Story 4: Indigenous Data Sovereignty

Indigenous data sovereignty is of upmost importance to this project and was considered at every step and in ongoing community relationships and site development. In this story, we will review some of the major concepts relating to Indigenous people and data governance.

Indigenous peoples have always had processes and systems of managing their own data. Data is another resource that has been stolen from Indigenous peoples, whether that is cultural items in museums or health data from medical experiments in residential schools. Indigenous nations/peoples have the right to ownership and governance over data about them, regardless of where it is held and who holds it.

Indigenous Data sovereignty’ is the management of information in a way that aligns with the laws, practices and customs of the community in which it is located. The data on the site is stored on Canadian servers, which is important for creators to know when posting their stories.
Indigenous Data Sovereignty is the right of Indigenous Peoples to govern the collection, ownership and application of data about Indigenous communities, peoples, lands, and resources.

The principles of Ownership, Control, Access and Possession (OCAP) enables self-determination over all research and data collection concerning First Nations. It offers a way for First Nations to make decisions regarding what research will be done, the purpose behind the use of their information or data, where the information will be physically stored and who will have access.