Indigenous tech startup wâsikan kisewâtisiwin has teamed up with Telus to test an AI tool built to address how Indigenous Peoples are represented in writing. Telus is the first company to beta test the technology, with thousands of employees now using the platform to help sharpen its accuracy.
The tool scans documents for colonial framing, cultural bias, and historical inaccuracies, offering real-time suggestions to help writers and researchers avoid misrepresenting Indigenous lands and knowledge systems. The idea is to automate some of that correction work so Indigenous people aren’t constantly put in the position of having to provide that education themselves.
“Our partnership with Telus is an exciting step forward,” said Shani Gwin, Founder and CEO of wâsikan kisewâtisiwin. “Employees testing our technology are finding it useful and are improving their awareness while seeing opportunities to apply the tool in other parts of their business.”
The AI runs on Telus’s Sovereign AI Factory in Rimouski, Quebec, a supercomputer that opened in late 2025 and runs on 99% renewable energy. Because it’s a sovereign facility, all data stays within Canada, which matters when handling sensitive Indigenous information.
Earlier this week, Telus announced plans to expand that infrastructure, with a new data centre coming to Kamloops later this year and two more slated for Vancouver by 2028.
“Advancing the path to reconciliation requires us to be intentional about the technology we use,” said Pam Snively, Chief Data & Trust Officer at Telus. “By welcoming wâsikan kisewâtisiwin into our platform, we are honouring Indigenous data sovereignty and equipping our team with tools to learn and engage in ways that are ethically grounded.”
The tool is expected to go public this fall. The startup is currently looking for more organizations interested in testing or investing in the technology.
The startup wâsikan kisewâtisiwin is taking the stage today at Web Summit Vancouver to showcase its new partnership with Telus. Founder and CEO Shani Gwin will be joined by Alex Latulipe Loiselle, a Senior Technology Specialist at Telus, to discuss how the companies are using AI to improve Indigenous representation in media. The presentation is scheduled to begin at 1:00 PM PDT.
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