Darian Sampare, Website Developer Intern at Animikii, talks with Jen and Dakota about the challenges and benefits of entering the tech sector as an Indigenous person. Even today, there are substantial barriers for Indigenous students and young people who are thinking about entering the tech sector. We discuss these barriers and also explore some of the benefits of technology for Indigenous communities with this episode's guest, Darian Sampare, who, as an Indigenous Computer Sciences student at Uvic, has experienced many of these issues first-hand.

Animikii’s Indigenous Innovators series features Indigenous leaders, activists, artists and entrepreneurs to better understand the challenges and opportunities Indigenous Peoples face in Canada today.

Guest Bio

Darian Sampare is Gitxsan from Hazelton, BC and resides in Victoria, BC. He is currently a student at the University of Victoria in the Computer Science program. Darian has worked in and out of the Indigenous tech-sector for the past few years while attending school, including positions within the community and running his own startup. Most recently, he spent this summer
on a co-op at Animikii working as a Web Developer. He is passionate about honing his craft in technology while advocating for Indigenous people entering the field.

Host Bios

Dakota Lightning brings Animikii's projects to life by making them look great, work across all platforms and are a delight for users to interact with. As our resident front-end expert, he is responsible for delivering engaging experiences through the latest web technologies. Dakota is a member of the Samson Cree Nation and lives and works on Vancouver Island.

Jen Polack manages content, social media, and multimedia projects for both Animikii and their digital communications clients. She is I'sga (Nakota Sioux) and Danish with relations from the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation in Alberta on Treaty 6 territory. Jen is a passionate advocate for women - particularly Indigenous women - working in technology and strives to promote and celebrate the female voice in a predominantly male industry.