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Oct 22, 2025

How Indigenous communities are adopting AI

Marketplace’s Savannah Peters says the Cherokee Nation, at least, is moving forward with placing guardrails on AI models to maintain Indigenous data sovereignty.

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How Indigenous communities are adopting AI
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Artificial intelligence holds a lot of promise for tribal nations — as a force multiplier for hard-to-staff departments, a tool to better serve tribal citizens, and even to aid in the revitalization of Indigenous languages and culture.

But, as with all applications of AI tools, data security concerns loom. And some nations are adopting the new technology quicker than others. For an overview, Marketplace’s Nova Safo spoke with Savannah Peters, who covers Indigenous communities for Marketplace.

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