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Paper short abstract

Indigenous Astronomy in the Space Age was a conference that brought together social scientists, Indigenous knowledge holders, astrophysicists and educations to engage with decolonizing, Indigenizing, representation and belonging in astronomy, with the goal of co-creating a new future.

Paper long abstract

The Indigenous Astronomy in the Space Age conference, as with previous Indigenous Astronomy conferences, sought to include Indigenous knowledge holders allowing them to share their knowledge and foster a sense of belonging within the academic conference setting. The number of Indigenous participants included was impressive, however most were themselves academics holding advanced degrees and affiliated with universities. The remainder were community activists and artists, or combinations of scientist, artists, activist, teacher, researcher. Their contributions to the conference were important in terms of keeping discussions rooted in their lived experiences, strategically correcting misconceptions, bringing their issues into the space and generously agreeing to future collaborations. This presentation is on one level, a report about the conference, and on another level a presentation of the experiences of the conference from the perspective of the Indigenous participants. In the end, we present out thoughts on if the goal of co-creating a new future that includes Indigenous people and Indigenous astronomy was achieved.