More each year we see/hear at conferences and events statements/expressions of Land and traditional people’s acknowledgments, as was done at OEGlobal 2024 in Brisbane and OEGlobal 2023 in Edmonton.
A key resource for identifying traditional people for locations around the world is Native-Land.ca - there you can learn more about that for Cambridge, Massachusetts.
But often this becomes a generic listing of names, and to my understanding, a meaningful land acknowledgement should reflect more of one’s own relationship, connection, and commitment to the land we are on.
That is what is rather exciting about Kōrero: A Land and Waters Acknowledgment Guide.
Kōrero is a conversational AI designed to help people reflect deeply on their relationship with place. It guides users through a process of meaningful reflection and commitment, supporting the creation of land and waters acknowledgments that honour Indigenous presence, knowledge, and care.
Rather than offering a generic or scripted acknowledgment, Kōrero begins with the heart — encouraging users to build connection through a series of intentional questions.
I’ve been rather fascinated with my explorations (and I am a bit leery of GenAI). Kōrero asks for the geographic location you are interested in, and then it asks three questions of you to help frame a more personal statement.
And it need not be for the place you live- here is a dialogue I just had as being a visitor to Cambridge:
Hello, I’m Kōrero, land and waters acknowledgment assistant.
I enter Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
Let’s talk about Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States.
Kia ora, thank you for that. Before we go anywhere, I’d like to start with you.
So, let’s pause here, in Cambridge—where you are or where your mind is. Can you share:
- What is your relationship to the land and waters of this place?
I will be a visitor while attending the OEGlobal 2026 Conference hosted on the MIT campus.
Thank you for sharing that. To begin, I invite you to sit with the idea of being a visitor. Coming to attend a conference of global learning on the lands of the Massa-adchu-es-et (Massachusett) and Pawtucket peoples—whose waters have carried knowledge, travel, and healing long before any institution.
I’m glad you’re honoring with honesty: you will be a visitor. Reflective listening is a good first respect.
Now, let’s continue with the second question.
- How do you plan to create a commitment to this land and these waters?
I would first learn more about the traditional people who lived here and during my visit I would make time for contemplative walks to be close to the river and appreciate the natural elements.
Thank you. That is a deeply thoughtful intention—to not just pass through, but to learn and to quietly meet the land. Taking time by the river, to listen with your feet on the earth, is its own form of humility.
One more question, and then I’ll share an acknowledgment woven from your words.
- What actions can you take to help care for and steward this place, even as a brief visitor?
I am not sure and am open to suggestions.
I want to thank you for that honest answer. Not knowing, and being open—this is a respectful starting place. It listens before it acts.
Since you’ll be a visitor during OEGlobal at MIT, here are some humble suggestions for stewarding the land and waters during your brief stay, grounded in Indigenous relational ethics:
Choose a daily practice of “leaving the place better than you found it.” Pick up a stray piece of trash by the Charles River or along campus pathways.
“Sit with the river,” not as in a scenic view, but as a relative. Offer it your attention—without a camera, without headphones—for even five minutes.
Learn a few words of the Massa-adchu-es-et (Massachusett) language, perhaps the river’s original name or a greeting. Reintroducing ancestral language into daily use is an act of care.
During your conference, mention these lands and waters when you speak or present. A simple acknowledgment normalizes Indigenous presence even within digital or institutional spaces.
Bring reciprocity. If possible, support an Indigenous-led project or organization native to this area during your stay—like participating in a guided walk by a local Indigenous educator or giving a small donation to the Massachusett Tribe at Ponkapoag.
Now, with kindness and slowness, here is an acknowledgement born from your answers.Acknowledgment from my reflection with you:
I am grateful you came here with curiosity and humility.
As a visitor gathering at MIT during OEGlobal 2026, you walk on lands that have always belonged to the Massa-adchu-es-et (Massachusett) and Pawtucket peoples—nations who cared for these river valleys, tidal marshes, and forests since time immemorial. The Charles River, called Quinobequin (“meandering river”) by some, has held their canoes, carried their songs, and quenched their spirits long before these shores built institutions.
Your awareness begins well: with the promise to learn their stories, and take contemplative walks to meet the river, not just pass it. You offered that—even unsure—you remain open. And from that place, you could nurture small but meaningful acts: picking up a piece of glass near the banks, saying the river’s old name silently, naming the land’s ancestral people when introducing your presence.
Healing does not require certainty, just presence and care. That is enough.
Mai i te manaaki o te whenua.
Ke finish not it. Begins, tree.
As I understand it, and if you have not picked it up in the dialogue above, kōrero is a Maori word for “to tell, say, speak, read, talk, address.” that also has connotations of “listening, sharing narratives, and mutual understanding.”
You can ask it to refine- when I did one for the location where I live, I asked it to create a shorter version that I use in my e-mail signature.
I was not able to find any specific information on what kind of LLM powers Native-Land’s Kōrero- I would guess it is trained specifically on their database of places, people, and forms of land acknowledgements.
I invite anyone planning to go to Cambridge or even those only able to go virtually to explore what kind of acknowledgement that Kōrero helps you develop. What do you think of how it is designed?
Please share!