Indigenous Data Sovereignty

Indigenous data sovereignty calls for Indigenous Peoples, as sovereign Nations, to have the right to control data made by or about Indigenous people and their communities.

The concept of data sovereignty ... is linked with Indigenous Peoples’ right to maintain, control, protect and develop their cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions, as well as their right to maintain, control, protect and develop their intellectual property over these.

Source: Kukutai, T. & Taylor, J. (2016). Indigenous data sovereignty: Towards an agenda. Australian National University Press.

Learn more about Indigenous data sovereignty from Data as Relation: Indigenous Data Sovereignty and Ethic of Care:

Books in the Collection

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Indigenous Data Sovereignty and Policy by Maggie Walter (Editor); Tahu Kukutai (Editor); Stephanie Russo Carroll (Editor); Desi Rodriguez-Lonebear (Editor)
ISBN: 9780429273957
Publication Date: 2020-10-29
This book examines how Indigenous Peoples around the world are demanding greater data sovereignty, and challenging the ways in which governments have historically used Indigenous data to develop policies and programs.
Indigenous data sovereignty: toward an agenda by John Taylror (editor); Tahu Kukutai (editor)
ISBN: 1760460311
Publication Date: 2016
As the global ‘data revolution’ accelerates, how can the data rights and interests of indigenous peoples be secured? Premised on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, this book argues that indigenous peoples have inherent and inalienable rights relating to the collection, ownership and application of data about them, and about their lifeways and territories.

Additional Resources

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Indigitization: Managing Digital Information
The [Indigitization] Program is committed to clarifying community needs regarding the conservation, digitization, and management of Indigenous knowledge.
Local Contexts
Local Contexts is a global initiative that supports Indigenous communities with tools that can reassert cultural authority in heritage collections and data. By focusing on Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property and Indigenous Data Sovereignty, Local Contexts helps Indigenous communities repatriate knowledge and gain control over how data is collected, managed, displayed, accessed, and used in the future.
Data Governance and Management Toolkit
This Toolkit supports Indigenous governments to use and manage socioeconomic data to improve life for their peoples, and in ways that reflect their cultural traditions.

Research Data Management

Indigenous Data Sovereignty

Books in the Collection

Additional Resources