“Data tells a story, and that’s why survivors of the notorious Mohawk Institute – Canada’s longest running residential school – are reclaiming data and sharing their truths. From traditional knowledge passed down through oral storytelling, to the records kept by governments and institutions, data is power. Keeping that power in Indigenous hands is data sovereignty.” (CBC.ca)
Laura Beaulne-Stuebing · CBC Radio · Mar 31, 2024

Welcome to the first post in our series about Indigenous Data Sovereignty where we give an overview of this complex issue and how it continues to impact Nations. Through this series, we will offer solutions and tools to help Nations on a path to self determination grounded in truth, and supported by data.  Check out our Indigenous Data Sovereignty services here.

Why is Indigenous Data Sovereignty Important?

Data is a powerful tool that empowers Nations to make informed and educated decisions for their communities. Having access to quality data enables decisions that benefit the entire community across environmental, social, and economic development. Data reveals the truth about the past, present, and future states of a Nation and it can be leveraged to assert inherent rights — protecting people, lands, and territory.

Indigenous Data Sovereignty is about ensuring Indigenous people are recognized in data and are part of — or in control of — their own data collection. But it's also about recovering stories, memories and information that were taken from Indigenous people and their communities. 

Ultimately, data has the power to transform communities.

Indigenous Data and Colonialism

Indigenous Nations and communities have historically gathered, preserved, and transferred data through their governance systems, including oral tradition, storytelling, and artworks. However, these systems were disrupted by colonization and the imposition of Western policies and practices. Colonialism's control over lands and resources is mirrored in the appropriation and control of Indigenous data, often collected through government, academia, and industry without consent. Examples of where Indigenous Nations have been misrepresented include the Canadian Census, university-led research projects and federal investigations. Because Indigenous Nations have been the subject of research and practices that are outside of their control, they routinely fail to draw accurate conclusions or serve their needs and interests.

Reference: https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1q1crgf

Collecting Stories and Memories

A strong example of the importance of data sovereignty is the current work being done to retrieve residential school data and put it back into the hands of Indigenous communities. In a recent CBC article, Laura Bealne-Stuebing explains how documents that share what happened in residential schools aren’t just about data and numbers; they hold the stories and memories of the children who attended the schools. Sensitive information like this belongs in the hands of communities. She goes on to say that as communities learn more about what happened to their ancestors through the retrieval of data, they have an opportunity to guide their own healing process.

Regaining Control

Asserting control over Indigenous Data has become a crucial step on the path towards self determination for First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples. By ensuring that data collection, usage, and sharing align with their protocols and systems, communities regain control over their own narrative, participate meaningfully, and protect their rights and interests.  Data Sovereignty also allows for communities to participate in research, decision-making, and policy development using quality data that represents their people.

What is Data Governance? 

Indigenous Data Governance describes the policies, practices, and frameworks by which Indigenous Nations manage and control data that is relevant to their communities. This includes the collection, storage, analysis, and usage of that data.

A Nation decides how to govern their data according to these three questions:

When Indigenous Nations and communities govern their own data, it allows them to make informed decisions in developing policies, programs and community well-being initiatives.

What is Data Management?

Data management describes the development and execution of policies based on how a Nation decides to govern their data. The ability to collect, organize, store, access and analyze data are critical in decision making processes, planning and knowledge sharing. Part of the data management process is adopting clear processes and protocols so that the information is secure, but also easy to access and share.

Challenges

As many communities and Nations already know, along with Data Governance and Management come complex challenges including individual rights, storage and capacity issues, and evolving data laws and regulations. Each Nation and community will have specific needs with respect to how they govern and manage their data. It is important to have a plan tailored to your community's needs.

Now that you know the “what and why” of Indigenous Data Sovereignty, let us provide you with some ideas on the “how.” Stay tuned for future posts in this series where we offer solutions on collecting, sorting and managing the data that tells the story of your peoples. Our next post includes a Digital Maturity Assessment to help get you started.

Join us on the journey to learn about harnessing the power of data and how it can ultimately lead to greater control and a path to self determination grounded in truth. Sign up for our bi-weekly newsletter to receive future posts in this series directly to your inbox!

Read about our Data Sovereignty services here, better yet, reach out to our team to discuss your Nation's needs:

About Us: Shared Value Solutions

We are a Canadian B Corp, and we assist Indigenous communities with support throughout regulatory processes surrounding major development projects like mines, hydroelectric facilities, transmission lines, highway expansions, oil and gas pipelines, natural resource transport applications and nuclear power. 

We have deep context and experience behind the recommendations we provide, having worked for our clients on almost every major project in Canada over the last 10 years. For us, it’s all about building long-term relationships with our clients. We want to get to know you and what you want to do so we can help you move your plans forward. 

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