting sovereignty. Each tribe represented will retain full control over their information, protocols, and stories. We will build in semi-annual community update functions to ensure content remains living, accurate, and aligned with evolving needs. It is a culturally safe, community-led space to record, share, and protect our knowledge on our terms. By reconnecting generations and re-rooting cultural memory in technology we govern, the Indigenous Memory Project helps communities not just survive—but thrive—with tools that protect our past and empower our futures.