Indigenous perspectives on digital trade

Abstract

As Indigenous peoples, histories and practices of trading are held within our bodies, written in laws, archives, and treaties, and ultimately mediate relationships with land, communities, and technologies. The rapid and widespread adoption of networked communication in our Digital Age, and simultaneous financial uncertainty, have contributed to the creation and adaptation of new conditions of exchange. Digitality offers Indigenous peoples unique opportunities to trade across long distances while building economies on sovereign terms. In contrast to other forms of trade, digital trading is by nature highly reliant upon the Internet and its underlying infrastructures. These include transmission media: high-speed fiber optic cables; wireless spectrum; networking equipment: routers, switches, cell towers, satellite ground stations; end devices: laptops, phones, servers; and the core network software: the Internet protocol stack. Digital ledger systems (e.g., blockchain), digital wallets, encryption for secure transactions, security, machine learning/artificial intelligence (AI), and compliance protocols are particularly critical to the future of digital trading.