In the long arc of indigenous peoples reclaiming what was taken, language has always been among the most sacred losses — and now, in Aotearoa, a quiet negotiation over artificial intelligence and pronunciation data is asking a deeper question: who truly holds the right to steward a people's words. Google and Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori have partnered to bring correct te reo Māori pronunciation to Google Maps, with intellectual property in the language data retained by the Māori Language Commission. Yet Māori technology experts argue this is only a first step, pressing for that data to move b