Google Overhauls Its Services With Art, Tools For Native American Heritage Month
With the arrival of November comes the beginning of Native American Heritage Month. To commemorate this, Google is rolling out several features to highlight the vibrant culture.
This month, users of Google Assistant will be able to listen to first-hand interviews with members of Indigenous communities across the United States, with the simple command of “tell me a human story,” allowing them to share what their culture means to them.
In addition, the virtual assistant will be loaded up with facts about Native American heritage, including that of important cultural events and iconic leaders in its history. Just tell your Google Assistant “Happy Native American Heritage Month” or “Give me a fact about Native American Heritage” to access the information.
Over at Google’s homepage, a recent Doodle featuring the history of Stickball—a traditional sport created by Indigenous tribes—sat atop the search bar, but that’s not all.
The company commissioned five Native American artists to work on a special collection of themes for Chromebooks and Chrome browser, showcasing meaningful traditions they hold close to their hearts.
One of the designs, Richard D York’s Uktena, or 'Horned Serpent’, harks back to the childhood of many Native Americans, who would often gather to listen to tales of the Uktena and other characters as told by the elders.
Yupkoyvi (Chaco Canyon) by Michael Namingha pays homage to the sacred landscape known as “the place beyond the horizon,” and highlighted the need to protect the land, as it is under threat from oil and gas development.
Take a look at the other works below.
