Introduction: Weaving Past, Present, and Future

As we celebrate World Indigenous Day 2025, the theme “Indigenous Peoples and AI: Defending Rights, Shaping Futures” invites us to engage in a critical and holistic dialogue. This is not just a conversation about technology; it is a conversation about power, sovereignty, and the future of humanity.

Systems Thinking

From a systems-thinking perspective, we can see the introduction of AI into Indigenous communities not as an isolated event, but as part of a long and complex history of engagement with new technologies. By understanding the patterns of the past, we can better navigate the challenges and opportunities of the present, and work towards a future where AI is a tool for liberation, not oppression.

The Historical Context: From Resource Extraction to Digital Colonialism

For centuries, Indigenous peoples have been on the front lines of technological change, often in ways that have been extractive and destructive. From the early technologies of colonialism the gun, the compass, the printing press to the industrial technologies that have fueled climate change, Indigenous communities have disproportionately borne the costs of “progress.”

Today, this pattern of extraction continues in the digital realm. As Indigenous leaders have pointed out, data has become the new resource. Our cultures, languages, and traditional knowledge are being digitized and fed into AI models, often without our consent, in a new wave of digital colonialism.

Indigenous Engagement: Resilence & Creativity + Determination

The story of Indigenous engagement with technology is one of resilience, creativity, and a relentless drive for self-determination.

This history of adaptation is key. When radio technology emerged, Indigenous communities created their own networks to broadcast in their languages, bypassing mainstream media that ignored them.

Indigenous Engagement: Internet & Social Media

More recently, the internet and social media have become powerful tools for organizing global movements like Idle No More, revitalizing languages through online apps, and telling their own stories to a global audience. In each case, the adoption of technology was not about mere convenience; it was a strategic act of resilience and a drive for self-determination.

This historical pattern is the lens through which we must view AI. It reframes the conversation from simply asking how this new technology might harm Indigenous peoples to asking how Indigenous innovators are already planning to harness it to strengthen their communities, govern their nations, and shape their own futures.

The Present Moment: Indigenous AI as a Double-Edged Sword (Part 1: Powerful Tools)

Today, AI presents both unprecedented opportunities and significant risks, embodying a true double-edged sword. On one side of the blade, Indigenous-led and co-designed AI projects are creating powerful tools for community well-being and cultural continuity. We see this in action across the globe:

Protecting Land and Food Security in the Arctic: In Sanikiluaq, Nunavut, a project between the Inuit community, WWF, and the tech company PolArctic blended traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) with AI. The AI model was trained using both satellite data and the community’s deep, generational knowledge of the local ecosystem to identify new, sustainable locations for fishing and mariculture, directly addressing food security in the face of a changing climate.

Improving Healthcare Outcomes in Australia: In remote Western Australia, the “TeleEye Scan” project, co-designed with local Aboriginal communities, uses a portable AI device to instantly screen for eye diseases like diabetic retinopathy with 95% accuracy. By training local health workers to operate the device, the project overcomes the “tyranny of distance,” prevents blindness, and builds community capacity in a culturally appropriate way.

Preserving Cultural Heritage in Kyrgyzstan: The AIGINE Cultural Research Center is using AI to document and digitize ancient petroglyphs (rock art) threatened by mining activities. This initiative creates a permanent, accessible digital archive, safeguarding invaluable cultural heritage for future generations and academic study.

Defending Cultural Intellectual Property in Mexico: To combat plagiarism of traditional designs, researchers are using AI to catalogue the unique forms and iconographic elements of Indigenous garments from the Altos de Chiapas region. This creates a digital library that can be used to protect the community’s intellectual property and cultural identity.

Monitoring Marine Ecosystems in Polynesia: Indigenous-led conservation projects are combining TEK with AI-powered drones to monitor the health of coral reefs. The AI can analyze thousands of images to detect bleaching or disease far faster than the human eye, allowing for rapid intervention to protect these vital ecosystems.

A Leading Example

A leading example of this proactive approach is “wâsikan kisewâtisiwin” (AI With Heart), an Indigenous-powered AI developed by Shani Gwin’s company, Pipikwan Pêhtâkwan. This project was born from the need to combat the pervasive anti-Indigenous racism found online. With a vision to create AI from a matriarchal and fair perspective, AI With Heart is being trained to identify and correct unconscious bias and hate speech.

It aims to benefit all of humanity by centering First Peoples in its development, ensuring the tool is built ethically and without harm to their communities. This initiative is a powerful demonstration of Indigenous innovators not just using AI, but fundamentally reimagining it from a worldview grounded in respect and reciprocity.

Indigenous Peoples & AI: Defending Rights, Shaping Futures

Indigenous Peoples & AI

Defending Rights, Shaping Futures for World Indigenous Day 2025

A New Technological Frontier

Artificial Intelligence represents a pivotal moment for Indigenous communities worldwide. It’s a continuation of a long history of adapting new technologies, not as passive recipients, but as active innovators. From the radio to the internet, and now to AI, the goal remains the same: resilience, creativity, and a relentless drive for self-determination.

An Overview of the Day

Every August 9th, the world observes the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. This date commemorates the first meeting of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations in 1982. The day is a vital opportunity to raise awareness of the unique challenges Indigenous peoples face and to celebrate their immense contributions to the world’s cultural and ecological diversity.

Source: United Nations

The Double-Edged Sword of AI

Opportunities: Tools for Empowerment

Indigenous-led and co-designed AI projects are creating powerful tools for community well-being and cultural continuity across the globe.

*Data is illustrative, representing the high potential and impact discussed in reports.

Risks: A New Wave of Digital Colonialism

Without adherence to Indigenous rights and data sovereignty, AI poses significant threats, repeating historical patterns of extraction and misrepresentation.

*Data is illustrative, representing the high severity of risks discussed in reports.

Spotlight on Indigenous-Led Innovation

wâsikan kisewâtisiwin (AI With Heart)

Developed by Shani Gwin’s company, Pipikwan Pêhtâkwan, this project is a groundbreaking example of reimagining AI from an Indigenous worldview. It was created to combat the pervasive anti-Indigenous racism found online.

Core Vision:

To create AI from a matriarchal and fair perspective, centering First Peoples to ensure the tool is built ethically and without causing further harm. It’s trained to identify and correct unconscious bias and hate speech, turning AI into a tool for education and respect.

Global Examples of Indigenous AI in Action

❄️

Arctic Land Management

Inuit communities in Nunavut blend traditional knowledge with AI to monitor sea ice, protecting food security and adapting to climate change.

👁️

Australian Healthcare

Portable AI devices in remote Western Australia provide instant screening for eye diseases, preventing blindness and building local healthcare capacity.

🗿

Kyrgyzstan Heritage

The AIGINE Cultural Research Center uses AI to digitize and preserve ancient petroglyphs threatened by mining activities.

👗

Mexican IP Defense

Researchers use AI to catalogue Indigenous garment designs from Chiapas, creating a digital library to protect cultural intellectual property.

🐠

Polynesian Reefs

Indigenous-led projects use AI-powered drones to monitor coral reef health, enabling rapid intervention to protect vital marine ecosystems.

❤️

Canadian Anti-Racism

AI With Heart is trained to identify and correct anti-Indigenous bias online, promoting education and respectful dialogue.

The Path Forward: A Framework for Indigenous-Led AI

The future of AI must be grounded in Indigenous values and leadership, applying the principle of “nothing about us without us.” This requires a foundational shift in how AI is developed and deployed, focusing on three core pillars.

Connecting to the Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 9

Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure

Developing ethical and equitable AI is a key innovation challenge for the 21st century.

SDG 10

Reduced Inequality

Indigenous-led AI can directly address and reduce deep-seated digital and social inequalities.

SDG 16

Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions

Upholding data sovereignty and FPIC builds just and equitable relationships between peoples, states, and tech.

The Present Moment: Indigenous AI as a Double-Edged Sword (Part 2: Significant Threat)

However, the other edge of the sword represents a significant threat. AI systems are often developed and deployed without adhering to the principles of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), particularly the right to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC). This leads to severe risks:

The appropriation and misuse of Indigenous knowledge: Sacred stories, traditional medicines, and cultural practices can be scraped from the internet and used to train commercial AI models without permission, context, or benefit to the communities who are the rightful knowledge holders.

The reinforcement of harmful stereotypes and biases: When AI models are trained on biased data, they amplify and automate discrimination. This can lead to everything from racist caricatures in image generation to inequitable outcomes in systems that determine access to loans, jobs, or social services.

The erosion of data sovereignty: The very infrastructure of AI, from massive data centers that consume vast amounts of water and energy on or near Indigenous lands to the algorithms that process the data, often operates outside of Indigenous control, threatening both environmental and digital sovereignty.

These risks are not merely technical; they are deeply political. They are rooted in the same colonial power structures that have historically marginalized and dispossessed Indigenous peoples, reminding us that the core issues of sovereignty and self-determination are as relevant as ever.

The Future We Are Shaping: Towards an Indigenous-Led AI

The path forward lies in an approach to AI that is grounded in Indigenous values and led by Indigenous peoples, applying the principle of “nothing about us without us.” This means recognizing AI not just as a tool, but as critical infrastructure like water or electricity and that access and control over it is a human right.

This vision is already taking shape. For example, the “wâsikan kisewâtisiwin” (AI With Heart) project, developed by an Indigenous-owned company in Canada, is an AI model built from a matriarchal perspective to correct bias and racism in written materials. This initiative embodies the core principles of an Indigenous-led future for AI:

Centering Indigenous data sovereignty. Indigenous communities must have the right to own, control, access, and possess their data. They must be the stewards of their own digital future.

Developing AI systems that are culturally appropriate and contextually relevant. This requires a deep engagement with Indigenous knowledge systems and worldviews.

Ensuring that the benefits of AI are shared equitably. This includes not only economic benefits, but also social, cultural, and political benefits.

This vision of an Indigenous-led AI is not just about mitigating risks; it is about harnessing the transformative power of technology to create a more just and sustainable future for all.

Connecting to the Sustainable Development Goals on World Indigenous Day 2025

The struggle for an Indigenous-led AI is deeply connected to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In particular, it speaks to:

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure. The development of an ethical and equitable AI is a key challenge for the 21st century.

SDG 10: Reduced Inequality. An Indigenous-led AI can help to address the deep-seated inequalities that exist between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.

SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. The principles of UNDRIP, FPIC, and Indigenous data sovereignty are essential for building just and equitable relationships between Indigenous peoples, states, and the tech sector.

Conclusion: A Call to Allyship

As allies, our role is not to lead this conversation, but to listen, learn, and support the work that is already being done by Indigenous leaders, scholars, and activists. This means:

Educating ourselves about the issues, including UNDRIP and data sovereignty.

Amplifying Indigenous voices and platforms.

Holding tech companies and governments accountable to their human rights obligations.

The future of AI is not yet written. By working in solidarity with Indigenous peoples, we can help to ensure that it is a future that is just, equitable, and sustainable for all.

For further information on how the SDGs play an important role to Coffai Shop, You can read up on some of our other articles like What AI For Social Good Means to Us.

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World Indigenous Day 2025: Approach to AI