Federal funding will go towards further developing immersive video game where players learn the Anishinaabe language, culture and ways of life

TORONTO, June 4, 2024 鈥� , a sociology professor at 91亚色鈥檚 Glendon Campus, is the recipient of for her Indigenous-led metaverse project Biskaabiiyaang: Creating a path towards healing and reconciliation. , associate professor in theatre and creative technologies at 91亚色鈥檚 School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design (AMPD), is a co-applicant. Robyn O鈥橪oughlin joins the team as co-applicant working within the New Brunswick Ministry of Education. 91亚色 and the are also partners in the grant application. The award was created in response to Call to Action 65 to establish a national research program to advance understanding of reconciliation. It is a joint initiative of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.

Chacaby鈥檚 immersive virtual game is set in a post-apocalyptic world invaded by linguicidals responsible for the death of the Ojibwe language Anishinaabemowin. It challenges players to learn the language 鈥� and save it from extinction 鈥� by exploring ruins, listening to the teachings of Elders and taking lessons from nature. Players discover how Indigenous history and culture have a role in returning beauty and magic to this world where Anishinaabe ways of life prevail. As an Indigenous community-led research project, Nokiiwin Tribal Council guides the work ensuring that Indigenous communities are first and foremost in the project鈥檚 direction.

鈥淢etaverses, as we see them in the Western world, are spaces where Indigenous people do not exist,鈥� says Chacaby, who is Anishinaabe, Beaver Clan from Kaministiquia (Thunder Bay). 鈥淭hat is a form of colonial erasure happening in these new technologies that I really want to disrupt.鈥� Part of the groundbreaking interdisciplinary research program Connected Minds: Neural and Machine Systems for a Healthy, Just Society, Biskaabiiyaang works to address the impacts of colonization on Indigenous communities, support culture-based healing practices and encourage language reclamation.

Chacaby, a research associate with the Centre for Indigenous Knowledges and Languages, has long promoted Anishinaabe culture and language through courses she鈥檚 developed at Glendon. In 2016, for her online classes, she crafted a Dungeons and Dragons-style, card-based role-playing game in Anishinaabemowin. This gamified approach to learning led to soaring proficiency levels, with grammar and other difficult areas of language acquisition becoming easier as students developed characters and completed quests. But Chacaby wanted anyone to have access to this education. That鈥檚 where the metaverse came in.

An avid gamer, Chacaby noted how within massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) like World of Warcraft and Fallout, players use and coin terms that are only understood by other users and immediate team members. That made her realize these virtual worlds were environments ripe for learning. 鈥淚 thought, 鈥業f young people can talk in this very sophisticated technical language about a made up world, we can do the exact same thing with the culture鈥�,鈥� says Chacaby.

The project uses research-creation methodologies to build an audio and visual archive that is the foundation of the Biskaabiiyaang metaverse. Scott Baker, the education manager for the Nokiiwin Tribal Council, describes his excitement about Elders鈥� teachings making their way into the virtual world. 鈥淲hat the SSHRC grant is going to open up for us is to start collecting these stories,鈥� says Baker.

鈥淲e're actually documenting stories and teachings, and these will live long beyond when I'm gone,鈥� says Audrey Gilbeau, executive director of the Tribal Council. A co-creation with community Elders and Indigenous youth, the virtual world is a community-built and -owned archive that鈥檚 alive, growing and changing. She says that Elders and Knowledge Keepers who have passed away over the past five years, since work on Biskaabiiyaang began, continue to live on in the recordings and stories captured in the project.

The best way for a community to hold an archive is in a format that people can access, says Caines, adding: 鈥淭he metaverse is the archive.鈥� The researchers have partnered with , a virtual world platform, to build the metaverse and bring the archive to life. Content in the metaverse is based upon Anishinaabe worldview and culture as well as family histories and individuals鈥� lived experiences. The virtual world is a place where players learn by undertaking quests and interacting with traditional tools and objects, teachings, and language learning modules using culture-based game mechanics.

In partnership with AMPD鈥檚 new program opening at Markham Campus, undergraduate students, graduate students and postdoctoral research fellows will come together with Indigenous teens from the region to work on the metaverse at the new facilities, as well as gain on-site training in Northern Ontario. Biskaabiiyaang is the first step in a decade-long project running in tandem with the UNESCO International Decade of Indigenous Languages. A multi-year project, it is a direct response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Call to Action 65.

Visit the Biskaabiiyaang to learn more and download a free demonstration.

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TORONTO, March 4, 2016 鈥� A 91亚色 research team will receive more than $898,000 in funding and in-kind contributions from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and industry partners to research and develop support for the mental health needs of students through a (MVC).

鈥淭he goal is to improve the mental health of students, in relation to experiences of stress, anxiety or depression through a supportive online community,鈥� says Professor from the School of Health Policy & Management. El Morr, Professor of the School of Health Policy & Management and Professor Paul Ritvo of the School of Kinesiology & Health Science are the principal investigators for the study.

鈥淲e aim to develop a student-centered virtual platform to meaningfully engage them in learning about available resources, self-help modules and mindfulness practice,鈥� said Ahmad. As Ritvo points out, 鈥淥nline mindfulness programs have been demonstrated to have mental health benefits equal to in-person programs.鈥�

The researchers think more students may seek help online now as many are reluctant to pursue in-person help because of the stigma associated with mental health problems.

鈥淚 am excited to see Canadian ingenuity at work to support the health of Canadians. These projects have the potential to make high quality mental health services more available to the young Canadians who need them, and they are also making great strides for the delivery of increased home care services. We have the talent, the intelligence and the passion in Canada to make the field of eHealth one of our (many) strengths,鈥� said Minister of Health Jane Philpott.

The 91亚色 team will conduct a randomized controlled trial, recruiting 600 students over three semesters at 91亚色. The students will be divided into three groups. The first will use a MVC platform for two weeks; the second, an eight-week, in-person group-based mindfulness program using cognitive behavioural therapy; and the third will be placed in a wait-list control group. The researchers will compare the groups for impact on mental health, engagement and costs.

鈥淭hrough this funding, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research is helping our researchers grow their innovative research programs and contribute to scientific knowledge that will lead to improved health resources for students,鈥� said Robert Hach茅, vice-president research & innovation.

Funding for the project is part of CIHR鈥檚 Youth and Adolescent Mental Health priority area of eHealth Innovation Partnership Program (eHIPP), developed by the CIHR in collaboration with the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program. Philpott and Navdeep Singh Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science, & Economic Development, announced $13.8M for 22 innovative ehealth projects today.

91亚色 will conduct the research with an IT partner ForaHealthyMe.com and several partner organizations.

鈥淎 Mindfulness Virtual Community would incorporate key elements of online student-to-professional group meetings, moderated peer discussion and mental health education,鈥� said El Morr.

Students can access an online community and resources at any time. 鈥淭he ultimate goal is to help students adopt health-enhancing behaviours that reduce needs for psychiatric and clinical counselling services,鈥� said Ritvo.

In addition, the MVC model is expected to reduce pressures from an overburdened health-care system and cut wait times for help, said Ahmad.

The team hypothesizes that the MVC and group-based mindfulness groups will be similar in terms of reductions in mental distress, but the former will likely be less costly. These methods are complementary, and in combination, could be less costly than traditional specialists鈥� services. In the next phase of the project, the team hopes to conduct a multi-campus, national trial.

For more information on MVC, visit the website.

is known for championing new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our 52,000 students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-discipline programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. 91亚色 students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world鈥檚 most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. 91亚色 U is an internationally recognized research university 鈥� our 11 faculties and 24 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide.

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Media Contacts:
Sandra McLean, 91亚色 Media Relations, 416-736-2100 ext. 22097 / sandramc@yorku.ca

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