{"slug": "an-indigenous-ai-framework", "title": "An Indigenous AI framework", "summary": "At Mila's Indigenous AI Gathering in Montréal, AI minister Evan Solomon was gifted a sacred braid of sweetgrass by Mick Elliott, a Mila research fellow of the Okanese First Nation, who said the three strands represent the past, present, and future. Elliott urged the government to walk with Indigenous communities in the technological revolution, as Canada's history of exploiting Indigenous data has created \"scar tissue\" of mistrust, according to Solomon. The gathering showcased an Indigenous-led AI future using smaller, open-source models with lower energy footprints, while the federal government has not provided concrete details on ensuring Indigenous data sovereignty or weighing environmental priorities.", "body_md": "At Mila’s [Indigenous AI Gathering](https://betakit.com/how-indigenous-technologists-are-building-data-sovereignty-into-ai/?utm_source=B%7CK%3A%20The%20BetaKit%20Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=B%7CK%3A%20The%20BetaKit%20Newsletter%2007.19.26%20%2801ManualRampWeek%29) this week in Montréal, AI minister Evan Solomon was gifted a sacred braid of sweetgrass.\n\n“I see this technological revolution coming, and there’s a lot of Indigenous people who are being left behind,” said Mick Elliott, a Mila research fellow, of the Okanese First Nation, as they handed Solomon the gift. “When I offer this to you, it comes with a great weight and a responsibility. But also in a warmth and a sharing of, ‘we will walk this with you.’”\n\nElliott said the three strands of sweetgrass often represent the past, the present, and the future.\n\nCanada’s government has a history, both past and arguably present, of gatekeeping data and using it to [exploit](https://www.cma.ca/latest-stories/health-data-collected-indigenous-peoples-canada-has-dark-history-one-indigenous-company-turning?utm_source=B%7CK%3A%20The%20BetaKit%20Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=B%7CK%3A%20The%20BetaKit%20Newsletter%2007.19.26%20%2801ManualRampWeek%29) Indigenous communities—leading to a lack of trust that Solomon called “scar tissue.”\n\nRight now, the Canadian government is moving to accelerate major projects like pipelines and potentially data centres for AI compute, while the Assembly of First Nations has voted against changes to speed up this process. Public polling also shows Canadians broadly are resistant to AI and its related infrastructure buildout.\n\nThe minister has repeatedly said Canada needs to move fast and adopt AI to be globally competitive. Yet at Mila, Solomon struck a slightly different tone: the future’s moving fast, but we “don’t have any obligation to follow the speed of the silicon chip in our community.”\n\nThe debate around AI has largely focused on a binary: forge ahead on innovation, or hit pause on development altogether. Mila’s builders gave a glimpse of an alternative AI future that’s Indigenous-led: where AI is harnessed to advance the economic interests of communities with smaller, open-source models with lower energy footprints.\n\nWhile the feds’ AI strategy nods to some of these elements, and Solomon said the AFN is developing its own AI recommendations, the feds have not provided concrete details regarding how it will weigh environmental priorities or ensure Indigenous data sovereignty. Whether the government can, or will even try to braid these ideas together into an equitable path forward remains to be seen.\n\nMadison McLauchlan,\n\nMontréal reporter\n\n**Your finance team has better things to do than chase receipts.**\n\nTime is money. Ramp is a finance automation platform built to save you both.\n\nOne platform for corporate cards, employee expenses, reimbursements, and bill payments.\n\nSee every swipe as it happens. Automatically block out-of-policy spend. When a receipt comes in, Ramp extracts the details and matches them to the related card transaction, which can then be auto-coded with GST/HST details and sent straight to your accounting system.1\n\nThe average customer saves 5%2 in their first year.\n\n1 Direct sync available for supported accounting systems: QuickBooks Online, Xero, NetSuite, Microsoft Business Central, and Sage Intacct. 2 This percentage is an estimate, not a guarantee. More details at ramp.com/canada.\n\n#### Top stories from *BetaKit*\n\n**Going nuclear**\n\nThis week, Richmond, BC-based General Fusion [became the first](https://betakit.com/general-fusion-begins-trading-on-nasdaq-becomes-first-nuclear-fusion-company-to-go-public/?utm_source=B%7CK%3A%20The%20BetaKit%20Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=B%7CK%3A%20The%20BetaKit%20Newsletter%2007.19.26%20%2801ManualRampWeek%29) nuclear fusion company to go public. While it’s still a long way from its goal of creating a commercial power plant, chief strategy officer Megan Wilson told *BetaKit* that the [public market reception](https://betakit.com/general-fusion-pleased-with-public-market-debut-after-redemption-heavy-spac-deal/?utm_source=B%7CK%3A%20The%20BetaKit%20Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=B%7CK%3A%20The%20BetaKit%20Newsletter%2007.19.26%20%2801ManualRampWeek%29) will help the company get there.\n\n**Mountains of medical records**\n\nThe spark of an idea for St. John’s-based AI software startup [SiftMed](https://betakit.com/siftmed-lands-5-million-to-find-the-facts-humans-can-miss-in-mountains-of-medical-records/?utm_source=B%7CK%3A%20The%20BetaKit%20Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=B%7CK%3A%20The%20BetaKit%20Newsletter%2007.19.26%20%2801ManualRampWeek%29) came when the founder, a surgeon, was sifting through 13,151 pages of medical documents to find out what had caused a man’s paralysis and found a handwritten note that changed everything.\n\n**TTW levels up**\n\nToronto Tech Week’s second year welcomed more than 32,400 people, [more than doubling](https://betakit.com/toronto-tech-week-doubles-attendance-in-second-year/?utm_source=B%7CK%3A%20The%20BetaKit%20Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=B%7CK%3A%20The%20BetaKit%20Newsletter%2007.19.26%20%2801ManualRampWeek%29) the inaugural event’s attendance.\n\n**“A blessing and a curse”**\n\nAI is flooding into Canadian workplaces despite a legal vacuum around how it should be regulated. BetaKit chatted with two lawyers about [what employers should know](https://betakit.com/what-canadian-tech-startups-should-know-about-ai-in-the-workplace/?utm_source=B%7CK%3A%20The%20BetaKit%20Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=B%7CK%3A%20The%20BetaKit%20Newsletter%2007.19.26%20%2801ManualRampWeek%29).\n\n#### Data point\n\n##### 20 Watts\n\nHow little energy Richard Sutton’s [new lab](https://betakit.com/ai-pioneer-richard-sutton-founds-new-research-lab/) aims to use to power a trillion-parameter AI agent. That’s as much power as a few LED lightbulbs.\n\n#### Sponsored stories\n\nHow Ben Machine Products is helping power Canada’s defence push from Vaughan\n\n[The City of Vaughan has become a hub for global defence innovation](https://betakit.com/how-ben-machine-products-is-helping-power-canadas-defence-push-from-vaughan/). One of their leading companies, Ben Machine, is producing high-precision aerospace and defence components for international supply chains.\n\n#### Deals, dollars, drops\n\nWho’s cashing in, or out, this week:\n\n**TouchBistro**, which sells point-of-sale tech for restaurants,[was acquired](https://betakit.com/touchbistro-acquired-by-subsidiary-of-constellation-software/?utm_source=B%7CK%3A%20The%20BetaKit%20Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=B%7CK%3A%20The%20BetaKit%20Newsletter%2007.19.26%20%2801ManualRampWeek%29)by a subsidiary of Constellation Software. (Toronto/Ottawa)**Cohere**(which was founded by University of Toronto alumni)[partners with](https://cohere.com/blog/cohere-university-of-toronto-announcement)U of T to help the university create an environment to securely build AI projects. (Toronto)- Alberta’s\n[online gambling market](https://betakit.com/alberta-opens-online-gambling-market-to-private-operators/?utm_source=B%7CK%3A%20The%20BetaKit%20Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=B%7CK%3A%20The%20BetaKit%20Newsletter%2007.19.26%20%2801ManualRampWeek%29)officially goes live; companies like**theScore Bet** and**FanDuel** entered the province. (Alberta) **InsideDesk** raises[$17.7 million CAD](https://betakit.com/insidedesk-closes-12-6-million-usd-to-grow-its-dental-payments-platform/?utm_source=B%7CK%3A%20The%20BetaKit%20Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=B%7CK%3A%20The%20BetaKit%20Newsletter%2007.19.26%20%2801ManualRampWeek%29)to help dental practices manage payments. (Toronto)**1Password** launches a[new product](https://betakit.com/1password-launches-ai-token-spend-management/?utm_source=B%7CK%3A%20The%20BetaKit%20Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=B%7CK%3A%20The%20BetaKit%20Newsletter%2007.19.26%20%2801ManualRampWeek%29)to help clients track their token spending. (Toronto)**GroundedAI** closes a[$2-million CAD](https://betakit.com/groundedai-secures-2-million-to-help-modernize-tunnel-building/?utm_source=B%7CK%3A%20The%20BetaKit%20Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=B%7CK%3A%20The%20BetaKit%20Newsletter%2007.19.26%20%2801ManualRampWeek%29)raise for underground construction software. (Vancouver)**Solving.AI** raises[$1.1 million CAD](https://betakit.com/solving-ai-wants-ai-to-teach-you-how-to-use-work-software-properly/?utm_source=B%7CK%3A%20The%20BetaKit%20Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=B%7CK%3A%20The%20BetaKit%20Newsletter%2007.19.26%20%2801ManualRampWeek%29)for its workplace software training platform. (Montréal)**Manzil** launches[self-directed](https://betakit.com/manzil-launches-halal-version-of-robinhood-in-us-as-it-eyes-global-growth/?utm_source=B%7CK%3A%20The%20BetaKit%20Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=B%7CK%3A%20The%20BetaKit%20Newsletter%2007.19.26%20%2801ManualRampWeek%29)halal stock trading for US clients. (Toronto)\n\n#### The refresh\n\n**Can Canada have a rocket?**\n\n*Core Memory*, the indie tech publication founded by Elon Musk biographer and longtime Bloomberg reporter Ashlee Vance, [ventured up north](https://www.corememory.com/p/nordspace-canada-rocket-area66) to cover *BetaKit* Most Ambitious 2025 company NordSpace. Once you get past the 51st-state jokes, the short documentary profiles CEO Rahul Goel and what’s fuelling his rocket dreams.\n\n**Help shape the next generation of Canadian founders**\n\nVelocity is bringing back the Velocity Pitch Competition for Waterloo Tech Week, reimagined with a new format built to connect emerging founders with tech leaders and entrepreneurs across the ecosystem.\n\nWe’re looking for judges who can bring real-world expertise, sharp feedback, and an eye for ideas with genuine potential.\n\nHere’s how it works: 100 student teams, 100 judges, one day. Each team delivers a two-minute lightning pitch, no slides. As a judge, you’ll hear from up to 20 teams, give direct feedback, and help decide who advances to the finals and who takes home prizes.\n\nThis is a chance for industry leaders and entrepreneurs to spot early talent, support the next generation of founders, and stay close to the ideas shaping Canada’s future.\n\n**BetaKit Podcast · July 13**\n\n“We actually have a pretty rich history of building defence technology…and then we defunded it.”\n\nDominion Dynamics CEO and BetaKit Most Ambitious honouree Eliot Pence joins to discuss why he came back to Canada to build. [Watch now ›](https://ctrk.klclick1.com/l/01KXC9R78KEC0441PYYVDGZCJV_27?utm_source=B%7CK%3A%20The%20BetaKit%20Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=B%7CK%3A%20The%20BetaKit%20Newsletter%2007.19.26%20%2801ManualRampWeek%29)\n\n*Contributors: Madison McLauchlan (Montréal reporter), Douglas Soltys (editor in chief), Sarah Rieger (managing editor), Trevor Nichols (web editor).*\n\n*Feature image courtesy Maryse Boyce for Mila.*", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/an-indigenous-ai-framework", "canonical_source": "https://betakit.com/an-indigenous-ai-framework/", "published_at": "2026-07-20 09:00:00+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-07-20 14:27:14.955072+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-policy", "ai-ethics", "ai-research"], "entities": ["Mila", "Evan Solomon", "Mick Elliott", "Okanese First Nation", "Assembly of First Nations", "Canada", "General Fusion"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/an-indigenous-ai-framework", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/an-indigenous-ai-framework.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/an-indigenous-ai-framework.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/an-indigenous-ai-framework.jsonld"}}