In this episode, we sit down with Bob Joseph, author, speaker, and longtime educator on Indigenous relations, to ask a deceptively simple question: Should Indigenous people embrace technology?

Drawing on his own experiences in commercial fishing, business, and education, Bob reflects on how Indigenous cultures have always adapted to new technologies. From weirs and traps to boats, motors, and modern fishing equipment, the tools may change without making the cultures, relationships, and rights behind them any less Indigenous. That leads us to the idea at the heart of this episode: is AI simply the next boat?

Together, we explore both the possibilities and risks of climbing aboard. Bob discusses how digital technologies and AI can support Indigenous education, language, cultural preservation, and economic opportunity, while our conversation also wrestles with corporate power, environmental impacts, data and knowledge, and the reality that technology is never neutral. The Next Boat is a conversation about adaptation without surrendering... how Indigenous peoples can engage with powerful new technologies while protecting culture, exercising agency, and helping determine where those technologies take them.

Gila’kasla!

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A very special thanks to Compulsion Soundlabs for sharing their musical talent, which you are hearing as the intro and outro music in this series!

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Tommy and Al respectfully acknowledge that this show is recorded and produced on the traditional, unceded territories of the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Chonnonton, and Lūnaapéewak peoples. London, Ontario, Canada is situated on their lands, a beautiful place that Tommy and Al are privileged to call home. Through this series, Tommy and Al aim to share their platform to create progressive, safe, and inclusive space to share the wisdoms, lessons, and experiences of Indigenous peoples from sea, to sea, to sea - in hopes of finding meaningful avenues to co-exist and function together online, in the spirit of love, courage, kindness, and reconciliation.

In this episode, we sit down with Darian Ducharme from Teqare, a digital literacy and cyber safety educator from Lac Seul First Nation who has worked with more than 70 Indigenous communities and over 100 schools across Turtle Island. Darian shares how his work brings him into First Nations communities to teach youth, Elders, and adults about cyber safety, financial literacy, digital privacy, and the rapidly changing risks associated with social media, AI, and online scams.

Our conversation explores the realities of digital life in remote and northern communities, where many people are only now gaining reliable internet access through technologies such as Starlink. Darian reflects on how some communities are navigating digital risks that urban Canadians encountered more than a decade ago, while simultaneously confronting entirely new challenges tied to AI-generated content, deepfakes, misinformation, and online surveillance. Together, we discuss everything from scam culture and phishing attacks to AI-generated videos, data harvesting, and the hidden economies behind social media platforms and smartphone apps.

We also explore the tension between digital opportunity and digital risk. Darian speaks thoughtfully about balancing caution with optimism, emphasizing that Indigenous youth should not be afraid to share their stories, languages, artwork, and experiences online. The conversation touches on how technology can support language preservation, economic opportunity, and cultural visibility, while also requiring communities to think carefully about privacy, exploitation, and the long-term consequences of digital footprints.

Gila’kasla!

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A very special thanks to Compulsion Soundlabs for sharing their musical talent, which you are hearing as the intro and outro music in this series!

In this episode, we sit down with Stan Knight from Opaskwayak Cree Nation. He is the creator of Inspector in a Box: an initiative to build housing capacity in remote Indigenous communities across Canada. Drawing on his experience in construction, insurance adjusting, and community work, Stan explains how the program equips communities with tools, training, and digital infrastructure so that housing inspections and renovation planning can be led locally rather than relying on costly outside contractors that are often unfamiliar with the needs of Indigenous communities.

Our conversation explores the deeper realities of housing across Indigenous communities, from the logistical challenges of shipping materials north to the cultural and environmental realities that make one-size-fits-all government housing ineffective. Stan walks us through how technology such as drones, LiDAR-enabled smartphones, thermal cameras, and inspection software are being used to capture housing data locally, allowing communities to document their needs, plan repairs, and access funding without having to bring outside experts into remote regions.

This is a thoughtful conversation about housing, technology, and self-determination — and about how Indigenous leadership can reshape systems that have historically been imposed from the outside. We hope you’ll explore it as an invitation to think differently about infrastructure, innovation, and the role digital tools can play in supporting community-led solutions.

Gila’kasla!

Follow us on Twitter: Wtncast

Follow your co-hosts: Tommy | Al | Lawrence

A very special thanks to Compulsion Soundlabs for sharing their musical talent, which you are hearing as the intro and outro music in this series!