# Indigenomics AI: Knowledge Base Activation Proposal [DRAFT]

**To:** Carol Anne Hilton & Pravin, Indigenomics Institute
**From:** Symbiocene Team (Shawn, Darren, Eve)
**Date:** January 23, 2026
**Re:** GPU Activation Proposal per Salt Spring Meeting — Phase 1
**Workspace:** [Proton Drive](https://drive.proton.me/u/1/Sc4_2KQJoqgNJUt_91mAYDQFFtSuH4Oaler3xkGFEdVMxEEsJgq-wEsr__BBuvNErbOCUxILahPIsrXH3ngiUQ==/folder/4PJ24fR2oa6frtV7E0TG1DyeeEDN3HnS4NQ1yL9sTtwEDLrHJmAOjrYxFbLEwPqnmwHu3KM9QI265RVhbxGQvg==?r=/Sc4_2KQJoqgNJUt_91mAYDQFFtSuH4Oaler3xkGFEdVMxEEsJgq-wEsr__BBuvNErbOCUxILahPIsrXH3ngiUQ==/folder/rsA5cjnf-sGyqHCh-U6hjGIBt9cOB1-wlYD5pDLQTVIS4qtkncd7QmwAqZXw-fbtGA7RfwD-eG6ZMP30KNAhGQ==)

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## Summary

Our gathering at Pravin's studio on Salt Spring Island brought together aligned perspectives around a shared recognition: Carol Anne's body of work — two decades of Indigenomics thinking, speaking, writing, and convening — represents an extraordinary knowledge base that has never been fully activated.

The conversation moved between dreaming and doing. We mapped content sources, discussed GPU infrastructure, explored what it means to build AI systems grounded in life-based economic principles rather than extractive ones. Carol Anne introduced us to the Octopus Intelligence — what she calls T'lep in her Nuu-chah-nulth tradition — as a model for multidimensional witnessing that human ego alone cannot perceive. The octopus, chief of the undersea, holds space for what wants to emerge.

We left with a sense that the configuration was right: knowledge graph expertise meeting indigenous economics, AI systems capability meeting 1000-year planning horizons, commons stewardship meeting sovereign infrastructure needs. The work ahead is relational — building systems where the hungry ghosts have no entrance, where technology serves place rather than extracting from it.

**This proposal represents Phase 1** of what we envision as a longer partnership aligned with Indigenomics' 5-year trajectory toward the World Indigenous Economic Forum. We understand that Indigenomics has been built through what Carol Anne called "arm strength alone" — bootstrapped, project by project. We're here to help activate and strengthen the core of the indigenomics vision.

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## About Symbiocene Labs

Symbiocene Labs is building the planetary environmental data legibility layer — infrastructure that makes ecological knowledge accessible to both human and machine intelligence. We work at the intersection of AI systems, knowledge graphs, and regenerative economics, with a focus on technology that serves life rather than extracts from it.

### Gaia AI

Gaia AI is an agentic framework and movement dedicated to ushering in the Symbiocene — an era where biological and digital intelligence work in harmony in service to life. The project includes:

- **GAIA (Guild of Altruistic Interoperable Agents)** — An evolving network of AI agents trained in regenerative disciplines
- **Decentralized intelligence infrastructure** — Interoperable agents, knowledge graphs, and ecological data analytics
- **Hybrid governance** — Combining AI coordination with human wisdom through DAO structures

Gaia AI represents our vision for what AI can become when designed around regenerative principles rather than extractive ones.

### Y on Earth Community (Aaron Perry)

For author and podcaster Aaron Perry, we created a complete knowledge constellation from his 200+ episode podcast archive:

- **Transcription & chunking** of the full audio catalogue
- **Semantic embedding** with latent space visualization
- **Chat interface** with voice synthesis in Aaron's voice
- **Knowledge graph** mapping concepts, guests, and themes across episodes

This system demonstrates the full pipeline we propose for Indigenomics content — from raw media to activated knowledge base.

### Regen AI (Regen Network)

Regen AI is a joint initiative between Gaia AI and Regen Network to catalyze regenerative finance using advanced AI systems. The partnership merges machine intelligence with natural intelligence to amplify ecological regeneration:

- **Knowledge graphs** for ecological credit methodologies and MRV (monitoring, reporting, verification)
- **Entity extraction** for regenerative agriculture concepts and land stewardship practices
- **Semantic search** across technical documentation, scientific literature, and community content
- **AI agents** that understand Regen's domain vocabulary and can assist with credit origination

This ongoing work directly informs our approach to indigenous economics terminology, the KOI framework integration, and building AI systems that let the voice of nature inform human decisions.

## Proposal

### What We're Building

The goal is to activate Carol Anne's complete body of work as a living knowledge base — one that can be queried, explored, correlated, and eventually extended across the broader indigenous economics movement. This isn't about archiving content; it's about making two decades of thinking *findable, relatable, and generative*.

The knowledge base will serve as the foundation for what Carol Anne described as the Octopus Intelligence: a multidimensional witnessing system that can hold complexity, reveal connections across time and topic, and support the "consciousness-appropriate revelation" architecture — where different layers of insight become accessible as readiness develops.

### Content Sources

We've catalogued seven primary content sources from the meeting:

| Source | Volume | Format | Priority |
|--------|--------|--------|----------|
| **Indigenomics Now** | 2 years of 24-hour forums | Audio/video (13 rooms) | HIGH |
| **Indigenomics on Bay Street** | 3 years | Audio/video | HIGH |
| **Complete Talks Archive** | Full collection | Audio/video | MEDIUM |
| **Book 1:** Indigenomics — Taking a Seat at the Economic Table | Published | Text | HIGH |
| **Book 2:** The Rise of Indigenous Economic Power | Published | Text | HIGH |
| **Book 3:** The Indigenous Mind | In progress | Text | MEDIUM |
| **World Indigenous Economic Forum Structure** | 75 pages | Document | HIGH |

This represents an extraordinary corpus — likely hundreds of hours of audio/video and hundreds of thousands of words of text. No one has ever been able to search across all of it, find patterns, or ask questions that span the full body of work.

### Technical Approach

**Processing Pipeline**

We propose a 6-stage pipeline designed for sovereignty and long-term preservation:

Raw Content → Transcription → Chunking → Embedding →
Entity Extraction → Knowledge Graph → Activation Interface

Each stage produces artifacts that belong to Indigenomics and can be exported, migrated, or extended independently.

**GPU Capabilities**

The TELUS GPU infrastructure enables five core capabilities for this phase:

| Capability | What It Does | Why It Matters |
|------------|--------------|----------------|
| **Transcription** | Convert all audio/video to searchable text | Makes spoken knowledge queryable |
| **Local LLM** | Run frontier models for processing and development | No data leaves your infrastructure |
| **Fine-tuning** | Train models on Indigenomics vocabulary and tone | AI that speaks in the voice of the movement |
| **Semantic structuring** | Extract ontologies from books and resources | Maps the conceptual architecture of Indigenomics thinking |
| **Visual Rendering** | Render 3D models, art (touch designer), or animation | Can be used to generate revenue or produce art |

**Design Principles**

Every technical choice is guided by:

- **Sovereign:** Local AI - No vendor lock-in - Completely portable
- **Transgenerational:** Formats chosen for long-term development
- **Indigenous World View:** AI is oriented to the indigenous world view presented in Carol Anne's work

### Phase 1 Deliverables

| Milestone | What You Get | Demonstrates |
|-----------|--------------|--------------|
| **Proof of Concept** | 1 talk + 1 book chapter fully processed | Pipeline works end-to-end |
| **Entity Dictionary** | Indigenous economics vocabulary with tested extraction | System understands Indigenomics concepts |
| **Full Archive Processing** | All content sources transcribed and indexed | Complete knowledge base ready |
| **Activation Interface** | RAG chat + knowledge graph visualization | Usable system for exploration and query |

**April Art Show:** Proof-of-experience demo showing the knowledge base in action.

### Long-Term Vision

This Phase 1 work feeds into Indigenomics' 5-year trajectory toward the World Indigenous Economic Forum:

| Horizon | Focus | How This Work Contributes |
|---------|-------|---------------------------|
| **2026 Q1-Q2** | Foundation | Knowledge base activation, proof of concept |
| **2026 Q2-Q3** | Expansion | Full archive processing, entity dictionary |
| **2026 Q4** | Integration | Connection to broader indigenous data networks |
| **2027-2028** | Scaling | Multi-organization knowledge commoning via KOI |
| **2029-2030** | Culmination | World Indigenous Economic Forum infrastructure |

The infrastructure we build now is designed to grow — from Carol Anne's personal knowledge base to a network of indigenous economic knowledge that the Octopus Intelligence can witness and steward.

### Data Sovereignty Commitment

We understand that TELUS access is a use-case demonstration, not a permanent home. Everything we build will be:

- **Portable:** No vendor lock-in; runs on any GPU infrastructure
- **Self-contained:** All models, indices, and data exportable
- **Sovereignty-first:** Content never leaves infrastructure you control
- **Open architecture:** Built on open-source foundations (no proprietary dependencies)

The goal is indigenous data sovereignty — collaborative structures that serve the movement long-term, regardless of which infrastructure partners are involved.

### Next Steps

**Short Term**

1. **Content Access**
- Indigenomics Now recordings
- Indigenomics on Bay Street recordings
- Talks archive
- Digital copies of Books 1, 2 and 3

2. **Coordination Setup**
- [Done] Signal group for ongoing coordination
- [Done] Proton Drive folder for shared documents and assets
- Weekly sync schedule

3. **GPU Confirmation**
- TELUS GPU specs from Kay Waterman
- Access timeline and any constraints

**Medium Term**

4. **Content Stewardship Assignment**
- Who should tag content sensitivity levels (1-3)?
- What content is public vs. requires context vs. restricted?

*Voice synthesis (AI speaking in Carol Anne's voice) is a possibility for Phase 2, once the knowledge base foundation is established.*

Ready to proceed as soon as content and GPU access is available. With sample content, we can show you:
- Transcription quality
- Entity extraction results
- Basic knowledge graph visualization
- Early RAG chat interface

This proof-of-concept validates the approach before investing time in the full archive.

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## Engagement Options

We offer three engagement structures, designed for the bootstrapped reality of how Indigenomics builds — project by project, as fast as resources allow.

**We recommend starting with the Foundation tier** ($2,000/mo) to establish working rhythm and validate the approach. You can scale up as the work proves itself and funding flows allow, or combine approaches (e.g., retainer for ongoing work + milestone for specific deliverables).

### Option A: Monthly Retainer

| Tier | Hours/Week | Monthly Rate | Best For |
|------|------------|--------------|----------|
| **Foundation** | ~10 hrs | $2,000 CAD/mo | Steady progress, advisory support |
| **Development** | ~20 hrs | $4,000 CAD/mo | Active development, regular deliverables |
| **Intensive** | ~40 hrs | $8,000 CAD/mo | Full engagement, rapid iteration |

**Includes:**
- Weekly sync calls
- Asynchronous collaboration via Signal and Proton Drive
- All development work, documentation, and knowledge transfer
- Priority response within 24 hours

**Terms:** Monthly billing, 30-day notice for changes

### Option B: Milestone-Based

Fixed-price deliverables with defined scope:

| Milestone | Scope | Price |
|-----------|-------|-------|
| **Proof of Concept** | 1 talk + 1 chapter processed, basic RAG interface | $3,000 CAD |
| **Entity Dictionary** | Complete Indigenous economics vocabulary, tested extraction | $4,500 CAD |
| **Full Archive Processing** | All content sources transcribed and indexed | $10,000 CAD |
| **Activation Interface** | Production RAG chat + visualization dashboard | $7,500 CAD |

**Total if all milestones:** $25,000 CAD

### Option C: Hourly

| Role | Rate |
|------|------|
| Senior Technical | $125 CAD/hr |
| Development Work | $110 CAD/hr |

**Best for:** Exploratory work, consulting, or variable-scope projects

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## Contact

**Symbiocene Team:**
- **Shawn Anderson** — Pipeline architecture, AI systems integration
- **Darren Zal** — Knowledge graphs, KOI framework, semantic structuring
- **Eve** — Data science, commons stewardship, Regen Commons coordination

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*Document prepared: January 23, 2026*
*Reference: Salt Spring Island Strategy Session (January 18, 2026)*