Share Your Roots Experiences Finalist experiences are now available

THUNDER BAY– ORIGIN, in partnership with CCAB and Uber, announced the release of the finalist’s VR experiences from the Share Your Roots competition on Dec. 2. This is an exciting milestone as the Knowledge Keepers now have a way to store their Traditional Knowledge and share it with individuals across Canada. ORIGIN’s goal was to inspire and engage with Indigenous communities across Canada. The team is grateful to have had this opportunity to connect with so many individuals and hear their stories.

“ORIGIN’s 2021 Share Your Roots National Competition is so close to my heart, that I personally lead this initiative within our organization. It was truly a blessing to connect with all of the Knowledge Keepers who applied across Turtle Island, it was so heartwarming.  We would have loved to showcase them all!” says Melissa Hardy-Giles, Owner and Operator at ORIGIN. “Congratulations to the finalist and I’m looking forward to our 2022 Share Your Roots Competition! Stay tuned!!

The competition sought Indigenous Knowledge Keepers and storytellers to apply in turn for the chance to share their experience through virtual reality. The competition awarded four winners to create experiences. Congratulations are extended to Michelle Savoie, Quanah George, Nick Printup, and Matricia Bauer.

Through the filming of each experience, we were able to learn from these Knowledge Keepers through cultural teachings. These teachings include:

  • Medicine Walk with Matricia Bauer
  • Making Deer Hoof Rattles with Quanah George
  • About the Canoe with Michelle Savoie

“Storytelling is the heart of Indigenous culture. ORIGIN has captured this through the Share Your Roots VR Competition by utilizing today’s technology to honour the memories of our Knowledge Keepers and share them for generations to come,” said CCAB President and CEO, Tabatha Bull. “This competition is key to the preservation and education of Indigenous cultural and immerses the learner in a 360-degree experience.”

“Uber Canada is pleased to congratulate the finalists of the 2021 Share Your Roots competition. By using VR technology, these amazing storytellers will be able to share their lived experiences with individuals across Canada. Share Your Roots is a great example of using technology to facilitate the type of knowledge sharing that is critical on the path towards reconciliation in Canada,”  – Laura Miller, Head of Public Policy & Communications, Uber Canada

Presenting culture through new technology, ImmersiveLink Cultural is a library of 360 videos that allow individuals to immersive themselves in Indigenous culture to celebrate, learn, and explore. All of the finalists’ experiences will be hosted in this library. To view these experiences, free of charge, visit our ImmersiveLink store at https://immersivelink.myshopify.com/collections/indigenous-cultural-library

Chi-miigwech to all those who participated! The competition was a huge success, and ORIGIN looks forward to continuing this as an annual event. To learn more about Share Your Roots and each experience, click here: https://immersivelink.ca/virtual-reality/vr-production/.

About ORIGIN:
ORIGIN is an Indigenous-owned progressive business enterprise that works with Indigenous communities and knowledge keepers to build and create virtual reality content hosted on their ImmersiveLink system. All this is done to highlight, capture and preserve First Nations valuable traditions, language, and protocols. This content is helping industry, employers, students and Canadians to better understand how individual Nations want to be engaged, what priorities they have pertaining to culture and how they care for the land in their traditional territories.

About Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business:
CCAB is committed to the full participation of Indigenous peoples in Canada’s economy. As a national, non-partisan association, its mission is to promote, strengthen and enhance a prosperous Indigenous economy through the fostering of business relationships, opportunities, and awareness. CCAB offers knowledge, resources, and programs to its members to cultivate economic opportunities for Indigenous peoples and businesses across Canada. For more information, visit www.ccab.com.