Kara's Commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi

NZSL translation

At Kara Technologies, our work is shaped by where we come from. Aotearoa New Zealand has a unique foundation in Te Tiriti o Waitangi, often referred to as the Treaty of Waitangi, and that plays an important role in how we design, build, and share our technology.

For many people outside New Zealand, this may be unfamiliar. Te Tiriti o Waitangi was signed in 1840 between Māori, the Indigenous people of Aotearoa, and the British Crown. It is widely recognised as one of New Zealand's founding documents. More importantly, it continues to influence how organisations and communities work together today.

Today, Te Tiriti is often understood as providing a framework for relationships, responsibilities, and the protection of Māori language and culture. In practice, this is often understood through three key principles: Partnership, Participation, and Protection. These principles guide how we approach our work and how we develop our technology.

Why this matters beyond New Zealand

While Te Tiriti o Waitangi is specific to Aotearoa, the thinking behind it has wider relevance.

Around the world, Indigenous communities have often been left out of decisions about how their languages, knowledge, and culture are used, especially in technology. AI is no exception. There is a growing need to ensure that Indigenous voices are not only included, but are central to decisions involving their languages, knowledge, and culture.

Our approach reflects that. Being based in Aotearoa means we are expected to do this properly, but it also shapes how we think about our work globally. If AI is being built using language and cultural knowledge, the communities those come from should be central to the process.

Partnership

Partnership means working alongside communities, not making decisions for them.

At Kara, this includes working closely with Deaf communities, organizations, and Turi Māori - meaning the Māori term for Deaf Māori community. As we look toward incorporating commonly used, well-known Turi Māori signs into our NZSL project work, we always start with community first.

Before any motion capture or technical development begins, our focus is on listening, building relationships, and understanding what is appropriate. This work is guided by Turi Māori voices. It is not something we define on our own.

This approach also shapes how we design our technology more broadly. Co-design is built into the process, not added at the end.

Participation

Participation is about ensuring Deaf people are actively involved in shaping and benefiting from this work.

Our technology evolves through feedback, testing, and input from Deaf users. We create accessible pathways for people to contribute, whether through advisory roles, community engagement, or direct involvement in development.

Participation also means thinking about who benefits. Our goal is to increase access to information, services, and opportunities in ways that reflect real needs.

For Turi Māori, participation includes having a clear voice in how Māori signs are approached, used, and represented. It is about involvement from the beginning, not after decisions have already been made.

Protection

Protection is about recognising the value of language and culture, and treating them with care. Signed languages are  taonga – the translation meaning of tonga is a Māori concept of treasured or of great value.

This includes NZSL, ASL, and Māori signs and cultural concepts used within Deaf communities. These languages carry identity, history, and cultural meaning. In AI, there can be pressure to move quickly and scale. We take a more considered approach.

This means being deliberate about how language data is sourced and used. It means respecting that not all knowledge should be captured or generalised without context. It also means ensuring that signed languages are not simplified in ways that lose meaning.

Our approach to Māori signs reflects this. We are taking the time to work with Turi Māori communities first, to understand what is appropriate, before moving into motion capture or technical development.

Building technology the right way

The way technology is built matters just as much as what it does.

Te Tiriti o Waitangi provides a framework that keeps us grounded through growth and guides our decision making. Like any meaningful relationship, this requires ongoing learning, listening, and accountability. It reminds us that this work is not just technical. It is relational.

As AI continues to evolve, there is an opportunity to do things differently creating an opportunity to increase access to information that was once not possible within current resources,. To build technology that reflects the people it serves, and to ensure that communities, especially Indigenous communities, are not an afterthought.

For us, this is not a separate part of the work. It is part of how we work, every day.