ABSTRACT
This chapter examines Virtual Reality (VR) not as a value-neutral medium, but as a device that structures sound, vision, embodiment and agency in ways that reproduce specific cultural, spatial and epistemic logics. Focusing on a co-created immersive media project with the Indigenous Kogi community of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia, it repositions VR from technological novelty to a situated, ethically grounded practice of relational media-making. The chapter explores how immersive technologies intersect with Indigenous cosmologies, spiritual protocols and media sovereignty, involving both human and non-human agents. It challenges the assumption that self-representation through emerging technologies inherently leads to empowerment, arguing instead for a nuanced, community-led approach that respects sacred boundaries and resists digital colonialism.
