2. Indigenous Storyworlds: Beings at the Threshold

Explore Indigenous accounts of beings that cross between worlds — tricksters, cryptids, shapeshifters, underworld creatures, and guardians. Emphasis is placed on understanding these beings within their cultural context and relations: to the land, to ecological systems, to human communities, and to spiritual protocols. This book resists decontextualizing or exoticizing; instead it invites respectful engagement with how Indigenous storyworlds represent threshold beings and their lessons.

🔑 Key Features of This Structure

Starts with protocols (grounding in respect).
Anchors in Blackfoot knowledge while making room for global Indigenous voices.
Bridges into XR translation without rushing past cultural protocols.
Ends with reflections and cautions — ensuring humility.

Keywords: IIndigenous XR, Blackfoot, Napi, Thunderbird, trickster, shapeshifters, underworld beings, oral tradition, relations, context, storyworlds.

1. Protocols & Context
2. Blackfoot Beings (Montana Anchor)
3. Regional Indigenous Beings (Global Contributions)
4. Translating to XR
5. Reflections & Cautions

1. Protocols & Context

Purpose: Establish how beings should be represented in this Codex. Document the importance of cultural protocols, relationality, and context. Provide space for Elders and knowledge keepers to guide contributions.
Starter Content:
- Statement of humility and gratitude.
- Note that stories belong to Nations/communities, not to the Codex.
- Emphasize “story-before-data.”

2. Blackfoot Beings (Montana Anchor)

Purpose: Provide a starting point rooted in BEK leadership. Document Blackfoot threshold beings (e.g., Napi, Underwater Beings, Thunderbirds), guided by Tyson & Lona Running Wolf.
Starter Content:
- Acknowledgment that not all stories can or should be shared.
- Notes on how BEK protocols shape this project.
- Examples that demonstrate relation to land/ecology (e.g., rivers, mountains).

3. Regional Indigenous Beings (Global Contributions)

Purpose: Invite Indigenous contributors from other regions (Māori, Sámi, Aboriginal, Latin American, African Indigenous) to document their own threshold beings.
Starter Content:
- Template: “Name of Being / Nation / Region / Context / Lessons / Relation to Land / XR Potential”
- Reminder: only contribute if the Nation consents and context can be respectfully explained.

4. Translating to XR

Purpose: Explore how Indigenous designers and communities decide to represent (or not represent) these beings in XR — including VR, AR, games, and other immersive media.
Starter Content:
- Ethical cautions about visualizing sacred beings.
- Examples of respectful design (e.g., symbolic representation vs. literal depiction).
- Considerations of hardware, software, and human infrastructure.

5. Reflections & Cautions

Purpose: Gather community reflections on the risks, responsibilities, and opportunities of weaving threshold beings into immersive learning.
Starter Content:
- Risks of appropriation or misrepresentation.
- Ways to ensure reciprocity and benefit to Indigenous communities.
- Guidance for iLRN members on when not to represent beings.