Research Pods
Niitsitapi Pod
The Niitsitapi Pod is located in the heart of the traditional territory of the Blackfoot Confederacy and based in the Centre for Indigenous Arts Research & Technology (CIART) at the University of Lethbridge/Iniskim.
Community Partners:
A’tsimaani: the Blackfoot Rematriation Committee
The Niitsitapi Pod is located in the heart of the traditional territory of the Blackfoot Confederacy and based in the Centre for Indigenous Arts Research & Technology (CIART) at the University of Lethbridge/Iniskim.
Community Partners:
Purple Mai’a
Centre for Indigenous Arts Research & Technology
University of Lethbridge
Research areas:
Indigenous Digital Media
Indigenous Epistemologies
Indigenous Language and Art
The Research:
Based in the Centre for Indigenous Arts Research & Technology (CIART) at the University of Lethbridge/Iniskim; the Niitsitapi Pod is located in the heart of the traditional territory of the Blackfoot Confederacy. Working closely with Indigenous Elders, faculty partners, students, artists, and Community Partners, this Pod focuses on incorporating Niitsitapi stories (in speech, song, poetry) into AI systems to understand the world, and how the underlying computational architectures might need to be reshaped to do so effectively. Research areas include but are not limited to: Indigenous digital media, Indigenous epistemologies, and Indigenous language and art.
Research areas:
Social Sciences
Engineering and Computer Sciences
Humanities

Leroy Little Bear
Pod Lead

Jacqueline Rice
Pod Lead

Amethyst First Rider
Pod Co-Chair

Christine Clark
Pod Co-Chair
Anastasia Many Bears
Pod Coordinator

Tom Little Bear
Elder in Residence

Migueltzina Solis
Student Mentor

Josephine Mills
Pod Collaborator
Darby Herman
Artist in Residence

Walker English
Artist in Residence

Blair Many Fingers
Graduate Research Assistant

Blaise Russell
Graduate Research Assistant

Michelle Sylvestre
Graduate Research Assistant
Nayan Velaskar
Graduate Research Assistant
Somtochukwu (Ezra) Mbala
Graduate Research Assistant

Kaiya Healy
Undergraduate Research Assistant

Owen Healy
Undergraduate Research Assistant

Seth Villamil
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Collaborators

Payne Many Guns
Undergraduate Research Assistant (July 2025 - Nov 2025)

