Data Sovereignty
Generally, data sovereignty means that data that is stored and collected within a specific country must be governed by that country’s laws and regulations. In the Indigenous context, data sovereignty empowers Tribal Nations and Peoples to govern how they own, store, and use their data. Rather than follow the extractivist and exploitative nature of data collection–a legacy of settler colonialism–Indigenous data sovereignty reaffirms the sovereignty of Tribal Nations and communities. Especially in the age of AI, where big tech companies often collect data to train models, there is a pressing need for strong data sovereignty principles. However, this is not a new conversation; there have been many approaches and frameworks discussed to address data sovereignty and underscore consent from Indigenous communities.
OCAP
The First Nations Principles of ownership, control, access, and possession (OCAP) were one of the first data sovereignty frameworks to address Indigenous communities. Created in 1998 by the First Nations Information Governance Centre (FNIGC), OCAP established a way to govern information collection. In more detail:
Ownership refers to how community data would be owned collectively, just as an individual owns their personal data.
Control affirms that Tribal Nations have the right to seek control over all stages of the information collecting and managing processes. This also affirms the right to control the research conducted with Indigenous data.
Access means Tribal Nations must have access to the information collected about them and their people, regardless of where the data is stored.
Possession is more concrete than ownership, referring to the physical ownership of data.
While these four principles seem very standard, they can be formed in such a way to fit a Nation’s values and protocols.
Understanding the First Nations Principles of OCAP™: Our Road Map to Information Governance
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UNDRIP
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) is a resolution that affirms the rights of Indigenous Peoples, including the right to self-determination, control over cultural heritage and knowledge, and authority over data about their communities. The resolution was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2007.
FAIR
While not specific to Tribal Nations and Indigenous Peoples, the FAIR (findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability) principles outline a strong framework for data governance and stewardship. Created in 2016, these principles specifically address data used for research purposes. Interestingly, these principles emphasized the ability for machines to find data, as researchers nowadays use automation to create datasets. They also focus on the reuse of data by individuals.
Findability means both humans and machines can easily find the data.
Accessibility refers to the ease of accessing the data once it is found.
Interoperability means the data can be compatible or work with other applications and workflows.
Reusability means the data is well-documented so it can be reused in similar or different cases.
CARE
To create a global set of principles, the International Indigenous Data Sovereignty Interest Group developed the CARE Principles in 2020. CARE stands for collective benefit, authority to control, responsibility, and ethics. In action, these principles affirm the right to sovereignty in a way that places community values at the heart of this endeavor.
Collective benefit asserts that data collection processes focus on the creation, use, and management of data for and by the community.
Aligned with the right to sovereignty, authority to control affirms Indigenous Peoples’ rights to own and determine governance for their data.
There is a sense of responsibility to the data and the Indigenous Peoples’ from where the data came from. Such a responsibility includes increasing community data capabilities and investing in these processes.
To ensure no harms or injustices to Indigenous Peoples’, there must be ethics of wellbeing and community values in data practices.
These principles are to be in conjunction with FAIR. While FAIR emphasizes the best practices for data access, CARE prioritizes aligning data governance with community values.
SEEDS
While the creation of various frameworks bolsters the move towards Indigenous data sovereignty, Indigenous researchers from the United States, New Zealand, and Canada noticed a gap in protections for Indigenous population health. To remedy this, they created the SEEDS framework at the International Population Data Linkage Network Conference in September 2018. SEEDS specifically addresses issues around Indigenous health data linkage, where information from different data sources are compiled into one database. SEEDS stands for:
Tribal Leaders and Indigenous Peoples’ self-determination to set health and research priorities, as well as creating data collection methods that do not harm the community.
Indigenous communities exercising sovereignty over their data and knowledge and requiring non-Indigenous people to be respectful of said data.
Prioritizing ethics that adhere to Indigenous priorities for research methods, data storage, and linkage.
Data stewardship and governance, which focuses on the responsible management and oversight of data. This involves ensuring quality, security, and appropriate use of data, as well as braiding cultural values and community priorities.
Supporting reconciliation between researchers and Indigenous communities that underscore Indigenous progress and invite reflexivity from the non-Indigenous researchers.