Dana Tizya-Tramm

Dana has dedicated over six years of service to the Vuntut and Gwitchin Nation (VGFN), serving as both a council and board member, four of those years as Chief. His tenure was marked by significant achievements, including the defense of the Peel Watershed Land Use Planning provisions in partnership with the Nacho Nyak Dun and Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in nations, and the successful protection of the Porcupine Caribou herd’s calving grounds in Alaska from the Trump administration in 2017. He has represented Indigenous interests on the global stage, serving as co-chair for the Gwich’in Council International and advancing the Sustainable Development Working Group within the Arctic Council. Under his leadership, the Council of the VGFN passed the internationally recognized declaration Yeendoo Diinehdoo Ji’heezrit Nits’oo Ts’o’ Nan He’aa (After our time how will the world be?) — a first-of-its-kind climate declaration by a modern treaty First Nation in Canada. Dana’s journey has been anything but conventional. From overcoming trauma and addiction to navigating the halls of international diplomacy, his story is rooted in both survival and resurgence. As a TIME 100 Next leader, Clean50 Emerging Leader, and Up Here Magazine’s 2019 Northerner of the Year, Dana has never lost sight of his purpose: to be of service in a good way. Now, Dana brings this ethos into the realm of Artificial Intelligence. Guided by Indigenous ways of knowing and a lifelong pursuit of understanding, he is exploring AI not as a tool of domination, but as a potential ally in our collective story. His focus lies in aligning AI with Indigenous principles of relationship, respect, and reciprocity, while interrogating its impact on sovereignty, data ethics, and the sacred. Whether in the land, the legislature, or the lab, Dana carries the question forward: After our time, how will the world be?