The company is supporting and recognizing these peoples by commissioning art pieces

from artists who hail from these groups, encouraging players to donate to various
nonprofits through Microsoft Rewards, and spotlighting stories from Indigenous
players in its Xbox Ambassador program.

Those nonprofits include the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, the
First Nations Development Institute, and Indspire.

Additionally, the company is promoting its collections of games featuring

Indigenous characters or created by Indigenous developers that are purchasable on
Xbox or PC. These include Tell Me Why, Raji: An Ancient Epic, Never Alone, and
Button City.

Xbox took extra steps to include more Indigenous groups

This expanded set of actions by the Xbox team represents extra work that the
company has taken to connect with different Indigenous peoples. The UN's holiday is
meant to recognize people from all over the world who may have incredibly distinct
cultures and practices, but also "share common problems related to the protection
of their rights as distinct peoples."

Jenn Panattoni, head of Xbox Social Impact and co-lead for Xbox's Indigenous
Community Group (who herself is a descendant of the Karuk Tribe) told Game
Developer that the company wanted to support communities through "meaningful
partnerships," leading it to reach out to local Indigenous Tribes and solicit
recommendations from working group Indigenous at Microsoft about who to showcase in
this year's event.

A commemoration of Sámi culture and Skyrim by artist Swedish artist Petra

Brandström
A commemoration of Sámi culture in Skyrim by artist Swedish artist Petra
Brandström.
For commissioning the artistic pieces from each tribe (which also come with
statements from the artist explaining their significance), Panattoni said that the
company's guidance was for them to "leverage the Xbox sphere as just a canvas, and
to create an art piece that would speak to both them as artists as well as resonate
with their tribes’ traditional art styles."

"This was an opportunity for us to educate people around the world how the smallest
detail has significant meaning and contributes to a much larger story that is being
told," she added.

Xbox's process not only represents a solid effort to celebrate different Indigenous
Peoples, but also provides guidance for other developers to consider these groups
in their work. The company's choice to center people from specific groups and let
them share stories from their tribes' histories (and also pay them) are important
steps to take.

It's also notable to see how far the company's inclusivity efforts are expanding.
Earlier this year, it prepped a sizable donation to transgender rights
organizations in response to anti-transgender bigotry expanding across the United
States and other countries.

There are still many ways for Xbox and the game development world to better
recognize Indigenous People, especially when taking influence from different
cultures to create fantastic settings. It'll be interesting to see if Xbox is able
to translate this work to its development practices through Indigenous at Microsoft
and beyond.