The robots are coming…but they are friendly and they want you to learn.

With the use and power of robots, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth can grow their technological and historical knowledge when sharing about Indigenous culture through the IndigeSTEAM program

IndigeSTEAM is a traditional STEM program including science, technology, engineering, and mathematics with adding the letter A to the program resembling agriculture, arts, and architecture all aspects that the Indigenous community has been a part of for many years.

The robotics program’s mission is to offer conventional storytelling but to deploy a STEM process.

“It’s important because it really takes the blend of traditional knowledge and knowing and gives it a new kind of spin,” said Logan Oldstar Arcilla, program manager and co-founder of IndigeSTEAM. 

“We can provide students these kinds of opportunities, how to learn something and use a little bit of STEM education added into it.”

The types of robots mainly used in the program are from Lego’s Mindstorm and Lego’s Spike Prime, with Spike Prime being the more advanced set used.

Along with sharing Indigenous stories, there are also incorporated challenges in the robotics program to better develop the coding skills of the students.

“One of the challenges is to turn the teepee to the east, so they (students) would code the robot to drive over to the teepee and turn it to the east,” said Cree Metis Sheila Norris, executive director of IndigeSTEAM.

“Within that story, we would teach them about why the teepee is turned to the east.”  

Apart from the challenges, there is incorporating Elders and traditional dancers in the various camps and programs that IndigeSTEAM offers.

“We bring elders in, and we try to incorporate cultural awareness in competitions, in different things like that, in the different teachings,” said Norris.

According to Norris, the decision to use robotics is based on the idea that we currently live in a technological world and can use technology to tell the historical world’s story. 

“So, it’s two-eyes seeing in both directions so that we can all walk together,” said Norris.

The teaching and demonstrations are offered in various camps and programs supplied by IndigeSTEAM.