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Intergenerational Native Digital Storytelling Project

Northern Arizona University proposes an interdisciplinary and intergenerational project that focuses on Native American history and culture. The primary goal is to foster intergenerational learning of southwestern Native American history and culture. The project centers around youth meeting and interacting with elders while visiting places with special cultural meaning, examining artifacts pertinent to their tribal histories, and listening to and telling meaningful stories. In addition, it embodies self-representation and the forming of leadership skills. During the course of working with six regional tribes (Hopi, Zuni, Dine, Yavapai Apache, Gila River, and Hualapai) the project aids in building capacity for learning culture and history within communities and outward to other Nations.

To fulfill this goal we propose a digital storytelling model where Native youth pair with elders to form personal, thoughtful reflections and connections to places, objects, culture, and identity. Using multimedia tools, our team will participate in placed based storytelling at a variety of venues across the American Southwest that feature considerable cultural and historical resources that are significant to our nation’s history. The project will result in a DVD film and provide a web-based forum where southwestern Native youth and elders share their digital stories with each other and with the public at large. The project culminates with a nation-wide Native Digital Storytelling Summit that includes a digital storytelling festival (showing of gathered stories), presentations and discussions, alternative storytelling methods, and breakout training sessions in digital storytelling production.