{"id":672664,"date":"2026-04-04T13:50:40","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T13:50:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.xbox.com\/en-us\/?p=185649"},"modified":"2026-04-04T13:50:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T13:50:40","slug":"xbox-celebrates-indigenous-peoples-of-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/xbox-celebrates-indigenous-peoples-of-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Xbox Celebrates Indigenous Peoples of the World"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For much of my life, I attempted to cover my Karuk heritage. I would hear a hurtful stereotype but not have the courage to speak up because previous instances were met with, \u201cbut you\u2019re white,\u201d as if my Indigenous heritage should be splayed along my skin to count. Fast forward to the summer of 2019 when I took the opportunity to celebrate my birthday with my tribe at our annual reunion on the Klamath River. I had conversations with members of my tribe who expressed that they could not imagine themselves working in the tech industry or that tech industry had a place for them. As a person with Indigenous heritage and a leader in the gaming industry, those conversations sparked a passion to overtly represent Indigenous people through my work. Today, as Xbox celebrates International Day of the World\u2019s Indigenous Peoples, I am writing from the ancestral homeland of the Congaree and the Tsalaguwetiyi (Cherokee, East) Peoples and I commit to telling the importance of representation of Indigenous Peoples in their honor.<\/p>\n

My tribe, the Karuk, are the \u201cUpriver People.\u201d We have been the stewards of our Northern California territories since time immemorial. To this day, our Department of Natural Resources practices Indigenous land management and cultural burning where permitted while advocating for our lands. In my home office, I display a traditional dentalium shell necklace being worn by Sheepsquatch on my bookcase. I also have on my office bookshelf a copy of “Fire Race: A Karuk Coyote Tale of How Fire Came to the People” by Johnathan London. These links to my heritage are proudly on display during every conversation I have at<\/a> Xbox and have led to great conversations about Indigenous representation with colleagues. I also serve as the co-lead for our Indigenous employee community group at Xbox.<\/p>\n

For those who don\u2019t work in the tech industry, there is often a misconception that you have to know how to code to get into gaming. But games are about so much more than just code; video games are an artistic medium told through visual art, music, and narrative storytelling. Indigenous peoples have traditionally ingrained wisdom and knowledge through oral narrative, through passing stories and songs down from one generation to the next. Now, these stories can continue to be memorialized through video games by those of us who work in the industry or those who will tell our stories.<\/p>\n

I distinctly remember playing Never Alone<\/em>, which is a puzzle platformer developed in collaboration with the I\u00f1upiat Alaskan Native people. The rich narrative tells the story of a young I\u00f1upiat girl and an arctic fox who are surviving the Arctic tundra, which has been ravaged by an everlasting blizzard. As I progressed through the story, I was able to unlock fascinating cultural highlights which are actual interviews from I\u00f1upiat members who share about their beliefs and culture. I soaked in the stories about how the northern lights came to be or the importance of caribou leather insulating from the cold. I finished the game on a Wednesday and found myself on a flight to Alaska on Saturday morning. I admired an elderly woman and her daughter, who was wearing traditional clothing, her fur lined hood on a royal blue parka, boarding the plane from Anchorage to Fairbanks. To my excitement, their seats were next to mine on the plane. She asked why I was visiting Alaska. With a kind smile, she nodded and listened as I rambled excitedly about this video game, this Indigenous artistic masterpiece, and that I was coming to Alaska to visit in real life what I had experienced through the game. When I\u2019d finished, the elderly woman revealed that she was an I\u00f1upiat elder and one of the tribal members who contributed to the game\u2019s creation. In that moment I truly felt not alone \u2013 seen, understood by, and connected for just a moment with another Indigenous person thousands of miles from my own home.<\/p>\n

I know what it\u2019s like to feel alone. So many Indigenous people cover who they are for fear of being misunderstood or made fun of. I can\u2019t tell you how many people have asked me why I don\u2019t wear a feather headdress, or worse, how many people are surprised to learn that Indigenous peoples are alive and well, not just a relic from history. Indigenous peoples are underrepresented in every area of life. Through video games, we at Xbox have the incredible opportunity to elevate and give voice to communities that have been systemically oppressed.  All people deserve a place at the table. I love this industry and I love video games as an artistic, narrative medium. <\/p>\n

Join Xbox as we celebrate the rich histories of Indigenous peoples all over the world for International Day of the World\u2019s Indigenous Peoples as well as throughout the year:<\/p>\n

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Give<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Gaming and Impact with Microsoft Rewards<\/strong><\/p>\n

Throughout the month of August, we\u2019re adding organizations that support Indigenous communities to Microsoft Rewards on console. Microsoft Rewards members in the United States and the Canada can earn and donate points to organizations supporting gaming and disability communities with Xbox.<\/p>\n