Status: In preparation
Expected publication: Winter 2026/2027
Author: Dr Aramiha Harwood
Abstract
Games and Play can be an important part of Indigenous cultural practice/s and suit First Nations approaches to story, memory, place and people. Games in their variety of forms – digital, analog and physical sports – can be a means of sharing and enhancing Indigenous cultures and also a vehicle for decolonisation (Quigg, Kewene and Morgaine, 2023), challenging its audience (Indigenous and non-Indigenous) through a sense of play and fun. Games can be dynamic sovereign spaces for Indigenous representation and expression when the self-determination of Indigenous people is supported (Lapensée et al., 2022). Play and Games can also be sites of challenge for Indigenous communities and world-views. Gaming practices may represent colonising attitudes, perspectives and power-relations (Trammell, 2023; Mukherjee 2025) – from the games themselves, through to exclusion/gatekeeping in playing-communities. Additionally, games can take forms of cultural appropriation, where representation tends to draw upon crude stereotypes and/or mischaracterisation without mindful or respectful consultation (Loban, 2023; Vasalou et al., 2014; Lagace, 2018; Lapensée et al. 2022). This entry will explore the variety of Indigenous-led games and the way in which they are made as Indigenous creative practice – as well as the issues of representation, exclusion and appropriation that they must deal with in gaming spheres.
Keywords: Indigenous-led; creative practice; storytelling; representation; decolonising; cultural appropriation; Indigenous futurisms
Dr Aramiha Harwood
is a Māori Ngāpuhi writer, sociological researcher and gamer from Aotearoa NZ, who lives in naarm Melbourne, Australia. He publishes Tabletop games (https://manapress.com.au/) with a focus on indigenous concepts of mana and narrative storytelling. His research has involved a diverse range of topics: identity theory and agency, cultural precincts, international education and student wellbeing, Māori diaspora, and the role of Place and Gaming in Indigenous knowledge/s.