Why This Exists

Data has always been used to count, classify, and control Indigenous peoples. Census rolls. Blood quantum. Allotment records. The tools are new. The logic is not. This commons gathers what Indigenous communities are building, what researchers are documenting, and what history demands we remember — so the next generation of decisions about AI is shaped by those most affected by it.

It was built by Zam DeShields — a Chickasaw Nation citizen, former Planning Director for the Swinomish and Samish Indian tribal governments, former Microsoft Indigenous Program Office, graduate student in Rehabilitation Counseling at Western Washington University, and founder of Zam DeShields LLC, a freelance consulting practice focused on technology strategy, data protection, and community education. If something belongs here, send it my way.