Digital identity has become an influential aspect of Indigenous representations in the 21st century. With the rise in popularity of social media, blogging sites and other social platforms, identity can become skewed or assimilated in digital media. The Indigitalgames.com project wants to show the complexities and various factors that contribute to representations seen in video games throughout the decades. Initially, the plan was simple, examine images similar to those seen in other media forms like Hollywood Western movies, or Western comics. As I began to investigate more diverse genres of games, there were multiple types of representations involving Indigenous people that didn’t follow the Noble Savage characteristics. Not all representations wore headdresses and threw tomahawks. This discovery allowed me to examine other images seen in video games and compare the tropes and stereotypes. As technology continues to develop and expand concepts of space, people use said space to inform, to connect with others over long distances and to explore ideas and values that otherwise would not be accessible in the physical area. By using technology like blogs, social media outlets, and cellular devices, local space becomes intertwined with technology, often, used as a starting point for discussions and relationships. This paper will discuss the complexities that digital media has on Indigenous identity and by using Indigitalgames.com to show video games like Until Dawn and Assassins Creed 3’s complex tropes of Indigenous cultures can be used to counteract negative representations of Indigenous people through digital content aimed at educating multiple generations of peoples on video game stereotypes.
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