Community/Nation/Tribe: Nipisihkopahk, member of Samson Cree Nation
Materials/Processes: Game design, Animation
Themes: Futurism, Survivance, Counter-mapping
Online Resources:
- https://kearaa.itch.io/
- https://www.instagram.com/studioekosi
- https://vp.eventival.com/oiaf/2023/film/943703
Statement/Bio in Artist’s Words:
Keara Lightning (she/her) @kearaa is a Nehiyaw femme writer, game designer, and researcher. Keara is the lead writer and game designer for @studioekosi, an indie studio created with her sister Caeleigh. Keara and Caeleigh were awarded the New Digital + Interactive Artist award at imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival for their visual novel Mikiwam. Their goal as a team is to create moments of joy, characters people will see themselves in, and worlds that spark wonder.
(source)
Keara Lightning is an emerging Indigenous scholar from Samson Cree Nation in Maskwacis, Alberta. Her research works to uncover the Indigenous presence obscured by scientific interpretations of the landscape and explore the potential of Indigenous-led science and environmental management to address these issues. She is a Historian Laureate for the Beaver Hills Biosphere and a Lillian Agnes Jones Fellow with the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies. Keara’s PhD research focuses on wildfire management in collaboration with Indigenous communities with a particular emphasis on revitalizing cultural burning practices.
(Source)