The VA NetworkStories From The Space In Between
iqonic-layouts domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home/csgw8ic6a0dp/public_html/thevanetwork.org/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6121The VA Networka reclamation of process, a rejection of knowledge as currency and a return to knowledge as relation.
returning Knowledge to the fire.
There is a law older than paper, older than ink, held in the stories and lore of a landscape and the people who still live in relation with it. Knowledge was never meant to be locked away. It was meant to move, to flow, to be carried in relation. The stories of our ancestors were not written in books but etched into the land, sung into existence, and woven into the very fabric of how we live. Knowledge was something you walked with, something you practiced, something you were entrusted with – not something hoarded, sold, or owned.
Somewhere along the way, knowledge was boxed in. Extracted. Dissected. Taken from those who carried it and placed into institutions that now hold the keys to who can access it. You need the right credentials, the right funding, the right university affiliation to even glimpse at what should have always belonged to the people.
That’s not how it works here.
The VA Network stands as an act of return. A movement that breaks the fences built around knowledge and brings it back to the fire, where it belongs. Where it can be spoken, questioned, held, and passed forward in the way it was always meant to be. This is knowledge in Wangu – in collective sense-making – where learning is not an individual pursuit but a shared responsibility.
This is why we do the work and put it out there. Freely. Openly. Without restriction. No paywalls, no tuition fees, no institutional approval. If you seek knowledge, it should be accessible to you. Not parceled out to the privileged few, but held within the fire for all to sit with.
A Living Archive of Thought & Inquiry
Knowledge in Motion
These works are more than academic texts – they are offerings to the fire, carried forward so that knowledge does not stagnate but moves, grows, and returns to the people. Here, you’ll find a collection of deep inquiry, critical thought, and Indigenous-led research that challenges, disrupts, and reimagines the ways we come to know. From published articles to long-form essays, from the PhD thesis in progress to reflections that refuse to be bound by institutional walls – this is knowledge shared in right relation, accessible to all, held with care, and meant to be carried forward.
Indigenous Storytelling in Digital Spaces.
Performance-Based Research PHD Thesis of VA Network Founder
Andrew D Flanagan
Indigenous Storytelling Methodologies as Knowledge Preservation Systems: Lessons from THE VA NETWORK
Andrew D Flanagan
Rooting Digital Narratives in Place: THE VA NETWORK Explorer and Indigenous Spatial Knowledge
Andrew D Flanagan
Fire Protocol in Digital Spaces: Ethical Frameworks for Indigenous Knowledge Sharing Online
Andrew D Flanagan
the land still breathes our stories:
Weaving sovereignty from turtle island, the red heart of australia, nand the arctic ice.
Andrew D Flanagan
Knowledge is a living thing. It is meant to be carried, retold, reshaped in conversation, and understood through experience.
Too much knowledge sits behind locked doors, accessible only to those with the right credentials, the right funding, or the privilege of university access. Journals demand fees. Universities require tuition. Knowledge – especially Indigenous knowledge – has been extracted, published, and then sold back to the very people it was taken from. A thesis locked behind a university server is a tree falling in a forest with no one there to listen.
That is not how knowledge is meant to move.
This is why we do the work and put it out there – for free. Not hidden behind institutional paywalls. Not buried beneath tuition fees and scholarships that only a few can access. This work is not affiliated with a university, because it does not need to be. It is written for those who need it most: the communities whose stories are being told, the students who are searching for something beyond the Western academic framework, the knowledge keepers and elders who have been speaking these truths long before academia existed.
To the institutions, educators, and knowledge keepers who have recognized the value of this work and chosen to amplify it—thank you.
Special Thanks to Supporting Institutions
Your willingness to hold space for Indigenous-led research, to challenge the structures that have kept knowledge locked away, and to share these works within your networks ensures that these stories, ideas, and teachings are not just heard, but lived. This is how real change happens—through reciprocity, through relationship, through the act of listening and learning together.
As part of the One Fire Festival, we invite you to gather around a virtual campfire like no other. Our Campfire Sounds are more than just crackling embers and gentle winds; they are the harmonious rhythms of Indigenous artists’ worlds. These captivating audio landscapes are created by the artists themselves, who share their sacred fires burning on their ancestral lands. As you immerse yourself in these evocative sounds, you’ll be enveloped in the warmth of their stories and culture, forging a deep connection to the heart of Indigenous artistry. Join us for this unique fireside experience, where the flames dance to the beat of Indigenous wisdom, and the stories of their lands come alive
The VA Network acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country
throughout the world, & their connections to land, sea, & sky.
We pay our respects to Elders past & present, & extend that respect to all First Nations Peoples on whose land we live, connect, travel, create, & love.
We celebrate the diversity of all First Nations Peoples
& their stories reflected in their unique artistic practices.
Please join us in respecting the ongoing legacy of the first artists of this country, & all countries.
⏲ 1hr 15min
Environmentalism / Culture Change
Finding our way back to our role as custodians of creation.
At its core, The VA Network is about connections and celebrating the stories in the spaces in-between.
The VA Network is built on foundations of relation to one another, the more-than-human world, and
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