Data governance in the context of Indigenous data involves supporting the data interests, gaps and priorities of Indigenous peoples, in order to enable Indigenous self-determination.[1] Generally, data governance refers to who has ownership, control and access over the use of data. [1] Indigenous data governance requires the data to surround Indigenous peoples and its purpose to reflect Indigenous needs and priorities, rather than omitting Indigenous peoples in the production of Indigenous data.[2]
Indigenous data governance is key in enabling Indigenous self-determinism and rebuilding strong Indigenous nations.[editorializing] Oftentimes, Indigenous peoples do not have access to relevant Indigenous data. Currently[when?] in Canada, much information on Indigenous peoples are considered government data that fall under Crown copyright, limiting access to relevant data such as archeological sites that are of significance to Indigenous nations.[3] Thus, Indigenous data that lacks strong data governance often misrepresent Indigenous peoples, help inform policies that have discriminatory impacts on Indigenous peoples, and uphold colonial practices.[2]
Indigenous data can include knowledge and information on census, health and other administrative data about Indigenous peoples, information on the environment, non-humans and resources, and information on cultural heritage such as oral histories, clan knowledge and cultural sites.[4] Indigenous data be produced by Indigenous people, governments, other institutions, and corporations.[4] In terms of rebuilding Indigenous nations, Indigenous data can be useful for tribal governments when making decisions about their resources and communities.[5]
Companies and states often have the power in deciding what kind of data is produced and for what purposes.[6] Data sovereignty in the context of Indigenous data is about ensuring that Indigenous people have a say in the data that is produced about them, how this data is shared and the purpose behind sharing the data.[6] Data sovereignty holds significance for Indigenous peoples, as marginalized groups of people, because it allows them to protect their land, cultural heritage and knowledge.[6]
Indigenous data sovereignty has received formal recognition from the United Nations through the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). [7] UNDRIP was formed by the United Nations in 2007.[4] UNDRIP provides a universal framework of human rights standards that should be met in relation to Indigenous peoples, in addition to existing human rights standards.[8]
An early framework that addressed the lack of Indigenous peoples authority in the production of Indigenous data was the First Nations principles of OCAP.[9] More recently, The CARE principles of Indigenous data governance have been created by the Global Indigenous Data Alliance (GIDA 2019) as a framework for open data initiatives in incorporating Indigenous data sovereignty.[7] The CARE principles are an extension of the FAIR principles of open data, which focus on increasing data sharing and data accessibility devoid of historical context and power dynamics.[10] In contrast to the FAIR principles of open data, the CARE principles are people and purpose oriented rather than data oriented, and are rooted in Indigenous world views.[7][10]
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