SSHRC Support Material

Kahwá:tsire (Our Fires Are Connected)

SSHRC In-Sight - 2026
Title: Kahwá:tsire (Our Fires Are Connected)
Principal Investigator: Dr. Jackson Leween, Two Bears Ph.D.
Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Arts Research & Technology (Tier 1)
Associate Professor, Visual Arts and Indigenous Studies
Director: Otekh Lab / E4 Lab (Western University)
Co-Director: Abundant Intelligences
Western University; London ON. Canada.

ITEM 1

Title: Otkonkénhte (F.I.R.E.—Fire / Intelligence / Relation / Earth)

Artist(s): OTEKH Labs, with members of the Abundant Intelligences community.

Date of Creation: 2024–2026

Medium: Research-creation project; locally sourced clay, pit firing, 3D scanning, thermal/environmental sensors, custom machine-learning software, real-time data processing and visualization.

Dimensions: Site-specific / variable

Location: Lawson Site, Museum of Ontario Archaeology, London, Ontario (Dish with One Spoon territory).

Description: Otkonkénhte (F.I.R.E.) is a site-specific research-creation project bringing together community clay practice, pit firing, environmental sensing, 3D scanning, and custom machine learning. Clay forms made from local materials are scanned and brought into an AI system that responds to real-time thermal data from the firing process, continuously generating and visualizing new forms. Developed at the Lawson Site, the project treats earth, fire, environmental conditions, human activity, and computation as interconnected parts of a land-based machine-learning ecology.

Significance: Otkonkénhte is the foundational prototype for an ongoing body of research at OTEKH exploring Indigenous-led, land-based approaches to artificial intelligence. The project established the core methodology now being expanded through Kahwá:tsire: community-made clay forms are translated into 3D datasets, environmental conditions become live inputs for generative machine-learning systems, and computational outputs are returned to material processes through subsequent cycles of making and firing. The prototype demonstrates an alternative approach to AI in which learning emerges through relationships among land, material, environmental forces, community practice, and computation rather than from fixed or externally extracted datasets.

Documentation:

Prototype Video, MOA, May 2026. On-site documentation of the Kahwá:tsire prototype at the Museum of Ontario Archaeology, showing the system operating during the May 2026 pit-fire event.

Figure 1–5. Selected interfaces from the working OTEKH Kahwá:tsire/FORGE prototype currently in development.

Figure 1. OTEKH Kahwá:tsire Suite.

Development interface for the original Kahwá:tsire prototype, integrating FORGE (generative ML development), FIRE (live firing runtime), and FORM (generative form visualization) within a shared research-creation environment.

Figure 2. FORGE — Model Lab.

Working development interface showing continuously morphing 3D descendants generated through OTEKH’s custom volumetric ML system, with controls for generative behaviour, spatial transformation, and material rendering.

Figure 3. FORGE — Corpus.

Prototype interface for preparing community-generated 3D scans for ML research, including inspection, repair, optimization, and locally defined metadata before forms enter the training corpus.

Figure 4. FORGE — Mapping.

Virtual pit environment for spatially arranging scanned forms and environmental sensors prior to firing, establishing relationships among material objects, their location within the pit, and subsequent sensor data.

Figure 5. FORGE — Training.

Working ML pipeline for converting scanned forms into volumetric representations, training OTEKH’s custom diffusion models, and generating new 3D descendants from learned relationships among ancestral forms.

ITEM 2

Title: Ne:Kahwistará:ken Kanónhsa’kówa í:se Onkwehonwe

Artist(s): Jackson Leween, Two Bears & January Rogers (2RO MEDIA) with members of the Six Nations of the Grand River Community.

Date of Creation: 2019-2023

Medium: Multimedia/ Immersive Panoramic Installation; canvas and supports, 12 video projectors, 14.2 channel audio, computer and specialized software for projection mapping and ambisonics audio.

Dimensions: 34ft x 8ft panorama screen

Location: Thru the Red Door, Ohsweken Ontario (Six Nations of the Grand River Territory).

Description: Ne:Kahwistará:ken Kanónhsa’kówa í:se Onkwehonwe is a multifaceted research-creation project comprised of a series of site-specific artworks developed in-community (2019–2022) and a Multimedia Panoramic Installation by 2RO MEDIA (2023). Created in collaboration with members of the Six Nations community, the final installation featured a 34-foot panoramic screen, with multiple video projectors creating an immersive visual environment, with 14.2-channel surround (ambisonics) sound. This artwork presents a fictional reimagining of the Haudenosaunee Creation Story, employing a cyclical narrative that interweaves the past, present, and future.

Significance: This project showcases the development of a large-scale media art installation created collaboratively with community as part of a multi-year initiative. The work demonstrates technical proficiency in advanced media arts production, including 360-degree video and audio recording/editing, advanced green-screen and camera tracking workflows, 3D scanning (photogrammetry) and modeling, advanced FX compositing, projection mapping, and specialized software development. The project highlights the capacity to assemble and lead a diverse research-creation team, conduct collaborative research within Indigenous communities, and sustain a robust and productive working environment over multiple years.

Documentation:

ITEM 3

Title: For this Land (series)

Artist(s): Jackson Leween, Two Bears & January Rogers (2RO MEDIA) with members of the Six Nations of the Grand River Community.

Date of Creation: 2015-2023

Medium: Multimedia Installation, Performance, Audio/Video.

Dimensions: N/A

Location: Various Locations

Description: This multi-project Series (2015-2023) is a collaboration with Kanien’kehaka (Mohawk) poet and spoken word artist Janet (January) Rogers. Over the past several years January and I have spent time in our home territory of Six Nations researching and exploring different heritage sites and important ‘spirit’ locations. At the heart of the project is the on-going investigation of, and creative engagement with, the stories on-the-land. Throughout we have documented elements of our interactions with these sites—our actions, experiences, and conversations—and for the past eight years have been exhibiting our imaginative and aesthetic interpretations of the dialogues we have had with ‘place’ in the form of art installations, performances, and multimedia projects.

Significance: This project highlights the ability to sustain a long-term initiative in collaboration with community members, elders, knowledge-keepers, and Indigenous artists. It showcases technical expertise in audio and video recording/editing, creating multimedia installations for galleries and non-traditional venues, and developing custom software. Additionally, the project demonstrates the capacity to assemble and lead a diverse research-creation team, conduct meaningful collaborative research within Indigenous communities, and maintain a productive and supportive working environment over an extended period.