It is not uncommon to learn about non-Indigenous entities appropriating Indigenous culture but none of them are as large, prestigious, or well-known as The Apache® Software Foundation is in software circles. They are known for the Apache® Software License, an open-source software license, and the Apache® HTTP Server, which is used nearly everywhere to proxy requests to incoming servers. The nonprofit entity was established in 1999. One of the founders, Brian Behlendorf, describes how he came about choosing the name Apache in the documentary “Trillions and Trillions Served”:

I suggested the name Apache partly because the web technologies at the time that were launching were being called cyber this or spider that or something on those themes and I was like we need something a little more interesting, a little more romantic, not to be a cultural appropriator or anything like that, I had just seen a documentary about Geronimo and the last days of a Native American tribe called the Apaches, right, who succumbed to the invasion from the West, from the United States, and they were the last tribe to give up their territory and for me that almost romantically represented what I felt we were doing with this web-server project…

This frankly outdated spaghetti-Western “romantic” presentation of a living and vibrant community as dead and gone in order to build a technology company “for the greater good” is as ignorant as it is offensive. We urge The Apache® Software Foundation to take the necessary steps needed to express the ally-ship they promote so deeply on their website, to act in accordance with their own code of conduct, to “be careful in the words that [they] choose”, and change their name.

Indigenous Erasure

Indigenous erasure is the systematic process of opposing, removing, re-framing, and undermining Indigenous presence, past and present, within the broader historical narrative from which they originated and continue to exist. There are several things that Behlendorf says that perpetuate this process in deep and concerning ways. For example, Behlendorf says “the last days of” to frame Apache existence as in the past as opposed to the present. This erasure removes responsibility from the perpetrator of the erasure to acknowledge Indigenous people here and now and reckon with the reality that their actions are an extension of the colonial entity the Apache fought against. There are currently 8 federally recognized tribes that carry on the Apache name and represent thousands and thousands of living, breathing people:

• Apache Tribe of Oklahoma
• Fort Sill Apache Tribe of Oklahoma
• Jicarilla Apache Nation, New Mexico
• Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Reservation, New Mexico
• San Carlos Apache Tribe of the San Carlos Reservation, Arizona
• Tonto Apache Tribe of Arizona
• White Mountain Apache Tribe of the Fort Apache Reservation, Arizona
• Yavapai-Apache Nation of the Camp Verde Indian Reservation, Arizona

Organizations that say they support Indigenous peoples while using erasure type language is harmful and counterproductive. This type of erasure undermines the abilities of Native and non-Native people to work together. It also threatens critical rights around Indigenous sovereignty, self-determination, and respect. Ultimately, this undermines the foundation’s work to better serve marginalized communities.

Romanticizing Indigenous Cultures

Romanticizing Indigenous culture is another theme in Behlendorf’s statement above. Romanticizing is framing past Indigenous societies as pure, reverent, and simple. However, Indigenous societies were, and still are, complex and full of the many contradictions found in modern societies. This stereotype of Indigenous people is harmful. It categorizes Indigenous people within the bounds of the stereotype forced upon them, making it difficult for non-Indigenous peoples to see them differently. It also distances Indigenous people from modern technology, the very thing the foundation represents. In addition to representing a “simpler” time, Indigenous names and imagery are also used to represent the “warrior” spirit. Hence why many sports teams, and countless other colleges and grade schools, use “Indian” imagery as a way to represent them on the “battlefield.”

Romanticizing Indigenous cultures is a way of framing them as static rather than dynamic. It also fails to acknowledge years of war, forced assimilation, and other adverse policies embedded as historical trauma throughout the generations and up to this day. Organizations that say they support Indigenous peoples but who lack any real connection to them, instead relying on historical stereotypes, fail to be allies to those they attempt to emulate.

In Their Own Words

Additional information about the name can be found on the foundation’s website. The foundation describes how they do things as “The Apache® Way,” their logo is a feather, and the company even went so far as to trademark the name Apache®. When reading the About Our Name page, they say:

The name “Apache” was chosen out of reverence and appreciation for the people and tribes who refer to themselves as “Apache"

By not enumerating the Apache nations, they fail to acknowledge and respect the name’s provenance and origin, sidestepping any accountability the foundation should have towards them.

On occasion, we have been asked about claims about use of the “Apache” name by the Apache Native American communities. During its twenty-five years of use of “Apache” as part of its name, the ASF has never been involved in any legal dispute with Native American communities or any other party in relation to the use of the “Apache” name.

This assumes any one of the 8 Apache nations wants to give any legitimacy to The Apache® Software Foundation’s trademark claim, especially, in a court system that has historically ruled against the sovereignty of Indigenous peoples. Imagining the impact of such a court ruling on the culture, one can understand how risky, not to mention expensive, it would be to dispute it.

We are honored that both The Apache Software Foundation and Apache Incubator logos are listed on the official website of the Apache Nation Chamber of Commerce.

A foundation the size of Apache®‘s should be able to demonstrate support beyond one page of a single website offering a rubber stamp. Any indifference towards this fact demonstrates a distorted view of the foundation’s relationship with historically marginalized peoples.

Conclusion

Issues of appropriation are nothing new for Indigenous folks in the US and the world. Nonprofits are service organizations. They should be held to a higher standard when it comes to interacting with historically excluded communities. To that end, Natives in Tech is a service-based organization of hundreds of Indigenous Peoples in technology who participate actively in re-imagining this world as a place where Indigenous people’s identities are respected, in all realms, including software engineering.

Again, we urge The Apache® Software Foundation to take the necessary steps needed to express the ally-ship they promote on their website, to act in accordance with their own code of conduct to “be careful in the words that [they] choose”, and change their name.

If you would like to sign a petition to change the name check out this project we are supporting called "End ASF Mascotry":

ASF and “Native”-themed Mascotry

ASF has been “playing Indian” for decades. There is no respectful way to appropriate and it’s long past the time for ASF to change its name and branding.

If others want to help find possible replacements for the Apache® name, check out the article below and send some ideas to their GitHub repository.

Sports officials unable to find non-Indigenous team names, despite entire universe

Despite being surrounded by literally an entire universe of options, officials from sports teams across North America said they simply cannot come up with names that do not ‘honour’ Indigenous Peoples. The team officials are meeting

Walking Eagle News

Join Natives in Tech for two days of keynotes, lightning talks, workshops, networking, and panels about technology and its impact on the lives and experiences as Indigenous Peoples. During this time we hope you will join us in listening, learning, and celebrating the accomplishments and work being done to address data sovereignty issues Native people and communities face within technology. We look forward to the speakers inspiring innovation and sparking conversations so together we can continue to craft technology that truly serves Native communities and respects Native identities.

REGISTER: https://bit.ly/m/nativesintech

First, on November 4th from 9am-1pm PST we offer a program featuring:

• Natives in Tech: Past, Present, and Future with Adam Recvlohe @adamrecvlohe
• Pathfinding: Avoiding techno-solutionism in Indigenous nation-(re)building Jeff Doctor @jeffadoctor and Samantha Tweet @tweetys24
• Purpose: Put Your Gifts Into Action with Jace Meyer @JaceActually
• If These Lands Could Talk with Natasha Rabsatt @NatashaRabsatt and Marsha Maxwell
• Integrating Google Assistant for Continuous Integration (CI) with Karan Balkar @threadsoflifebg
• Community Convening for Jobseekers and DEI talent development builders  - A Sponsor Feature with Shipt

REGISTER: https://bit.ly/m/nativesintech

On the second day, November 5th from 4pm-7:30pm PST our program features:

• “Skill Share/Show and Tell/Grab the Mic” Rapid-fire 5 minute community member jump-in presentations - sign ups day-of
• Spectrum Sovereignty with Darrah Blackwater @blackwatersoul
• Ethics, Education, and Ethereum - What Indian Country needs to know about Crypto with Holly Grimm @hollygrimm
• Building a VC-Backed Tech Startup in Indian Country with @amberebuker
• Local Contexts: Supporting Indigenous data sovereignty in digital infrastructures with Dr Janette Hamilton-PearceCorrie @LocalContexts and Corrie Roe @CorrieRoe
• Towards ecologically-aware language technology that promotes sustained language use with Joshua Nemecek @mr_nemecek
• Rematriating Tech and CS Education with Frieda McAlear @Friedamca

Attendees are encouraged to use the Gather.Town meetup space during the full 48 hours of access to this amazing space built full to the brim with content to interact with, learn from, watch, listen to, and otherwise enjoy that highlights the beautiful tapestry that makes up the Native community.  Meetup, use it as coworking space, whatever! Enjoy! Access will be available using the link received as part of registration prior to the event.

REGISTER: https://bit.ly/m/nativesintech

We hope to see you! Signed,

The Natives In Tech Conference Planning Team

December 11, 2021

1PM PT / 2PM MT / 3PM CT / 4PM ET

Have you been interested in learning more about XR and storytelling? What about from an indigenous perspective? Then this is a meetup you’ll definitely want to tune in for! What is the purpose of this talk? We want to provide a high overview of the XR space, invite NIT members to share current projects underway that are indigenous led, ask questions, take back learnings and be inspired to use innovation to create solutions in our communities and more!

We are happy to announce that Andrea Delgado-Olson has joined the Natives in Tech team as Executive Director!

A former teacher, Andrea’s introduction to the tech world started with a basic web development class. She enjoyed that final project for that course and that was all it took. Now, she has a Masters in Computer Science and a drive to create a Native support system of technologists.

After attending the AnitaB.org Grace Hopper celebration in 2014, Andrea fell in love with the conference atmosphere created by being around other Native technologists. But where were all the Native women? This question led to Native American Women in Computing which launched in 2015.

Andrea may have been the only member for the first year but she has since found more Indigenous women within the tech community. In fact, she says one of her most inspiring moments was moderating a panel that included Nicole Archambault, Kylie Bemis, Sarah EchoHawk, and Amanda Sharp.

This passion for community that Andrea works to curate along with her experience in leadership with organizations like American Indian Science and Engineering Society and why her stepping into this leadership role at Natives in Tech is exciting. We already have gained so much from her drive as we plan for this year’s conference.

Learn more about Andrea here.

Indigenous in AI is an affinity group that was founded at the prestigious NeurIPS 2020 conference. Their vision is to build an international community of Native, Aboriginal, and First Nations who can collectively transform their home communities with advanced machine learning technology. They believe that elevating the voices of Indigenous researchers, they can also educate on contemporary indigenous issues relevant to information technology and practices.

Because we believe in their impactful work, Natives in Tech is proud to support Indigenous in AI’s mission as a fiscal sponsor within Open Collective. Indigenous in AI seeks support to provide travel scholarships to Indigenous AI researcher students to attend the prestigious NeurIPS and ICML 2022 conferences (which are expected to be in person). “Normally Indigenous voices are very rare at these international conferences because tickets and travel are expensive,” Michael Running Wolf, founder of Indigenous in AI, explained. With representation at AI conferences Indigenous in AI will transform the AI field and Native communities according to Michael: “Our goal is to advance critical research relevant to Indigenous communities by elevating Natives at these important conferences.”

For more information navigate to https://indigenousinai.org and give support at https://opencollective.com/indigenousinai.

For more information contact Michael at rng.wlf@gmail.com

Our website now officially supports localization in 2 languages: English and Spanish.

Indígenas elaborando tecnología centrada en los Indígenas

Indígenas en Tecnología es un colectivo de tecnólogos Indígenas que elaboran tecnología gratuito y de código abierto que empodera a los pueblos Indígenas.

We are very interested in supporting Indigenous languages so if you would like to help with that effort please let us know!

Continue the Conversation

Natives in Tech en Español

We’ve recently added internationalization to the site with English and Spanish translations. We’d like to add indigenous languages soon so if you are interested in adding your language let us know!

Natives in Tech Forumadamrecvlohe

UPDATE 04/06/2021: Event date has been updated to the 10th

Hesci este omvlkv! We are meeting again on April 10th, 2021 at 1pm CDT and this time Holly Grimm will be speaking on Indigenous Communities on Web3. It will be an interesting conversation on the convergence of Indigenous ideas and the decentralized web.

If you are a Native person in tech and would like to attend this event let us know by sending an email to hello@nativesintech.org with your name and nation.

The Natives in Tech team has recently grown and we would like to introduce you to our new social media manager, Shea Vassar.

Shea is a writer and citizen of the Cherokee Nation who is passionate about creating space for Natives in the film and media industries. Her writing has been featured at Roger Ebert, Film School Rejects, High Country News, and others. Shea is currently based out of Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

On top of her day job, Shea is currently working on her Master of Legal Studies in Indigenous People’s Law from the University of Oklahoma. When not writing or studying, she enjoys watching a good Oklahoma City Thunder basketball game or drinking a great cup of coffee.

Her vision for our social media is to continue to build an authentic and comfortable community. Shea is always open for thoughts or ideas from the NiT community and is happy to be on board! If anyone knows of any cool events or tech job postings, feel free to email her at shea@nativesintech.org so we can spread the word.

It seems like we are having meetups every other week! Our goal is to have them at least twice a quarter but have gotten a lot of help from members willing to step up and present on an interesting topic.

We will meet again on March 6th at 2pm, 2021 where Natalie Isabel Contreras will discuss Career Switch: Understanding your Options for Bootcamp Scholarship/ Apprenticeship Programs.

We are really excited about this talk because we want Native people to know the infinite number of opportunities they have to enter into the tech space and to take advantage of those programs.

If you are a Native person in tech and would like to attend this event let us know by sending an email to hello@nativesintech.org with your name and nation.

The 2nd Natives in Tech Meetup was this past Saturday and featured a conversation initiated by Natalie Isabel Contreras who talked about "Indigenous Perspectives in Innovation."

Natalie started the conversation by asking why should we encourage folks to lean into tech? This set the tone for a very personal and vulnerable yet empowering talk surrounding what it is like to be an Indigenous person in the tech industry. Natalie's willingness to open up to those of us in the meeting about her experiences in the tech community was incredible and we hope to continue this sort of conversation.

Natalie stated early on in her talk that “Indigenous worldview is counter to capitalist centered construct embedded within Silicon Valley Tech." She continued by sharing that the extractive model that is so evident within modern day tech is the opposite of the Indigenous ways of life. There are ways to integrate Indigenous perspectives into our everyday work by practicing skill share, creating apps that promote mutual aid, and continue to build an ecosystem for Natives that are interested in joining.

This community should be one that those who are involved not only give to but are all welcome to come into their own power. It is not just about encouraging Native youth but anyone who is interested in a career change or pathway into tech. Through these connections, we can use tech as a tool for healing and support for one another.

This conversation with Natalie was very encouraging and we hope to be able to create more spaces with conversations like the one this past weekend. If you are a Native person in tech and would like to attend this event let us know by sending an email to hello@nativesintech.org with your name and nation.

See you soon, either by Zoom or in our Slack channel!

This article is a weekly recap of events, opportunities, and happenings of Natives in technology. Inspired by the newsletter from diversifytech.co.

If you would like to add sponsored content to our weekly recaps then please send an email to hello@nativesintech.org.

Featured

Native Owned Businesses is steadily making progress. We would appreciate any feedback or support on this open source project!

nativesintech/native-owned-businesses

A directory to highlight Native-owned businesses! Contribute to nativesintech/native-owned-businesses development by creating an account on GitHub.

GitHubnativesintech

Jobs Board

Outreachy is hiring!

Outreachy is hiring a Open Source Intern in Remote on the Native Talent in Tech job board.

Native Talent in Tech

Close is hiring!

Close is hiring a Customer Support Executive - North America CT/MT (100% Remote) in Remote on the Native Talent in Tech job board.

Native Talent in Tech

Events

Feb 13 2021 - NiT Meetup

NiT Meetup on Feb. 13th

Update 02/02/2021: Added the time of the event, 2pm CDT We had our very first meetup a few weeks ago and it went well! At our first meetup Ian Her Many Horses [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianhmh/] discussed a software application he was building to help students learn how tobuild games. At our …

Natives in Tech BlogAdam Recvlohe

Feb 16 2021 - LATech4Good

Ready to fight for equity and ethics in your data projects? Want to learn actionable tools you can use in your work? Apply now to join LA Tech4Good’s  Equity & Ethics in Data Workshop Series at https://www.latech4good.org/dataworkshop.
LA Tech4Good is convening a second cohort of data practitioners to collaboratively learn about and work toward solutions to issues of equity and ethics in data analytics, data science, machine learning, algorithms, artificial intelligence, and technology tools. The goal is for practitioners to apply learnings from this solution-oriented workshop to their specific projects, in order to foster a more equitable tech and data ecosystem in Los Angeles.

Feb 20 2021 - Global Diversity CFP Day

global diversity CFP day

Are you a member of an underrepresented or marginalised group? Have you always wanted to become a tech conference speaker? Let this be the year that you make that dream a reality!

global diversity CFP day

Resources

Libraries Without Borders

Have you struggled to access internet or a computer this year or do you know someone who doesn't know how to go online? The Humanity in Action Fellowship is offering $250 or the equivalent value of a computer/hotspot to any individual who is interested in talking publicly about their experience with the digital divide. For more information, contact Adam Echelman at 508 904 9041 or email him at adam@librarieswithoutborders.us.

Adam is the Executive Director of Libraries Without Borders, where he works to end the digital divide. Through a fellowship, he is currently leading an effort to help share stories about the digital divide from the perspective of folks who have struggled to access the internet this year or who have lacked a computer (or not known how to use it). He is identifying 20 people from across the US who are interested in sharing their stories with him. Then, he'll work with each person to get that story into the media, either through an Op Ed, interview, podcast, or other format. Participants will receive either a $250 stipend or a computer and WiFi hotspots of the equivalent value. You can see a full description here. Feel free to call him directly at 508 904 9041 if you're interested.

A través de la organización Bibliotecas sin Fronteras, Adam está actualmente liderando un esfuerzo para ayudar a compartir historias sobre la brecha digital desde la perspectiva de personas que han tenido dificultades acceder a Internet este año o que no han tenido una computadora (o no saben cómo usar eso). Está identificando a 20 personas de todo Estados Unidos que estén interesadas en compartir sus historias con él. Luego, trabajará con cada persona para llevar esa historia a los medios, ya sea a través de un artículo de opinión, una entrevista, un podcast u otro formato. Los participantes recibirán un estipendio de $ 250 o una computadora y puntos de acceso WiFi por el valor equivalente. Puedes ver una descripción completa aquí. Llamalo a 508 904 9041 si le interesa.

Social Media

Update 02/02/2021: Added the time of the event, 2pm CDT

We had our very first meetup a few weeks ago and it went well!

At our first meetup Ian Her Many Horses discussed a software application he was building to help students learn how to build games.

At our next meetup on February 13th 2021 at 2pm CDT, we will have Natalie Isabel Contreras present, "Indigenous Perspectives in Innovation."

If you are a Native person in tech and would like to attend this event let us know by sending an email to hello@nativesintech.org with your name and nation.

See you all there!

Natives in Tech started out as just a Slack group back in 2017. Since then the Slack has grown to over 100 users. For a couple years we had an invitation app so that people could invite themselves to our Slack group. Because of bots as well as a need to foster a supportive and active community we've made it invitation based instead. If you are Native person in tech and you would like to join us on Slack then let us know! Send an email to hello@nativesintech.org and include what nation you are from ✌️

We are announcing a new initiative of Natives in Tech: NiT Meetups. NiT Meetups are where Natives working in technology can share ideas, projects, goals, or anything tech related with other Natives in technology to get feedback on. These meetups will take place roughly twice a quarter. There can be more meetups depending on interest. Our goal is for each meetup to be recorded and then archived on YouTube but we leave it up to the presenter to decide on whether they would want that.

Our first meetup will be Jan. 23rd at 1pm CDT where Ian Her Many Horses will talk about education software he has been working on. If you are a Native person in technology and would like to be notified of these meetings then please send a request to hello@nativesintech.org!

Continue the Conversation

ANN: NiT Meetups

Continue the Discussion below!

Natives in Tech Forumadamrecvlohe

This article is a weekly recap of events, opportunities, and happenings of Natives in technology. Inspired by the newsletter from diversifytech.co.

If you would like to add sponsored content to our weekly recaps then please send an email to hello@nativesintech.org.

Featured

• Full-time Coding Bootcamp Scholarship, Coding Dojo, Remote

Jobs Board

• Senior Product Manager, Code for America, San Francisco OR Remote

Events

• June 11, 2021 - The First Workshop on NLP for Indigenous Languages of the Americas (AmericasNLP)

Opportunities

Grants

• Kaggle is offering a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) Grant aimed at empowering data scientists who have been historically underrepresented and supporting their career advancement. Are you getting started in data science or looking for support as you progress in your career? Do you identify as Black, Indigenous and/or a Person of Color? If you answered yes, we invite you to apply for this $1000 grant!

Apprenticeships

• AnitaB.org, Intuit, and Treehouse are partnering to launch a six-month software development apprenticeship program to increase the representation of historically excluded individuals in tech. This includes Black, Latinx, Indigenous, LGBTQ women, and non-binary people. Apprentices get paid to learn during the program and, upon successful completion, can convert to a full-time software development career at Intuit’s Mountain View, CA headquarters. Learn more here!

Fellowships

• Nations Congress of American Indians: Our application window for the 2021-2022 Wilma Mankiller Fellowship Program is now open. The program provides an exceptional opportunity for emerging young professionals from Indian Country to work with national leaders in tribal policy. Learn more: https://www.ncai.org/about-ncai/internships-fellowships

Social Media