09/25/2026
The Sovereignty Behind the Technology
One of the things we value most about working in Native technology is the people we get to meet along the way.
At NAFOA Fall Finance & Tribal Economies Conference, we had the opportunity to connect with Navajo businesses, Tribal professionals, and leaders from across Indian Country who are working on some of the most important questions facing our communities from Tribal finance to economic development, Tribal self-determination, technology, and AI & data sovereignty.
As a Native-owned technology company, Laguna Creek also had the opportunity to raise an important question:
Who owns and benefits from the data generated by Tribal governments and Tribal businesses; and, the transactions flowing through their technology platforms?
Too often, the subscription price for a platform tells only part of the story. The real value can be in the transactions, customer relationships, bookings, operational data, and other information generated every day by the businesses using that platform.
For us, this isn't simply a technology question.
It is a sovereignty question.
Tribal and Indigenous Nations have inherent rights to govern information about their people, communities, lands, businesses, history, and culture. As AI increasingly depends on data, protecting that sovereignty becomes even more important.
Laguna Creek is grateful to be part of this conversation, and, even more grateful to connect with people across Indian Country who are thinking about these issues, challenging the status quo, and helping build a future where Native communities have greater ownership, control, and benefit from their own digital economies.
The future of Tribal/Native technology should not simply be built for Indian Country. It should be built with, and increasingly by, Indian Country.
Wyatt Gilmore| Lane Sundown Gilmore | Jocelyn Billy-Upshaw |
