Chapter 4: Indigenous Peoples and the Role of Technology in Language Preservation: Navajo Nation

Thomas L. Friedman’s quote above is an explanation for the spread of technology across all cultures. Moore’s law is a conjecture on the exponential growth of technology in “that processor speeds, or overall processing power for computers will double every two years” (Intel Innovation, n.d., p. 1). Today, processor speeds are indeed doubling yearly. The impact of this exponential and ubiquitous growth of processor speeds is startling to all elements of human life. This chapter explores the complex relationships between preserving culture and language with Indigenous peoples and their advancement into the 21st century using technology for their betterment and not their loss of sovereign culture and language. Rapid technology advancements and the subsequent changes it brings are examined specifically on how Navajo Nation is straddling multimedia in the preservation and protection of their language and culture. Fraser’s (1996) participatory parity is the social justice lens utilized in the analysis of current policy and practice found in Navajo Nation technology programs.