Historical context

Through the colonization and devaluation of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples and worldviews, there have been challenges with how outside sources have collected and used Traditional Indigenous Knowledges and data. Data gathered on Indigenous Peoples historically has been controlled by external parties without consent and makes up the majority of research done on Indigenous Peoples to the external parties advancement. As such, there is a need for Indigenous data sovereignty guidelines and principles.

What is meant by Indigenous data sovereignty?

“Indigenous Data Sovereignty is the ability for Indigenous peoples, communities and Nations to participate, steward and control data that is created with or about themselves… It recognizes that Indigenous People are the ultimate authority in their data and Knowledges and aims to redefine Indigenous Peoples’ relationship to research from being participants or subjects to being meaningful partners and co-researchers.”

—Cited from Indigenous Data Sovereignty (Indigenous Studies Research Guide at the University of Toronto (utoronto.ca)

Indigenous data sovereignty calls for the direct control of the research data that is gathered on Indigenous Peoples, cultures, histories, stories, languages, knowledge systems, and sacred lands. When an Indigenous community takes control of the data collected about their Indigenous Traditional Knowledges, they gain the power to self-determine the stories that data tells and the narrative shared.

Indigenous data sovereignty in practice includes controlling how data is:

“Data sovereignty is also about empowering First Nation, Inuit and Métis communities to choose when and how to allow others to reciprocally apply their Knowledges and data in ways that benefit non-Indigenous people — for example, applying Indigenous environmental stewardship practices more broadly.”

—Cited from Nindokiikayencikewin: to seek learning or Knowledges. Indigenous Knowledges and Data Governance Protocol [PDF]

Now that you are aware that there are Indigenous data sovereignty principles, let’s take a deeper dive into how we can all honour them.

We’ll start by reviewing the concept of Indigenous data governance.

Indigenous data governance

Indigenous data governance refers to the right of an Indigenous Nation to govern the collection, ownership, application, and storage of its own data.

We will explore the existing governance models or best practices for doing research, collaborating, creating, and curating with Indigenous communities respectfully.

Indigenous communities across Canada have established principles to guide ethical research and information collection within their respective communities. It is important to understand which principles the specific community you are wanting to connect with honours and wants to use.

There are many governance models that are specific to certain Indigenous groups, yet there are some overlapping commonalities in the defining principles.

Canada recognizes the need to advance First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Peoples’ self-determination as a central feature of successful, legitimate, and accountable governance on the road to reconciliation. This can be done by respecting First Nations, Inuit, and Métis governing authorities.

Dominant governance guidelines

In the next few sections, we will be developing an understanding of the following Indigenous data sovereignty principles models:

• First Nations principles of OCAP®
• Manitoba Métis principles of OCAS/Principles of Ethical Métis Research
• Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit/National Inuit Strategy on Research
• USAI (Utility, Self-voicing, Access, and Inter-relationality) Research Framework
• CARE Principles

Attributions

• “Indigenous data sovereignty” diagram by Connie Strayer and Robyn Grebliunas is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license.