T’Karonto Pod

The T’Karonto Pod is located in Toronto, Canada and led by OCAD University and York University.

The T’Karonto Pod is led by OCAD University and York University in partnership with researchers from other universities, Indigenous organizations and Indigenous representatives from non-Indigenous organizations. It is premised on the Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) concept of A Dish with One Spoon and the commensurate concept of “Generous AI.”

The Pod is guided by the powerful history and traditions of the region’s Dish with One Spoon agreement to develop and support a framework for AI research, education, and community benefit. A Dish with One Spoon is a peace agreement rooted in Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe legal traditions that foregrounds how the environment can be shared and cared for to the mutual benefit of all its inhabitants. It is grounded in principles of place, reciprocity and responsibility.

Elaborately decorated wampum belts codified and retained memory of such agreements, acting as physical and conceptual frameworks made of handmade beads, exemplifying the ways that technology can build/represent expansive knowledge.


As one of the newest Pod in Abundant Intelligences, the T’Karonto Pod continues to gather with experts in the Indigenous community to explore the relevance of AI and the concept of A Dish with One Spoon in relation to challenges and opportunities for Indigenous organizations and communities. This Pod is also expanding the network of collaborators at OCAD University and York University.