Mason Grimshaw
AI Engineer at Ode Partners. VP of IndigiGenius. Co-founder of the Lakota AI Code Camp. Sicangu Lakota. Husband. Dad to 4.
I build AI tools for organizations and tribal nations, teach data science to Indigenous youth and practitioners, and have advised on AI policy at the federal level. Most of my time goes to figuring out what a tool actually does for people — and whether it should exist at all.
Projects
Things I've helped build.
A mix of production tools, community platforms, and experiments.
Lakota AI Code Camp
A summer camp I co-founded to teach Python, data science, and AI to Lakota youth. I helped build the curriculum and teach the first week — 20 lessons. The best part is watching students gain confidence and come alive as they point these tools at problems they actually care about.
Blue Corridors
31 years of whale tracking data from 50+ research groups, brought together into layered map visualizations. I worked between the science team and our designers — prototyping views, iterating on what to show and how, until we landed on something that serves both researchers and policymakers. Built at Ode Partners.
How Machines See California
An interactive scrollytelling piece I built at Ode to explain geospatial foundation models and their embeddings. We explore how Clay, a geospatial foundation model, categorizes and aligns different land cover types across California and how it can help us find specific kinds of terrain.
Indigenous in AI/ML Workshop at NeurIPS
A workshop I help organize every year at NeurIPS, the world's largest machine learning conference. We built this space to bring Indigenous researchers, practitioners, and perspectives into the global AI conversation. It's grown each year and has become a home for people doing this work.
Oceans Futures
Fisheries conflict data from a dozen sources, shaped for the web and prototyped into interactive maps through close iteration with WWF's science team. The back-and-forth between data, prototype, and client feedback is where this project found its form. Built at Ode Partners for COP28.
Reforestation Site Selection with Geospatial AI
Amazon and Clay partnered to explore how geospatial foundation model embeddings can map reforestation potential across Africa. Ode Partners supported the collaboration as an applied engineering partner. Published as an Amazon Sustainability Exchange case study.
MIT Solve Indigenous Communities Fellowship
Helped launch MIT Solve's Indigenous Communities Fellowship (formerly the Oceti Sakowin Fellowship) — connecting the program to communities across Indian Country, supporting media outreach, and working with the first cohorts of Solver teams. Returned as a judge in subsequent years.
Featured
Highlights.
Bringing AI from Silicon Valley to the Black Hills
TEDx Boston — March 2023
Elevate Magazine: Innovation in the Black Hills
Cover story on Lakota AI Code Camp — October 2022
Indigenous Youth Are Using Coding and AI to Save Native Language
Teen Vogue — January 2024
Feature on the Lakota AI Code Camp and how Indigenous students are using AI to preserve endangered languages.
PressLakota Code Camp: Bringing It to Native Communities
Forbes — November 2023
Coverage of the Lakota AI Code Camp and the mission to bring AI education to Native communities.
PressTraining the Next Generation of Indigenous Data Scientists
The New York Times — June 2021
Featured alongside researchers from Vanderbilt, UCSD, and the Native BioData Consortium on Indigenous data sovereignty and the future of language AI for endangered languages.
AwardPritzker Environmental Genius Award Nominee
UCLA Institute of the Environment & Sustainability — 2025
Nominated for work at the intersection of AI, Indigenous knowledge, and environmental stewardship.
AI Literacy and Data Sovereignty for Indigenous Communities
In AI We Trust? — EqualAI — March 2025
Axios +AI Summit
Axios — 2024
AI Camp Teaches Native Teens to Preserve Lakota Culture
NBC News
Findings: Exploring the Impact of AI
National AI Advisory Committee (NAIAC) — November 2023
Cited as an expert briefer on AI's impact on Native American communities in this White House advisory committee report.
TalkNational AI Advisory Committee Briefing
NAIAC — Public Comment
Delivered public comments on Indigenous AI and data sovereignty to the National AI Advisory Committee, and participated in the Q&A session with committee members.
PodcastProbabilistic Living: Indigenous Data Sovereignty
Apple Podcasts — 2025
Conversation on probabilistic thinking, Indigenous data sovereignty, and building AI systems that serve communities.
Indigenous AI
Fuller Seminar: AI and Conservation — February 2023