08/10/2026
A Powerful Day of Learning in Window Rock
Last week, Laguna Creek attended the Diné Data Sovereignty Symposium at the Navajo Nation Museum & Library in Window Rock, Az, and we left with more to think about.
The focus was AI and what it means for the Navajo Nation, but the conversations were about so much more than technology.
We talked about Navajo intellectual property, cultural knowledge, language, traditional resources, data ownership, AI policy, environmental impacts, and the future of technology on Navajo Nation.
One of the things reinforced from our internal conversations was how connected all of these issues are.
AI can touch our language.
It can touch our art.
It can touch our stories.
It can touch our intellectual property.
And Laguna knows all too well, it touches our tourism businesses and the data generated by the millions of people who come to experience Indigenous places and cultures.
That brings us back to a very important question:
Who owns the data, who controls it, and who benefits from it?
This is something we think about every day at Laguna Creek.
Our company was created to help keep more tourism, hospitality and economic value within Indigenous communities. Through Native American Tours, Hogan PMS and Turquoise POS, we're building technology specifically with Indigenous businesses and communities in mind.
The summit reminded us that this work is part of a much bigger conversation about Indigenous digital sovereignty.
Technology is moving quickly. AI is moving even faster.
Our communities deserve a seat at the table and not just as users of these technologies, but as owners, decision-makers and creators.
We’re grateful for everyone who brought this conversation together and for the people who are asking the hard questions now, before the technology gets even further ahead of us.
The conversation is just beginning.
Diné Data Sovereignty Symposium Signage Artist: Adam Shorty (Diné)
Presenter in photo: Trevor Reed, Professor of Law, UC Irvine
