Volume V Special Issue III August 2025

Name of Author : N.R. Gopal

Title of the paper : Relational Ontologies and Digital Survivance: Native American Philosophy Across Oral, Written, and Virtual Realms

Abstract: This paper investigates the ways foundational Native American philosophies relational ontology, ethical cosmology, and viewing the land as an animate entity take form across a range of expressive mediums, from oral traditions to contemporary literature and digital media. Indigenous cultures insist on the interconnectedness of humans, nonhumans, and ecosystems, and challenge Western distinctions, like the separation of nature and culture. This is clear in the kind of traditional storytelling that, for many Indigenous cultures, is the cornerstone of their lived philosophy a philosophy that commands ethical living. These same philosophies remain at the very heart of the works of todays Native American authors, like Leslie Marmon Silko and Joy Harjo, who are very much a part of the essence of what it means to be a contemporary Native American woman. With references made to the authors resilience despite the current state of the Indigenous rights movement, one can pay homage to the many forms that Indigenous presence and resistance have taken due to digital technology. The paper overall emphasizes the adaptability of Native American philosophical traditions. It shows that the frameworks laid down long ago not only endure but thrive in modern literary and digital contexts. Their ongoing relevance is more than assured.

Keywords : Relational ontology, Indigenous philosophy, Native American literature, digital survivance, land based ethics, continuity and change.

DOI :

Page Number : 173-177