Data Sovereignty Frameworks, Principles & Practices
Frameworks & Principles
Various Indigenous organizations, collectives, and communities have formed to define strategies, frameworks, principles, approaches to ensuring and maintaining Indigenous data sovereignty, such as:
● The First Nations Principles of OCAP®, (Ownership, Control, Access, Possession), The First Nations Information Governance Centre
● CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance, (Collective Benefit, Authority to Control, Responsibility, Ethics), Global Indigenous Data Alliance
Data Sovereignty in Practice
- Community empowerment & development
- Rematriation & language revitalization
- Climate action & land stewardship
- Education & research
Respectful Engagement
If you are conducting research or collecting data which includes information about Indigenous communities and their knowledges, consider the following actions to ensure respectful engagement:
- Familiarize yourself with relevant data sovereignty frameworks and proper cultural protocols
- Acknowledge the rightful owners of data, cultural, and intellectual property
- Promote community-led and community-authored data and research initiatives
Further Reading on Data Sovereignty
Carroll, S. R., Garba, I., Figueroa-Rodríguez, O. L., Holbrook, J., Lovett, R., Materechera, S., Parsons, M., Raseroka, K., Rodriguez-Lonebear, D., Rowe, R., Sara, R., Walker, J. D., Anderson, J., & Hudson, M. (2020). The CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance. Data Science Journal, 19, 43.
Kukutai, T., & Taylor, J. (Eds.). (2016). Indigenous Data Sovereignty: Toward an Agenda. Australian National University Press.
The First Nations Information Governance Centre. (2019). First Nations Data Sovereignty in Canada. Statistical Journal of the IAOS, 35(1), 47–69.
Walter, M., & Suina, M. (2019). Indigenous data, Indigenous methodologies and Indigenous data sovereignty. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 22(3), 233–243.