(MUSCOGEE RESERVATION) After several months of development, “Lyle”, an AI-powered chatbot designed to fight misinformation and disinformation in Indian Country, is now ready to chat with you.  Ask Lyle who he is, and he will likely respond that he is “an innovative, culturally grounded AI-powered chatbot designed to serve Native American communities by providing reliable, culturally informed, and fact-checked information.” Chatbot development began in December 2024, thanks to the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.journalismai.info/programmes/innovation">JournalismAI Innovation Challenge</a>, supported by the Google News Initiative. The development team was led by Verified News Network (VNN) President and CEO Kelly Tidwell (Muscogee and Cherokee), assisted by a team of Native and Native-ally professionals. “VNN is a family company. Creating a technological tool to not just benefit community members today, but also future generations is paramount,” Tidwell said. “Misinformation and disinformation, stereotypes, lack of historic knowledge. These are all major issues causing damage in Indian Country. Our hope is Lyle can help to improve those issues, and inspire others to do the same.” <a target="_blank" href="https://verifiednews.network/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Lyle-Chatbot-Overview.pdf">Access the Lyle the Indian Country Chabot overview here.</a>Lyle was designed to be culturally informed from the beginning, trained on resources produced by Indigenous-led organizations as well as Indigenous people. All sources used to train the chatbot were also obtained with permission. “A big concern for some tribes and Indigenous people is data sovereignty,” Tidwell said. “Traditionally, Artificial Intelligence has been known to simply take and train. If it’s on the internet, it’s fair game. But we didn’t want to do that. It made the process more challenging, but it also ensured respect and, of course, accuracy. Clearly not everything out in the world wide web serves or accurately reflects Indian Country.”Lyle is paving the way for Indigenous-led information tools, especially needed in Oklahoma amidst ongoing conflict between some of Oklahoma’s tribes and the state’s executive branch.This year alone, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt has taken to traditional social media multiple times to promote language misinforming the public that jurisdictional disagreements involving tribal members are based on race rather than citizenship. This includes condemning a recent agreement between the Muscogee Creek Nation and the City of Tulsa as a "<a target="_blank" href="https://app.verifiednews.network/articles/muscogee-nation-and-city-of-tulsa-sign-historic-law-enforcement-agreement">backroom deal</a>". Developed on the Muscogee Reservation, Lyle greets visitors in the Muscogee language. Other ties to the Muscogee people include being named after Tidwell’s great grandmother, Alice Lyle Schoonover, who was sent to Eufaula Indian Boarding School. She later traveled the country advocating on behalf of Native Americans and others in their needs for survival.Lyle’s image was created by Maddie Sanders, known as Holatte (ho-lah-tee), a Mvskoke and Mojave artist from Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and inspired by Tidwell’s father, Leroy.  To chat with Lyle, visit <a target="_blank" href="https://indiancountrychatbot.com/">https://indiancountrychatbot.com/</a> and click on the orange chat icon on the bottom right of the page.

United States of America

Oklahoma

Meet Lyle, VNN’s new Indian Country Chatbot 

Mackenzie Oestreich

Story Snapshot 📷 Black Tech Street is leading the development of the Greenwood AI/AS Center of Excellence (G-ACE) in Tulsa’s historic Black Wall Street, using a $10.6 million grant to drive AI innovation, economic development, and workforce empowerment. On March 6, a community information session at the Greenwood Cultural Center brought residents together to learn about G-ACE’s pilot initiatives, highlighting opportunities for local involvement in shaping Tulsa’s tech future.
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(TULSA, Okla.) The path of artificial intelligence is widening in Tulsa, and Greenwood is poising to set an accelerated pace. On March 6, Black Tech Street hosted a pivotal Greenwood AI/AS Center of Excellence (G-ACE) Community Information Session at the Greenwood Cultural Center, providing community members the opportunity to learn how the new initiative is leading the charge in shaping the future of AI (artificial intelligence) and AS (autonomous systems).
Attendees gained insight into G-ACE’s exciting pilot initiatives, which focused on key areas such as entrepreneurship, fluency development and AI innovation. The session was an engaging experience for those interested in how AI is transforming business and community development, and how they could be part of this groundbreaking movement in Greenwood.
“This is not just something cool for our community, it’s more than that,” said Tyrance Billingsley II, Founder and Executive Director of Black Tech Street. “Our nation is in desperate need of what it is we are in the position to deliver, and it puts us in a unique situation.”
In 2022, the Tulsa Hub for Equitable and Trustworthy Autonomy (THETA), a federally designated Tech Hub, was awarded $51 million through a grant from the US Economic Development Administration (EDA). The program is a federal initiative aimed at making the United States a global leader in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and emerging technologies.
Tulsa is one of only two communities to receive the $51 million award. Of this funding, $10.6 million will be allocated to G-ACE, which is being spearheaded by Black Tech Street. As a grant recipient, member of the steering committee, and key decision-maker in Tulsa Tech Hub’s strategy, Black Tech Street plays a central role in the initiative.
G-ACE is a unique center being built in the heart of Black Wall Street, with the goal of advancing an AI-powered society and economy. The center’s main initiatives focus on economic development, workforce empowerment, and self-sufficiency.
The initiative is supported by the Microsoft Cyber and AI Co-Innovation Lab and the ASPIRE program. The Microsoft Cyber and AI Co-Innovation Lab is a first-of-its-kind facility dedicated to driving AI-driven economic transformation. 
We're told the lab will support entrepreneurs, businesses, and individuals by providing access to Microsoft's tech. The ASPIRE program focuses on developing AI fluency and serves as the talent development and innovation arm of G-ACE.
Mikael Vaughn, Founder and Executive Director of Urban Coders Guild, sees the initiative as a huge opportunity for younger generations interested in technology.
“I believe in computer science education for our youth as a means of generating generational wealth and economic justice, especially here in Greenwood,” said Vaughn.
As the leader of a nonprofit focused on STEM/STEAM education access for youth, Vaughn understands the importance of creating opportunities in technology.
“I think about innovation,” said Vaughn. “This project being in Tulsa…individuals [are] coming to a space of freedom, with AI [offering] that sense of freedom.” 
The center is expected to open this fall.
For more information about Black Tech Street or G-ACE, visit<a href="https://www.blacktechstreet.com/"> blacktechstreet.com</a>.

Mackenzie Oestreich

Meet Lyle, VNN’s new Indian Country Chatbot

Tulsa's Greenwood AI/AS Center of Excellence aims to drive innovation and economic growth