Tamara Goddard
on the Beauty of Indigenous Tech
“When the Earth is ravaged and the animals are dying, a new tribe of people shall come unto the Earth from many colours, creeds and classes, and who, by their actions and deeds, shall make the Earth green again. They shall be known as The Warriors of the Rainbow.”
The Hopi Prophecy is already in motion.
That’s why Tamara Goddard dares us to listen to the voices that have been silenced for too long: our Indigenous Elders.
When we understand “the wisdom of 7 generations of our ancestors and modernize this wisdom to do our best to serve the 7 generations after us, we have moved beyond Sustainability to Prosperity.”
Tamara Goddard, of the Saulteau Nation, is doing her best to recreate this balance with the Earth and all of life. She spent 25+ years studying various social and economic systems finding that many limit humanity’s abilities to flourish, by design.
With Four our Future, Tamara promotes the potential for blockchain and Web3 technology to advance equitable wealth and resource distribution. She has also incubated 400 Drums, an NFT project where Indigenous knowledge keepers and artists share their cultural expressions into digital spaces.
Young people are her driver. She is committed to holding space for the next generation of innovators to create a regenerative economic model upon which people and planet can thrive. Pay great attention to her touching piece of advice:
“Learn your part, your talent, your passion - bring that to this world and have compassion for those that think you’re strange. It’s OK, stay focused, always walking in beauty. Beauty is before you, Beauty is behind you and Beauty is within you. Don’t get lost, you are here for a reason and now is the time to shine as bright as you can.”
Tamara is optimistic because a new economy is coming together as an expression of your wildest dreams. Tamara is also pessimistic because there are too many who do not take the time to work on undoing their own indoctrination.
Leaving you with a very valuable take away idea:
“Choose to dance with change or stress over it. Focus on your own brilliance and you will recognize it in others and organically foster collaboration.”
Read Tamara Goddard’s answers for this edition of #inspirators and see how our world is falling apart, but it is also coming together in so many ways!
Thank you, Tamara, for being a Beauty Seeker!
#INSPIRATORS QUESTIONNAIRE
Name: Tamara Goddard
Company / Institution: Four Our Future Indigenous Economics; 400 Drums
Title: CEO, Co-Founder
Website: www.fourourfuture.com and www.400drums.com
LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamaragoddard/
Country of origin: Canada and from the Saulteau First Nation in BC
Country you currently live in: Canada
Your personal definition of Sustainability: I learned from my elders that sustainability should be replaced with prosperity. This is because we have forgotten the teachings of nature and the interconnectedness of our ecosystems of which we are a part. Nature is always renewing itself, holding knowledge from the past in the Mother Trees and managing resources as a collective.
Nature responds and moves with change limiting its resistance so that disruptive change is minimized. Of course, nature also provides disruptive change and we are living in a time in the Earths cycle where radical weather events are increasingly common.
When we understand the wisdom of 7 generations of our ancestors and modernize this wisdom to do our best to serve the 7 generations after us, we have moved beyond sustainability to prosperity.
Main business challenge you face: Access to capital for new technologies that support data sovereignty and democracy coupled with investment into technology such as agritech for localized distribution.
Main driver that keeps you going: Young people are my driver. They are our future and need all of our support to help them a) imagine a prosperous future and b) develop the steps, technologies and economic models to action.
The trait you are most proud of in yourself: I never believe I have the answer, knowledge changes and is informed by bright minds that come together. The best solutions are created by cohorts and remain iterative and flexible by design. New ideas are constant and so the need for self-care to sustain positive feelings fuels the inspiration and motivation to continue.
The trait you most value in others: Collaboration.
Humans are an ecosystem, not competitors. Nature teaches us that wealth is generated in expressions of giving, collaborating and receiving. I love people who understand this, they are the easiest to work with and high in integrity.
Passions & little things that bring you joy: The patterns and math of Nature calm me. I imbue them into my art expressing more than English words can say. I work complex geometries into my art and balance this with colour harmonics. It’s my way of expressing how I view the world from a neurodiverse perspective.
The #inspirators who determined you to take the sustainability path:
My sons, River and James, who are both also on the Autistic spectrum. They fueled my inspiration to forget that which I thought I knew in order to create space for radical new views. They have a tremendous propensity towards honesty, compassion and connection with nature. I wanted to show them a world where our economy could harmonize with these values.
A hint or starting point for companies or professionals that are taking the first steps in the sustainability journey: Look inside yourself to learn your ‘part’. We all have a purpose, gift and role to play to bring sustainability and prosperity into focus.
No one person will make this shift alone; if we focus on our own brilliance we will recognize it in others and organically foster collaboration.
Most used and abused clichés in sustainability that bother you: Sustainability - we can do better than this. Every person has the right to housing, education, medicine and healthy food and water. Imagine what we could build together once we stopped fighting for our survival. What a beautiful world that could be.
An honest piece of advice for young people who lose hope: There are many out here in the world who see a radically different way forward. Connect with those people in Web3. Change your perspective by learning an ancient language, it will reprogram your mind and show you that together, anything is possible.
Our world is falling apart, but it is coming together in so many ways and we need you to know and do your part. Don’t worry, the other parts will come - you just need to do you and then trust that your ecosystem will grow.
Books that had a major impact on you:
Reframing Organizations by Bolman Deal
Long Dark Teatime of the Soul by Douglas Adams
Drawing out Law by Dr. John Burrows
Celestine Prophesies by James Redfield
Tsawalk, A nuu-chah-nulth Worldview by Umeek (E.Richard Atleo)
Must-reads for any Sustainability professional: All of the above minus Long Dark Tea Time for the Soul - that one’s just some great thought-provoking fun.
Movies / Documentaries you would watch all over again: I don’t watch a whole lot of TV. I listen to a lot of book reviews by Brian Scott - beautiful. Also, an audiobook called the Kybalion is a great listen - I’ve listened to this over 100 times. Nassim Haramein is great and has a TED Talk called The Connected Universe.
A big shout out to Geena Jackson’s Bears Lair on APTN - a definite must-watch for Indigenous Business philosophy.
In order to calm the mind watch Eckhart Tolle’s “Eckhart Teaches a Young Man” Documentary; The Sacred Geometry Movie by Spirit Science is also a brilliant inspirational movie to throw on.
Music that makes you (and your heart) sing: Mushroom Jazz, St.Germain, Alanis Morsette, Ozzy Ozbourne, Metallica, Fleetwood Mac, Cafe Anatolia, The Doors, The Eagles - I’m a musician, so could just go on forever here.
Places you travelled to that left a mark on you: Liard Hotsprings changed my life. Look it up - take the time to visit this magical place in North Eastern BC.
Global Sustainability Voices you recommend us to follow: Indigenous Elders. Look up the Hopi Prophecy and start learning about the voices that have been silenced for too long.
Trends in Sustainability we should keep an eye on: Advances in Blockchain - this is not just crypto and is changing our world. Start using AI now, the next year is critical. You will never regret integrating and learning how to incorporate Web3 studies, Blockchain studies, AI, Augmented Reality and Virtual reality. Also, have a look at Tokenomics and start building with likeminded communities.
Best places for business networking (online or offline): Web3 or other Twitter Spaces, Discord Groups, Web3 meetups in your area - it will blow your mind and you’ll experience a new world benign built, come join us!
Events we should attend: Hacker House events. I don’t keep up with events, albeit I speak at many events.
Associations, business clubs, tribes you belong to – and why: We are our own little hub connected to Industry, education, corporations, traditional medicines, Indigenous artists and more. Come see us at 400Drums Discord server!
Sustainable Development courses / trainings / certifications that really teach us how to have an impact: I don’t know of any off the top of my head, we are reaching out to put this list together though!
Reasons to feel optimistic about our future in 2030: A new economy is coming together that is the expression of your wildest dreams. The technology already exists to rebalance and clean up our Earth. A new economic system will be incorporated into Web3 technologies that are sovereign and democratic in Nature.
Reasons to feel pessimistic about our future in 2030: Those who do not take the time to work on undoing their own indoctrination will struggle. Technology is outpacing regulations and changing the face of economics and finances in our world. Struggles with inflation are real and access to housing and food will remain difficult for the next decade. Choose to face these challenges by looking at what you CAN do, not at what is disappearing, and you will be OK.
Learn your part, your talent, your passion - bring that to this world and have compassion for those that think you’re strange. It’s OK, stay focused, always walking in beauty. Beauty is before you, Beauty is behind you and Beauty is within you. Don’t get lost, you are here for a reason and now is the time to shine as bright as you can.
Regenerative Leadership qualities much needed today: Imagination, courage, patience and collaboration.
Never get stuck on one idea, for it will change. Reach out to become part of a community you are inspired by or start one. The only constant now and over the next few years is change. Everything will change. You can choose to dance with the change or stress over it.
Quote that inspires you:
“To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
(Buckminster Fuller)
Your own quote that will inspire us:
