.indigenous
A space on the internet owned and run by Indigenous peoples.
Our application to ICANN to operate .indigenous became public on Reveal Day, October 7, 2026. Here’s what it is and why it matters.
Pelly Banks Dena territory, Yukon
Where things stand
We are the sole applicant for .indigenous. No one else applied for the same string.
Next milestone
November 17, 2026: ICANN’s String Confirmation Day, before evaluation begins.
Who it’s for
Indigenous Nations, governments, organizations and businesses, and later, individuals.
The journey to a sovereign digital homeland
Every web address ends in a suffix: .com, .ca, .org. Those endings are called top-level domains, and they’re run by organizations and companies. In the history of the Internet, none of them have yet been run by Indigenous peoples.
.indigenous is our application to ICANN, the organization that manages internet names worldwide, to run our own top-level domain: a corner of the internet run by and for Indigenous people and communities. If it is approved, Indigenous peoples would hold and govern a piece of the Internet’s foundation itself, for the first time.
Who’s behind it
This project comes from the Pelly Banks (Nahonni Dena) Government, a distinct Kaska Dena community at the confluence of the Pelly and Ross Rivers in the Yukon, Canada.
The application was submitted by 17161573 Canada Inc., an Indigenous-owned company created to hold and operate .indigenous on the community’s behalf. This application has been sponsored and led by an unrecognized, sovereign community without federal funding.
Our vision
To create the world’s first-ever Indigenous-owned top-level domain that will contribute to enhanced Indigenous data sovereignty, and re-invest revenues in Indigenous communities for the benefit of Indigenous peoples.
Our story
Numbered companies are the simplest to register, though the name doesn’t tell you anything about us. 17161573 Canada Inc. was created in response to years-long conversations in our communities about ongoing challenges and lack of funding for programs and services in Indigenous communities, and in particular Indigenous communities in the Yukon and Canadian north.
Operating from the unceded territory of the Pelly Banks Dena, the idea is to create an Indigenous-owned for-profit business that gives back to Indigenous communities and shareholders, so that we can build a brighter future together for Indigenous communities, especially Indigenous youth.
We believe that 17161573 Canada Inc. will be the very first Indigenous-owned top-level domain, and our dream is to have every Indigenous community in Canada as clients who use our top-level domain. Access to websites and web-hosting via gTLDs and domain registries are something our communities are paying for already, so our goal is to inspire them to become customers of our Indigenous owned, operated, and led gTLD, knowing that their money is going into supporting Indigenous innovation that gives back to and helps us grow our communities through the generations.
Why we applied
Self-determination online
The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples affirms our right to control the developments that affect us. .indigenous brings that principle to the internet: decisions about who registers, how the space is run, and where the benefits flow are made by Indigenous peoples, for Indigenous peoples.
Our names, our space
Indigenous Nations, governments, organizations, and businesses would have a home on the internet that is unmistakably ours, where a community’s presence doesn’t sit inside someone else’s domain, on someone else’s terms.
Wealth built for community, not extracted from it
The registry is designed as a community enterprise: benefits are meant to flow back to Indigenous communities and support the things we care about (language, culture, education, and future generations) rather than leaving with outside shareholders.
One namespace, many Nations
Connected by a shared digital home, .indigenous is an online nexus for Indigenous communities worldwide. By us, for us. All of us.
How it would work
- Indigenous Nations, governments, organizations, and businesses can register domains. Individual registrations open later, once the space is established.
- An Indigenous community advisory body helps steer the registry and keeps it accountable to the people it serves.
Current status
.indigenous is entering into evaluations alongside a massive field of international brands, tech hubs, and global bodies, but our string stands unique.
What we’ve achieved
- 1 of 1,615published applications in the 2026 global gTLD round (plus one still under administrative review)
- 1 of 16community-based applications worldwide, 0.99% of all applications
- 1 of 1community-based application from Canada, the sole one in the entire country
- 1 of 33active Canadian string applications, and the only one filed by and for Indigenous peoples
- 1 of 56entities approved worldwide for ICANN’s Applicant Support Program
- 1 of 24 approved in the non-profit/charity or equivalent category
- 1 of 14 approved in all of North America
- 1We are the sole applicant for .indigenous
The road we’ve traveled
From incorporation to Reveal Day, and the evaluation steps still ahead.
Incorporated the applicant entity (17161573 Canada Inc.) under Pelly Banks direction, expressly to hold and operate .indigenous.
Applied for ICANN’s Applicant Support Program.
Approved for ICANN’s Applicant Support Program, reducing the $227,000 USD application fee by 75%.
Application submitted to ICANN.
Application fee wire transferred to ICANN.
Reveal Day: our application became public and was not contended. No one else applied for the same string.
- The path ahead
ICANN’s String Confirmation Day locks in applicant strings, prior to evaluation.
Community Input and Objections Period opens.
Walk with us
Endorse
Indigenous Nations and organizations can email a letter of support to [email protected], or support us by participating through ICANN’s public comment portal.
Share your vision
How would your community use .indigenous? Tell us. It shapes how the registry is built.
Spread the word
Follow, share, and talk about it. Since Reveal Day, our application is public.
This is a first. If it succeeds, it will be the first time in the history of the internet that a top-level domain is owned and run by Indigenous peoples. Indigenous communities that have been written out of the Internet’s story get to write the next chapter ourselves.
Help carry .indigenous through evaluation
Our application was one of only 56 worldwide approved for ICANN’s Applicant Support Program, reducing our initial fees by 75%. Yet, the work is far from finished.
Even with this relief, we still need funding to navigate the remaining evaluation phases, respond to community input, and establish the long-term infrastructure this namespace requires.
Where contributions go
- Retiring the loan that financed the application fee. The loan was made to the applicant corporation and personally guaranteed by our founder.
- Funding the costs of carrying .indigenous through evaluation to delegation: legal, technical, community consultation, and governance setup.
We are currently operating with unpaid volunteers. Your contribution helps us secure the professional support needed to keep .indigenous under Indigenous control.