'TRIBE': A Bridge Between Ancient Indigenous Wisdom and Technology

Can you imagine the learnings that could be brought to light if technology was used to understand millennial Indigenous knowledge?

Well, David Lindberg has germinated the first seed towards it. He is a Swedish digital and AI (artificial intelligence) creator who has recently started a project called TRIBE, an outstanding artistic creation that is bringing traditional-Native knowledge and technology together to recreate a common space for sharing alternative channels to awaken our real selves, heal and meet with that untouchable dimension we have called spiritual.

This could have been seen as awkward or even unthinkable some years ago. However, it is broadly representing a lot of people’s thoughts and needs today, perhaps because we are day-by-day more aware of the importance of emotions and universal balance—a conscience that could be seen as one of the many consequences COVID-19 left implanted. Naturally and silently, it has guided us towards nature and nature towards the invisible dimension of our world.

“This is what this project is all about. To help you and help me on our journey of coming home,” says David.

Since David only launched this initiative a little over three months ago, there is no detailed information about him or TRIBE. However, he has gained a lot of followers and supporters to keep the idea going. To share his work, he first opened an Instagram account with the username "David_x_tribe'' and posted extraordinary pictures of the people he has imagined to be part of TRIBE´s universe, which he has created with an AI called Midjourney or Stabble Difussion. When you visit this account, you are immediately left speechless and in amazement at all the beings you see; you can see how each of them conveys something unique and unspeakable. It is magic what you find in David’s creation, something familiar to Avatar’s movie as you may find similarities with its characters, although, these ones seem to be more diverse, vivid and colourful. They depict a rich multiculturalism.

Since then, TRIBE has had a quick growth and has been very well received by the digital community with whom David wants to co-create this story and turn it into a game, a book, movie or whatever format possible. To this point, the narrative of TRIBE “…is about some characters' journey along the river (Ngarriguárna), through the different tribes into the Source of the River (…) they feel they have no choice but going to the Source, where no one else has been (or maybe someone has?) because of the increasing darkness and danger that comes from the land of Shadows (Kuañà)." So, for now, TRIBE has multiple interpretations and choices to continue its narrative, in which any voice, idea or opinion can be heard and be meaningful in the process. This is definitely an innovative and interactive way of creation for gathering plural voices in an artistic work, just taking the limits of digital art beyond, which definitely aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Partnership for the Goals.

This is giving a promising prospect to TRIBE to be a global community and more, since David wants to consolidate this universe in a metaverse once this technology improves to provide a total immersive experience and spread all the millennial Indigenous knowledge all over the world. This is an opportunity to have a great and positive impact in many fields, mainly the educational one. It is a glimpse of a new horizon to the current pedagogy by turning it into one that embraces the sensorial experience and empiric knowledge in order to redefine nature and human relationship, and promote the pairs of technology and traditional wisdom or science and tradition, this could have a vast contribution over Quality Education, another United Nations Sustainable Development Goal.

From now on, TRIBE will serve, or already does, as an inspiration for those working in the digital industry to create new concepts that build a link between traditional and Indigenous cultures and science and technology. This is a call to action to make a link between those things that may seem incompatible in order to come up with the most creative ideas that could change our world for the better.

For more information visit David’s Patreon account.