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Elizabeth LaPensée

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Elizabeth LaPensée
Elizabeth LaPensée speaking at
#1ReasonToBe Conference, March 2015
In-universe information
TitleAssistant Professor
Occupationartist, game designer, writer, and researcher
AffiliationMichigan State University - Media & Information and Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures Department[1]
NationalityAnishinaabe, Métis, and Irish

Elizabeth LaPensée, Ph.D., has Anishinaabe, Métis, and Irish ancestry. She is an Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan, in the department of Media & Information and Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures.[2] In addition to teaching, she also significantly contributes to the field of Indigenous game development through her art, research and writing. She also expresses herself through comics, experimental animation, and other interactive media that is informed by her Indigenous cultural values and teachings.

Before her current role at Michigan State University, Elizabeth LaPensée was a Research Assistant for Aboriginal Territories in Cyberspace. Aboriginal Territories in Cyberspace is an organization of Aboriginal academics, artists and technologists with a goal to make Aboriginal sovereignty more presence in cyberspace.[3]

Research

In her research, Elizabeth LaPensée discusses how game development is a contemporary and significant method of passing on Aboriginal traditional teachings. This is seen through her use of collaboration with Indigenous community members, sharing stories, using Indigenous pedagogy in game goal achievements and using land-based knowledge to make site-specific games on the web.[4] In an interview with Vicki Moulder from Simon Fraser University she says, "I do my best to contribute to games with the hope of players remembering and activating teachings about our creative connection to land and life."[5]

Indigenous Futurism

Elizabeth LaPensée's research is often cited in connection with Indigenous Futurism. Grace Dillon, Ph.D. acclaims LaPensée's sci-fi animations as a "must-see" example of how Aboriginal storytelling can transform the way Aboriginal futures are imagined.[6] Other researchers have pointed to LaPensée as an example of a game developer that draws on their Aboriginal culture, spirituality, language and values to create new representations of Aboriginal people that transcend and debunk stereotypes and myths of Aboriginal people in Canada. [7][8]

Survivance

Survivance is a social impact game created by Elizabeth LaPensée. A social impact game is one that encourages players to enact social change in their lives outside the game.[9] Players choose from Indigenous non-linear quests and create an act of survivance, which LaPensée describes as a form of self-determination based on Anishinaabe scholar Gerald Vizenor’s term “survivance.”[10] Players will perform a variety of tasks like revitalizing ancestral language, sharing or listening to stories (historical, traditional), show empathy for other characters, or taking action to protect their own survival and wellbeing.[11][12]

Survivance is another way that Elizabeth LaPensée has been said to contribute to the conversation of Indigenous Futurisms as the game's intention is to assert Aboriginal historical identities into online territories and the future imaginings of Anishinaabe people.[13]

Survivance was shown at imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival 2013 and Nominated at IndieCade 2016.[14]

Work

In addition to the listed games, comics, transmedia and animation projects, Elizabeth LaPensée also creates art illustrations and Anishinaabemowin teaching posters that can be found on her website.

Games[15]
2017
  • Coyote Quest, Narrative Designer & Writer
  • Manoominike, Designer & Artist
  • Mikan, Designer & Artist
2016
  • Honour Water, Designer, Artist, Writer & Researcher
  • Little Earth Song, Designer & Artist
  • Singuistics: Anishinaabemowin, Producer, Artist & Researcher
2015
  • Invaders, Designer & Programmer
  • Ninagamominji-nanaandawi’iwe, Designer, Artist & Programmer
2014
  • The Gift of Food, Designer
  • Gathering Native Foods, Co-Designer
2013
  • Max's Adventures, Designer & Writer
2012
  • Mawisowin, Co-Designer
2011
  • Survivance, Designer & Researcher
2008
  • Techno Medicine Wheel, Designer & Writer
2007
  • Venture Arctic, Writer & Researcher
Comics[16]
In-Progress
  • The Strange People, Artist
  • Of Ash and Snow, Writer & Colourist
  • They Who Walk As Lightning, Writer
2015
  • Deer Woman: A Vignette, Writer
  • The Observing, Writer
  • Copper Heart, Writer
2012
  • Our Words, Writer & Artist
  • The Nature of Snakes, Writer & Artist
2008
  • Fala, Writer
  • The West Was Lost, Writer
Transmedia[17]
2010
  • Animism, Researcher & Writer
Animations[18]
2016
  • Hands to the Sky, Director & Artist
2015
  • Returning, Director & Artist
2011
  • The Path Without End, Director & Artist

References

  1. ^ "Elizabeth LaPensée, Ph.D." Michigan State University. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  2. ^ "Elizabeth LaPensée, Ph.D." Michigan State University. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  3. ^ "Aboriginal Territories in Cyberspace: Empowering First Nations with New Media Technologies". Aboriginal Territories in Cyberspace. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  4. ^ McMahon, Ryan. "Red Man Laughing - The Dr. Elizabeth LaPensée Interview". Red Man Laughing. Markoons Media Group. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  5. ^ Moulder, Vicki; LaPensée, Elizabeth (January–February 2017). "Walking and wiring the land: Indigenous art practice in games" (PDF). ACM. 24 (1): 46–49. doi:10.1145/3019602. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  6. ^ Dillon, Grace (2016). "Indigenous futurisms, bimaashi biidaas mose, flying and walking towards you". Extrapolation. 57 (1/2): 2. doi:10.3828/extr.2016.2. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  7. ^ Dillon, Grace (2016). "Indigenous futurisms, bimaashi biidaas mose, flying and walking towards you". Extrapolation. 57 (1/2): 2. doi:10.3828/extr.2016.2. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  8. ^ Baudemann, Kristina (January 2016). "Indigenous Futurisms in North American Indigenous Art". Extrapolation. 57 (1–2): 117–150. doi:10.3828/extr.2016.8. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  9. ^ "About". Games for Change. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  10. ^ LaPensée, Elizabeth (2014). "Survivance as an indigenously determined game". AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples. 10 (3): 263–275. doi:10.1177/117718011401000305. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  11. ^ Vaudrin-Charette, Julie; Beard, Colin (2016). [file:///Users/heatherjames/Downloads/40307-50443-1-PB.pdf "A Sensory Experiment into Languages as (R)evolution"] (PDF). Journal of the Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies. 14 (1): 139. Retrieved 3 April 2017. {{cite journal}}: Check |url= value (help)
  12. ^ Corriea, Alexa Ray (17 March 2014). "Games can preserve indigenous stories and oral histories". Polygon. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  13. ^ Dillon, Grace (2016). "Indigenous futurisms, bimaashi biidaas mose, flying and walking towards you". Extrapolation. 57 (1/2): 2. doi:10.3828/extr.2016.2. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  14. ^ "About Survivance". International Festival of Independent Games. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  15. ^ LaPensée, Elizabeth. "Works - Games". Elizabeth LaPensée. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  16. ^ LaPensée, Elizabeth. "Works - Comics". Elizabeth LaPensée. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  17. ^ LaPensée, Elizabeth. "Works - Transmedia". Elizabeth LaPensée. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  18. ^ LaPensée, Elizabeth. "Works - Animations". Elizabeth LaPensée. Retrieved 3 April 2017.

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