Hogan, MélThomas, Andrew Kacey2021-09-142021-09-142021-09-09Thomas, A. K. (2021). Dumpster Diving and the Ideal in the Settler-Colonial Imaginary: Heritage Images and their Potential Futures (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.http://hdl.handle.net/1880/113870Access and contextualization were problems when archives could only be accessed by scholars, or open to the public in a physical location, but they are now compounded by the affordances of digital access in a unique way. While making archival legacy images available online seems to enable greater understanding of our settler-colonial history, it also allows for popular perceptions and settler-preferences to shape our interaction with these photographs in image searches. This thesis explores the concept of the settler-colonial imaginary, or a perception of the future and narratives of society, in order to understand the way internet search algorithms reproduce and shape settler perceptions of Indigenous futurity through photographs. This is done by conducting three case study analyses of representative moments captured in settler-media photography and examining the continuing effect the framing of these symbols has on settler perceptions of history. By contextualizing the use of symbols of Indigenous difference in the perpetuation of the settler-imaginary, this thesis argues that the default organization of images created by search algorithms reifies racist perceptions of indigeneity which has continuing effects on the production of settler potential futures. In conclusion, I offer reparative interventions in the form of utopian projections to suggest actions that could be done to address this issue at this time.engUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.Internet studiesAlgorithmic studiesSettler-colonialismphotographywalkthroughsociotechnical imaginariesimagined futuresMass Communicationsmaster thesis10.11575/PRISM/39196