Indigenous digital sovereignty

Indigenous Digital Sovereignty

Field	Indigenous rights, Data governance, Digital rights

Indigenous Digital Sovereignty (IDS) refers to the inherent rights of Indigenous peoples to govern the collection, ownership, and application of their own data and digital resources. The concept extends beyond mainstream definitions of digital sovereignty, encompassing both information and the physical means by which that information transfers.

Indigenous Digital Sovereignty is rooted in Indigenous Peoples' inherent sovereign rights and grounded in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), particularly Article 31, which asserts Indigenous peoples' rights to "maintain, control, protect and develop their cultural heritage, traditional knowledge."

Definition and concepts

The American Indian Policy Institute at Arizona State University distinguishes between three interconnected components of Indigenous Digital Sovereignty:

• Tribal Digital Sovereignty: The overarching term for Indigenous nations' rights in the digital realm
• Network Sovereignty: Control over physical infrastructure and connectivity
• Data Sovereignty: Governance over information and its use

Indigenous Digital Sovereignty challenges the framing of cyberspace as landless and emphasizes the connection between digital spaces and land-based relations.

History and development

The concept of Indigenous Digital Sovereignty emerged from earlier movements for Indigenous data rights. In 1998, the First Nations Information Governance Centre in Canada developed the OCAP® principles (Ownership, Control, Access, Possession), which became foundational to the movement.

The Global Indigenous Data Alliance (GIDA) was later formed to advance Indigenous data sovereignty globally, bringing together networks from multiple countries including the United States Indigenous Data Sovereignty Network and Te Mana Raraunga (Māori Data Sovereignty Network) from New Zealand.

In 2024, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) passed a resolution supporting tribal digital sovereignty, marking increased formal recognition of these rights.

Key principles

CARE Principles

Main article: CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance

The CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance were developed by the International Indigenous Data Sovereignty Interest Group and published in 2020. These principles are "people and purpose-oriented, reflecting the crucial role of data in advancing Indigenous innovation and self-determination."

The CARE acronym stands for:

• Collective benefit
• Authority to control
• Responsibility
• Ethics

These principles complement the FAIR data principles but specifically address Indigenous rights and interests.

Implementation and examples

Indigenous Digital Sovereignty has been implemented through various initiatives worldwide:

• United States: Native American tribes have developed data governance strategies that assert control over tribal data collection and use.

• New Zealand: Te Mana Raraunga advocates for Māori rights and interests in data "as the world moves into an increasingly open data environment."

• Canada: The OCAP principles have been widely adopted by First Nations communities for research and data collection.

Challenges and debates

Tensions with open data movements

There are "competing interests" between digital health initiatives promoting open data and Indigenous data sovereignty movements. Indigenous communities seek to balance the benefits of data sharing with the need to protect traditional knowledge and maintain control over their information.

Infrastructure challenges

Many Indigenous communities face significant challenges in achieving network sovereignty due to limited access to broadband infrastructure and the digital divide.

See also

• Data sovereignty
• Digital divide
• Indigenous rights
• Traditional knowledge
• UNDRIP
• Open data
• Digital colonialism

External links

• Global Indigenous Data Alliance
• United States Indigenous Data Sovereignty Network
• Te Mana Raraunga - Māori Data Sovereignty Network
• First Nations Information Governance Centre

This article "Indigenous digital sovereignty" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Indigenous digital sovereignty. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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