Skip to main content
Ontario Tech acknowledges the lands and people of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation.

We are thankful to be welcome on these lands in friendship. The lands we are situated on are covered by the Williams Treaties and are the traditional territory of the Mississaugas, a branch of the greater Anishinaabeg Nation, including Algonquin, Ojibway, Odawa and Pottawatomi. These lands remain home to many Indigenous nations and peoples.

We acknowledge this land out of respect for the Indigenous nations who have cared for Turtle Island, also called North America, from before the arrival of settler peoples until this day. Most importantly, we acknowledge that the history of these lands has been tainted by poor treatment and a lack of friendship with the First Nations who call them home.

This history is something we are all affected by because we are all treaty people in Canada. We all have a shared history to reflect on, and each of us is affected by this history in different ways. Our past defines our present, but if we move forward as friends and allies, then it does not have to define our future.

Learn more about Indigenous Education and Cultural Services

UOIT researcher discusses wearable technologies in The New York Times

Dr. Isabel Pedersen, Canada Research Chair in Digital Life, Media and Culture.
Dr. Isabel Pedersen, Canada Research Chair in Digital Life, Media and Culture.

Dr. Isabel Pedersen, Canada Research Chair in Digital Life, Media and Culture, was recently interviewed for an article on wearable technologies that appeared in The New York Times.

In the article, entitled Tech, Meet Fashion, Dr. Pedersen commented on the current divide between fashion and technology in the wearables market. She said wearables –small electronic devices embedded into items that attach to a part of the user’s body and collect or output data – are currently “too ugly for most people,” because they are designed by tech companies, which tend to focus on the technology behind the devices, leaving aesthetics out of the picture. In contrast, fashion designers take into account criteria such as style, age and taste when creating products for consumers.

“A wearable can’t really hope to become part of everyday culture until these companies consider more than just the technology,” she said.