Virtual Reality for Indigenous Healing

Mackinac Island in Michigan holds a profound historical and contemporary significance for Anishinaabe tribes, particularly as a gathering place and a spiritual center. For centuries, it has been a site of cultural and economic importance, deeply rooted in the traditional summer gathering of Native people from all over the area. In contrast to its historical stories, Mackinac Island today is a tourist destination, known for its beauty and lack of modern technologies, such as cars. The transition from a sacred place of gathering to a bustling tourist hub presents both challenges and opportunities for cultural education and preservation. My tribe, The Sault Ste Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, is a community with deep connections to this land and its history. 

We face the modern challenge of maintaining cultural identity and in relation, mental health, especially among youth. With almost 50,000 members but only 2,000 on reservation land, many tribal youth live off-reservation and there is a growing disconnect between them, their cultural identity, and their ancestral lands. Given the COVID-19 pandemic, many tribal youth who live off the reservation have never even gotten to see their homelands, much less feel connected to their ancestors and culture through the land. The concepts of urban development, urban Indigeneity, and the rapid move of Indigenous people to cities means a gap between cultural wellness and physical location. It also opens a divide between traditional ecological knowledge and Indigenous care of the environment. This separation has implications for youth understanding of identity, impacting their mental health and cultural healing. Mackinac Island is a microcosm of this problem around all of Indian Country—youth in tribes around the world are now facing the mental health and wellness implications that disconnect from their homelands brings. 

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, suicide was the second leading cause of death among Native American youth in 2019. The overall death rate from suicide among Native American youth is 20% higher than non-hispanic white peers (https://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/mental-and-behavioral-health-american-indiansalaska-natives). National Institute of Health Research reports that connection to land is a primary determinant of mental health among Indigenous youth (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10002458/). How can Indigenous people use contemporary technology with land to center wellness for the next generation in the 21st century? I look to modern Virtual Reality technology as a solution in bringing tribal land connection to youth, no matter their physical location.

The project will create several virtual reality experiences using spatial video, along with spatial audio that details related oral histories, focusing on Mackinac Island and its surrounding tribal areas, including Sault Ste. Marie, Mackinac City, and St. Ignace. These experiences will include varied scenes such as sitting at the water’s edge, canoeing, and walking along the island’s rocky terrain. Each VR scene will be elevated with cultural stories, narrated in audio format, and supplemented with visual elements, offering an immersive cultural experience that connects youth directly to lands that their people hold dear. The goal is for tribal youth to feel connected to their ancestors and land no matter where their physical location is through this virtual reality experience. 

I’ve completed an initial site visit in March 2024 to collect pilot footage of the area. You can see screenshots from  the initial virtual reality footage here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1cRLhcEW7vYZ9RmaD5c2siNUBMif4Kbd5?usp=drive_link

Stories for the VR experiences will be sourced from online journals, posts, and books that are accessible to the public and already published. One example is the poetry of Jane Schoolcraft, a Sault Ste. Marie Tribe member who spent her life writing poetry about the lands of Northern Michigan in both English and Anishinaabemowin. Another example is the creation story of my tribe, which details a muskrat diving to the bottom of the Great Lakes and retrieving soil to build Mackinac Island with. In total, I have collected around 860 archives from universities around the country detailing oral histories about the area to use. 

The current hardware and software I am using includes the iPhone 15 Pro’s spatial video recording features, a cheap tester virtual reality headset, Adobe video editing, and DaVinci video editing. With MIT Solve’s support, I hope to have funding for a spatial audio recorder, pro subscriptions to the video editing software, additional virtual reality headsets to distribute to youth in my tribe, and subsequent trips for more filming footage. 

Initially hosted on YouTube for promotional purposes, the experiences will subsequently be available on a private free of cost website, ensuring wider accessibility and engagement. One possible option will be allowing non-Native people to access it to bridge cultural understanding and empathy between those working with Indigenous people who are not Native and the communities they work with. I have successfully signed an MOA with my tribe, and have obtained Yale IRB approval on their request to cover all ethical and legal grounds. 

Finally, I plan to create a comprehensive guide for other tribes to be able to replicate this project on their own homelands. This template, housed under an “Indigenous Technology Coalition,” will help Indigenous leaders and learners around the globe elevate technology in a positive way in their own communities.  I eventually want to lead a library of hundreds of virtual reality videos of Indigenous lands across the world, preserving these histories and benefitting seven generations of Indigenous youth to come.

My solution is rooted in the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians where I am an enrolled tribal member. We are located on the Canadian border in Northern Michigan and claim our title as the “People of the Rapids,” emphasizing our strong connection with the waterways of the Great Lakes. The tribal government, including Chariman Austin Lowes, have signed a Memorandum of Agreement with me stating their support for the project.

I chose to focus my virtual reality experience on nearby Mackinac Island due to its great significance to several different tribes, including my own. Nations including the Bay Mills Indian Community, Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians, and dozens more call the Great Lakes home. I estimate there is almost 100,000 tribal youth between the many Great Lakes tribes that will benefit from a virtual reality connection to the lands their ancestors have called home since the beginning of time. I imagine a future where these 100,000 youth, whether they are in Michigan, in another state, or even another country, can feel a sense of wholeness from their peoples when they put on a pair of virtual reality goggles and open their eyes to find themselves home. 

To encapsulate the variety of Anishinaabe tribes that call the Great Lakes home, I have recruited several stakeholders around the country to consult on the solution as it develops. This includes technical and mental health experts from the Yale School of Medicine, youth groups from the Center for Native American Youth at the Aspen Institute, legal experts from the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, and leaders from other Indigenous communities who have worked on VR or AR technology in a cultural space in the past. Notably, I am consulting with Professor Tisa Wenger, a prominent expert on the Indigenous history of Northern Michigan, Eric Hemenway, a leading archivist from the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians with in depth field experience on Mackinac Island, and Dr. Christopher Cutter, a notable Native American researcher on Indigenous mental health. 

To connect directly with youth who are living on reservation that may also benefit from added connection to their homelands, I also plan to work with the local tribal elementary and middle schools during the launch of my solution. I also have two Anishinaabe youth local to Connecticut excited to test and give feedback on the product as it develops. I plan to hold a formal launch event in Northern Michigan that will involve distribution of VR headsets and the solution, advertised in the tribal newspaper to reach interested families.

Michigan's Great Lakes, with their cool, salt-free waters, are a breathtaking natural wonder. They represent the lands of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians—my ancestors who thrived on these lands. Since time immemorial, the lakes have protected my people, served as a tool for sovereignty, and helped my community succeed. Working with the stories, waters, lands, and Anishinaabe people of Lake Michigan along Mackinac Island is working with the family who have come before me, the family that is mine now, and the family I will have long in the future. 

I grew up spending my school years between Wyoming, Boston, and southeast Michigan. In converse, I spent my summers up north, kicking rocks along the shores of the Great Lakes and trying to catch minnows with my two sisters. As I got older, I noticed the changing colors of the lake. One second, the water shone with green and purple shades, but then I would blink, and see deep blues staring back at me. The dynamic nature of the lakes intrigued me. As a young person starting to come to terms with their own multitudes—being Anishinaabe, being South Asian, being queer, being in STEM—the water quickly became a safe place for me, where I felt my changing and overlapping identities were accepted by the lakes and all of its hues. Coming from the “People of the Rapids,” it is perhaps unsurprising that the lakes were a comforting and healing space for me and my myriad of selves. As a young Native American person, connection to the lands of my people was key to maintaining my mental health. I am well positioned to create a land-based solution to Indigenous youth mental health because I was one of those kids. I want to give them the connection and identity security I was not able to have as an urban Native. 

My team also represents a diverse variety of stakeholder perspectives. I am consulting with Dr. Christopher Cutter and Dr. Maria Crouch from the Yale School of Medicine, both who are Native American health providers with extensive experience working on wellness related issues in Indigenous communities. I have also consulted with Eric Hemenway, an Anishinaabe expert on Mackinac Island and its surrounding areas. He is a cultural and community leader in museum, field, and research work. In addition, I have started conversations with leaders in Indigenous-based technologies, including presenting at the annual Natives in Tech conference and speaking to stakeholders like Ashley Lomboy, who has completed related projects in the past.

I selected this stage as I have completed some initial work and have a pilot product, but am not at the point of launching and require additional support and funding to bridge the solution to that point. I completed one site visit as of March 2024, where I used an iPhone 15 Pro to record spatial video around Mackinac Island, St. Ignace, Sault Ste. Marie, and Mackinac City. I am now working on overlaying the audio stories on these initial videos and working with a group of local Anishinaabe youth to test these initial videos and provide feedback. I have collected around 860 individual archives with various creation stories, historical accounts, poetry, and other stories about the area that I am excited to share. The pieces are starting to exist, but I am still working on putting them together in the ideal way and gathering more pieces in order to make the solution work as well as possible.

Regarding financial support, I am looking for help funding additional software and hardware needs to make the solution feasible and widespread. Although I have been using the free versions of editing softwares, I believe the paid versions will take the efficacy of my project to the next level. I also am looking for additional funding support with travel to and from Northern Michigan. Because it is a tourist destination now, hotels and flights are often inflated in expense and make it difficult for the Indigenous people of the land to exist there. 

However, I am seeking more comprehensive and holistic support than simply financial support. One avenue I am hoping for help in is legal support. I have signed a Memorandum of Agreement, but it was very challenging as I am not a lawyer and do not have access to hire a lawyer for this project right now so I utilized online resources as best as possible. I foresee needing to enter other legal agreements, critically to use certain archives, stories, and keep the project safe from outside entities trying to copy it to profit from it. I am excited about the pro bono law support that MIT Solve offers. 

I also am looking for technical consultation. I have worked as a software engineer, including on Zillow’s 3D Home Tours team, but am not an expert on virtual reality coding. To make the project the best it can be, I look forward to working with connections MIT Solve may have on the software and artistic representations on virtual reality.  

Finally, I am also looking for support advertising the project more broadly. I have obtained some avenues for advertising the solution to my own tribe and tribes nearby, including through the tribal website and the monthly tribal newspaper, but I am hoping to expand my marketing beyond just those who live in Michigan in order to reach the tribal youth around the country who may benefit the most from reconnection to land. Advice and guidance in marketing will be invaluable as this project is developed. Critically, this will also help identify tribes or tribal leaders who may be interested in replicating the solution on their own homelands.

Madeline Gupta is an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe Of Chippewa Indians. She grew up spending her summers on her tribal homelands and now works in the novel field of Indigenous Technologies. Her mother and grandmother are enrolled members as well, while her grandfather was from the Bay Mills Indian Community. Madeline is from Turtle Clan, and inherits the teaching and healing responsbilities of this clan.

A virtual reality experience focused on Indigenous youth mental health has never been created yet on this scale in the United States. Successful iterations of similar projects have been established around the world in countries like Canada and New Zealand, but this solution would be the first of its kind in the States to take digital recreations of Indigenous land and pair them with generational wellness. I’m excited to partner with MIT Solve to be a leader in the field of Indigenous Technologies, a space I am building up to elevate Indigenous ways of viewing the digital world. 

Most of the time, Native American people are talked about in the past tense. Whether a history book or academic class or Netflix documentary, the American perspective of Native tribes is that of demolition and extinction. My project is novel because it pushes Indigenous people into the future instead of delegating us to a damage-centered past. By taking the most exciting developments of the 21st century—inventions like virtual reality and machine learning—and asking how they can benefit Indigenous communities, I am writing a new narrative where we exist now, in the future, and for generations to come. I am encoding us into a world 532 years in the future instead of 532 years in the past. 

I believe this solution is the first domino in a cascade of virtual reality projects on Indigenous land. Not only does the digital space provide Native American youth with the ability to reclaim their land, but it also preserves the beauty and health of these spaces in the wake of climate change and ecosystem loss. Providing a template guide for others to recreate my project on their own lands allows for a community centered and community led library of Indigenous lands around the world. No matter what happens with the climate change crisis, it creates a way for our children, our children’s children, and the next seven generations to come to experience and own their ancestral homelands.

1. Kids love technology 

Generation Z and Alpha are consistently known for their addiction to TikTok, video games, and other forms of technology. Concerningly, many of these platforms have been shown to have a negative impact on children’s mental health. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry reports social media causing “serious social, intellectual, and mental health risks” (https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jcpp.13302). 

My virtual reality solution flips the script and gives kids reconnection to land and identity, which is good for their mental health and intellectual wellness.

 2. Let’s make it “cool” to be Native 

My grandfather spoke often of his difficulty accepting his Indigenous identity. When he was young, pride in being Native American could often get you sent to an abusive boarding school, harassed, or denied opportunities. As a war veteran and proud father and grandfather, it took him until very late in his life to find pride in who he was and where he came from. Ripples of generational trauma can make it hard for many kids, especially those who grow up outside of their communities, to be proud of their ancestry. 

By taking something kids find cool—virtual reality technology—and applying it to their identity, we can foster an environment where they feel their identity is cool and therefore they are cool. Self confidence is one of the largest indicators of mental health in adolescents according to the National Institute of Health (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5747942/). 

3. Land and water are everything 

In the vast majority of Indigenous cultures, land and/or water are what runs their worldviews. For Anishinaabe people specifically, both land and water dictate our actions, feelings, and community structures. To quote the Native Women;s Association of Canada, “Water is a source of life” (https://nwac.ca/policy/water-is-a-source-of-life).  In fighting the suicide crisis among Indigenous youth, I strongly believe we need to provide them with a source of life. We need to give them the water. There is nothing more powerful for Indigenous people than feeling connected to your ancestors through the land and waters they protected for you for centuries in hopes you would inherit them one day. My solution harnesses this power of land and water towards positive mental health impacts in youth for both the short and long term.

1. Foster connection between Anishinaabe youth and their ancestral homelands (Good Health and Wellbeing, Quality Education)

Progress measurements: Pilot program survey responses, oral interviews with testers, documented and/or observed responses 

2. Make Anishinaabe kids feel secure in their Indigenous identity (Good Health and Wellbeing)

Progress measurements: Pilot program survey responses, oral interviews with testers, documented and/or observed responses

3. Elevate Native voices in 21st century technology conversations (Reduced Inequalities, Peace Justice and Strong Institutions, Partnerships for the Goals)

Progress measurements: Pilot program survey responses, measuring pre and post interest among youth in technology and technology careers, observed responses of non-Native stakeholders

4. Digitally preserves library of Indigenous lands among the current climate change crisis (Sustainable Cities and Communities, Life on Land, Life below Water, Climate Action, Industry Innovation and Infrastructure) 

Progress measurements: Response of other nations around the globe, usage of eventual template, magnitude of eventual library 

My solution is a unique amalgamation of advanced technology and traditional knowledge, designed to solve pressing tribal challenges while benefiting real people and the planet. At its core, our solution harnesses the immersive power of Virtual Reality, blended with ancestral oral history technologies such as storytelling and traditional transportation. This fusion preserves traditional knowledge but also makes it more accessible and engaging for a youth audience.

The technological centerpiece of my solution is the use of the iPhone 15 Pro. This device is pivotal in capturing high-quality spatial video that can play on the Apple Vision Goggles, but also on something as simple as a Google Cardboard. I am then using professional video editing software like Adobe Premiere and DaVinci. Audio plays a crucial role in creating an immersive experience so my solution also utilizes a spatial audio recorder. This technology captures sound in a multidimensional space, mirroring how we hear sounds in real life. When incorporated into VR, it provides an engaging and realistic auditory experience, crucial for storytelling and preservation of oral histories.There is also an array of equipment that aids in the field environments for filming. A tripod ensures stability for our recordings and transportation methods like a canoe, horse, and bike enable access to remote areas in the way our ancestors would have done, which makes for amazing VR footage and climate friendly movement. 

By leveraging the latest in VR, alongside traditional oral history methods, I want to bridge the gap between the past and the present. My solution aligns perfectly with MIT Solve’s mission of driving innovation to solve world challenges, using technology that benefits both people and the planet.

Sault Ste Marie, Michigan 

Mackinac Island, Michigan 

Mackinac City, Michigan 

New Haven, Connecticut 

It is my main project, but have 

students assisting (4)

professor mentors (6)

community mentors (7)

outside consultants (2) 

and many more community testers involved

1 year 

I have actively built a coalition that mirrors the perspectives essential to our work, comprising of tribal leaders, non-Native stakeholders from Michigan, and expert members from various corners of the globe. This diverse composition is not just a reflection of my commitment to diversity but also a strategic asset in my mission. I particularly include stakeholders from tribes that may find our project beneficial or be directly impacted by it. This inclusion is crucial for two reasons: it ensures that our work is grounded in the realities and needs of these communities, and it brings invaluable insights that can only come from those with lived experiences. 

I also chose to emphasize the inclusion of researchers who possess knowledge bases serving Indigenous peoples. Although they are not all Indigenous, they have spent their life serving Indigenous peoples and histories and are a deep knowledge base for the development of this solution. My commitment to diversity extends to my Indigenous youth pilot testers. Some are local to Connecticut, providing insights on the urban Native experience; others are local to the tribe, offering invaluable perspective on the accuracy of the videos; and still others are tribal members from across the globe who I hope to recruit through a tribal newspaper advertisement. 

Value Proposition:

- Products/Services: Creation and provision of VR experiences that connect Anishinaabe youth and other Indigenous peoples to their ancestral lands and cultural heritage. 

- Need Fulfillment: Addresses the disconnection from cultural identity and land, which is a significant issue for many Indigenous youth, especially those living off-reservation. It also provides an innovative approach to mental health and cultural education.

- Unique Offering: Integrating traditional stories and landscapes in an immersive VR experience is a novel approach, especially in the context of Indigenous cultural preservation and mental wellness.

Customer Segments:

- Primary Beneficiaries: Anishinaabe youth, particularly those living off-reservation or disconnected from their heritage.

- Secondary Beneficiaries: Schools, Indigenous organizations, and cultural education programs interested in using these VR experiences as educational tools.

- Extended Market: Non-Indigenous people and institutions looking for cultural understanding and education about Indigenous communities.

Channels:

- Direct Distribution: Through community centers, tribal schools, and local organizations.

- Online Platforms: Hosting the VR experiences on dedicated websites, and possibly on educational platforms.

- Outreach Programs: Collaborations with educational institutions, Indigenous organizations, and cultural events.

Revenue Streams:

- Grants and Funding: Initial funding from programs like MIT Solve, Indigenous grants, the Aspen Institute, the Yale School of Medicine, Yale College and educational grants.

- Partnerships: Collaborations with educational institutions, Indigenous organizations, and tech companies for sponsorships or partnerships.

- Sales or Licensing: In the future, I might consider licensing the content to educational institutions or cultural museums.

Cost Structure:

- Development Costs: Costs for VR content creation (filming, editing, software development).

- Operational Costs: Costs for maintaining the platform, outreach, and distribution of VR headsets.

- Travel and Research Costs: For site visits, collaboration with community members, and gathering of stories and content.

Key Activities:

- Content Creation: Filming, recording, and producing the VR experiences.

- Community Engagement: Working with Indigenous communities to gather stories and feedback.

- Marketing and Outreach: Promoting the VR experiences within and outside the Indigenous communities.

Key Resources:

- Technological Tools: VR headsets, spatial video and audio recording equipment, and editing software.

- Human Resources: Team members skilled in VR technology, cultural storytelling, and community engagement.

- Cultural Content: Access to stories, historical accounts, and cultural insights from the community.

Key Partnerships:

- Indigenous Communities and Leaders: For authenticity and guidance in content creation.

- Educational and Cultural Institutions: For content distribution and potential revenue generation.

- Technology Providers: For support in VR technology and potentially sponsorship.

Customer Relationships:

- Community Involvement: Engaging with the community to ensure the VR experiences are culturally respectful and accurate.

- User Feedback: Regular feedback from users to improve and adapt the experiences.

- Educational Outreach: Working with schools and organizations for broader implementation.

Short-Term Financial Strategy:

1. Grants and Donations: 

   - Current Success: Secured initial $10,000 through the Yale School of Medicine. Secured an additional $2,000 from the Aspen Institute. In conversation with Yale College for additional funding. 

   - Future Plan: Continue applying for grants focused on cultural preservation, mental health, education, and technology innovation.

2. Government and NGO Partnerships:

   - Evidence: Existing Memorandum of Agreement with tribal government.

   - Future Plan: Seek contracts or support from government bodies and NGOs for cultural preservation projects.

Long-Term Financial Strategy:

1. Selling or Licensing VR Content:

   - Plan: Licensing the VR experiences to non-Native educational institutions, museums, or cultural organizations for allyship purposes.

   - Evidence of Potential: Positive feedback from initial test users and interest from local schools and cultural centers.

2. Corporate Sponsorships:

   - Plan: Securing sponsorships from companies interested in supporting Indigenous technologies and cultural preservation.

   - Evidence of Potential: Initial conversations with tech companies and corporate social responsibility programs.