Ancestral Gratitude Bridge

360 Virtual Reality Experience

Abstract

Ancestral Gratitude Bridge was created in response to the high suicide rate of Native youth. The immersive experience is rooted in original teachings of gratitude expressed through the Thanksgiving Address with recognizable environmental and cultural scenes. The experience is a reminder of all of our relations, from the bugs, to the winds, to the birds and people. The teaching and experience is a reminder that they are never alone, but always supported and surrounded by community, not only the 2 and 4 legged kind. It is being engaged with across Haudenosaunee territory and an expanded version with additional landscapes representing the Emirate territory was recently on view at the Sharjah Art Biennial 15: Thinking Historically in the Present.