Mixed Reality Co-Design for Indigenous Culture Preservation & Continuation

As a result of urban concentration, colonisation, increased physical distance from tribal homelands, and globalisation, many indigenous people, including Māori, are seeking digital solutions to connect to their culture and identity. Through co-design, close collaboration with our indigenous partners, and careful consideration of cultural context, we show that mixed reality experiences can be an effective mechanism for the growing diaspora of Māori to access and experience their language, genealogy, families, histories and knowledge. Inductive analysis of semi-structured interviews highlights the importance of cultural values and context in this experience, and confirms that this approach can support connections to community and culture. Our work is deeply embedded in a particular indigenous group’s context and culture, but we believe that it holds important lessons that can generalise to other groups. In particular, collaborative co-design and recognition of cultural values throughout the project are essential for producing experiences that meet the needs of specific communities, and that reflect and respect their culture and worldview.