Indigenous Data Sovereignty: Reaffirming Indigenous Autonomy [or Self Determination] in British Columbia’s Ecosystem Conservation
In this paper, we assert the importance of Indigenous Data Sovereignty (IDS) in addressing threats to ecosystems and in supporting Indigenous Peoples’ efforts to regain and uphold sovereignty over their territories.
Indigenous knowledge-holders face challenges from non-Indigenous scientists who seek collaboration for addressing environmental issues, while the open data movement pressures them to share their data publicly.
We explore the role of IDS in the context of the multiple pressures from human use and climate change affecting salmon-bearing ecosystems in British Columbia.
Read this open access paper on the FACETS website.
Our insights are based on content from an online workshop in June 2022, attended exclusively by First Nations knowledge-holders and/or technical staff from Nations.
Recognizing the significance of data is crucial for meaningful collaborations between Indigenous communities and non-Indigenous researchers in addressing the impacts of climate change and cumulative effects on salmon-bearing watersheds in BC.
Additionally, we offer suggestions for Indigenous governments to assert sovereignty over data, provide recommendations for external researchers to respect IDS, and propose questions for discussions between external researchers and Indigenous partners to guide decision-making on data management.
Finally, we reflect on the lessons learned during the collaborative material creation process.
Read the paper — Taking care of knowledge, taking care of salmon: towards Indigenous data sovereignty in an era of climate change and cumulative effects by S.E. Cannon, J.W. Moore, M.S. Adams, T. Degai, E. Griggs, J. Griggs, T. Marsden, A.J. Reid, N. Sainsbury, K.M. Stirling, Axdii A. Yee S. Barnes, R. Benson, D. Burrows, Gala’game R. Chamberlin, B. Charley, D. Dick, A.T. Duncan, Kung Kayangas M. Liddle, M. Paul, N. Paul Prince, C. Scotnicki, K. Speck, J. Squakin, C. Van Der Minne, J. Walkus, K. West, and Kii’iljuus B. Wilson The Indigenous Data Sovereignty Workshop Collective.
