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Ojibwe, queer robotics inventor Danielle Boyer will speak about her work, including the invention of the SkoBot, a robot that teaches the Indigenous languages Navajo, Ojibwemowin, and Taino. The robot, aimed at middle school children, is customizable and easily programmable for youth. This event is co-hosted with the Indigenous Futures Research Centre (IFRC).

Danielle Boyer is a 22-year-old Indigenous (Ojibwe) and Queer robotics inventor and advocate for youth who has been teaching kids since she was ten. Driven by her families own inability to afford science and technology education, she is passionate about making education accessible and representative for her community so that no child is left behind. Danielle creates equitable and innovative learning solutions for Indigenous youths with robots that she designs, manufactures, and gives away for free. In 2019 at age eighteen, she created The STEAM Connection, a minority and youth-led charity that has reached hundreds of thousands of children worldwide with technical education with an emphasis on language revitalization. The STEAM Connection focuses on the future: ushering in a new age of education via personal and wearable robotics, artificial intelligence, and augmented reality. Informed by the past and present, The STEAM Connection utilizes traditional knowledge to uplift and protect Indigenous communities with an emphasis on language. Her goal is not necessarily to get youth into STEM careers but rather to equip them with the skills to solve the problems that they see in their communities now.

This event is part of the , organized by Dr. Alex Ketchum.

Our series was made possible thanks to our sponsors: SSHRC, the Institute for Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies (IGSF), the DIGS Lab, Milieux, Initiative for Indigenous Futures, MILA, Dean of Arts Grant, ReQEF, and more (see our website!)

There is no fee required to attend this event. We will provide professional captions in English.