POLICY BRIEF
Data Governance
for Native Nation
Rebuilding
STEPHANIE CARROLL RAINIE
DESI RODRIGUEZ-LONEBEAR
ANDREW MARTINEZ
Native nations in the United States increasingly are exercising Indigenous data
sovereignty
1
—the right of each tribe to control the collection, ownership, and
application of its own data.
2
Data governance provides the mechanisms for enacting
that right.
Purpose
This brief is a primer on Indigenous data governance. It describes the relationship
between reclaiming Indigenous data and Native nation rebuilding. It extends the
Indigenous data sovereignty conversation to tribal data governance and discusses the
implications of Indigenous data sovereignty for non-tribal entities that govern tribal data.
Data and Data Governance
A Native nation’s data are any facts, knowledge, or information about the nation and
about its citizens, lands, resources, programs, and communities. Information ranging
from demographic proles, to educational attainment rates, maps of sacred lands,
songs, and social media activities are all data. Data governance is the exercise of a
nation’s broad right to control all of this information.
Native Nation Rebuilding
Native nation rebuilding acknowledges the destructive impact of colonization on tribal
governance infrastructure and leadership mechanisms. It refers to the reclamation of
Native self-rule and increased self-determination. It occurs as a Native nation harnesses
its capacity to make and implement strategic decisions about its own aairs. It is a
comprehensive eort to rebuild tribal societies that work on tribal terms.
3
Data Governance and Nation Rebuilding
Data sovereignty, data governance, and nation rebuilding go hand in hand . Tribes need
accurate, relevant, and timely data for policy and decision-making. Tribes also need
mechanisms to protect and control their information. As tribes rebuild their governance
institutions, they increase their capability to govern their data, which in turn, facilitates
stronger evidence-based decision-making.
Indigenous data sovereignty is a right; it is also a state to be achieved through data
governance (see Figure 1). Every tribal nation is positioned along a spectrum from data
dependency—the state of depending on other entities to provide data about the tribe
and about its people, communities, and resources—to data sovereignty. By
implementing
Native nations in
the United States
increasingly are
exercising
Indigenous data
sovereignty—the
right of each tribe
to control the
collection,
ownership, and
application of its
own data. Data
governance
provides the
mechanisms for
enacting that right.
mechanisms of data governance, tribes are working toward data sovereignty. In this process, they will develop and use mechanisms such
as research review boards, data sharing agreements, and data repositories. They also will revisit, reuse, and revise these mechanisms
continuously to better achieve their goal. As technological advances or changes in tribal government activities create new data, the
process will continue to evolve.
It is important to note that exercising the right to Indigenous data sovereignty occurs within a larger data system in which other
governments, corporations, and entities also control tribes’ data. Thus Indigenous data sovereignty also requires these external entities to
incorporate tribal principles into their own data governance practices.
Tribes in the United States are incredibly diverse. Indigenous data governance strategies are similarly varied. We posit, however, that there
are common principles of data governance that support tribes as they work toward Indigenous data sovereignty. These may include trust,
recognition of inherent tribal sovereignty by external entities, and tribal ownership of a Native nations data, among others. What might be
some of the other Indigenous data governance principles shared among tribes in the United States?
Recommendations
•
Identify common principles of Indigenous data governance for use by tribes, governments, organizations, corporations, and
researchers within the United States.
• Explore the development of tribe-specic data governance principles.
• Identify and develop mechanisms to facilitate eective tribal data governance.
• Develop data governance mechanisms that non-tribal governments, organizations, corporations, and researchers can use to
support tribal data sovereignty.
This brief was produced by the Native Nations Institute and has been made available to the US Indigenous Data Sovereignty Network.
For more information, contact the Native Nations Institute at nni@email.arizona.edu.
Join the Network!
For more information on the US Indigenous Data Sovereignty Network and to join its community of practice that supports Indigenous data
sovereignty through data-driven research, policy advocacy, and education, visit usindigenousdata.arizona.edu.
Suggested Citation
Rainie, Stephanie Carroll, Desi Rodriguez-Lonebear, and Andrew Martinez. 2017. Policy Brief (Version 2): Data Governance for Native Nation
Rebuilding. Tucson: Native Nations Institute.
A Call to Action for Native Nations, Tribal Citizens,
Governments, Organizations, Scholars, and Funders
VERSION
2
Figure 1. Toward Indigenous Data Sovereignty: The Process of Decolonizing Data
DATA
DEPENDENCY
DATA
SOVEREIGNTY
1 | Rodriguez-Lonebear, D, (2016). Building a data revolution in Indian country, in T. Kukutai & J. Taylor (Eds.), Indigenous data sovereignty: Toward an agenda (pp.
253-272), Canberra, Australia: Australian National University Press. Rainie, S.C., Schultz J.L., Briggs E., Riggs P., & Palmanteer-Holder N.L., (2017), Data as strategic
resource: Self-determination and the data challenge for United States Indigenous nations, International Indigenous Policy Journal, 8(2), retrieved from
http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/iipj/vol8/iss2/1, DOI: 10.18584/iipj.2017.8.2.1.
2 | Rodriguez-Lonebear D. & Rainie S.C, (2016), US Indigenous Data Sovereignty founding documents, retrieved from http://usindigenousdata.arizona.edu/about-us-0.
3 | See M. Jorgensen (Ed.), (2007), Rebuilding Native Nations, Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press.
Native nations in the United States increasingly are exercising Indigenous data
sovereignty
1
—the right of each tribe to control the collection, ownership, and
application of its own data.
2
Data governance provides the mechanisms for enacting
that right.
Purpose
This brief is a primer on Indigenous data governance. It describes the relationship
between reclaiming Indigenous data and Native nation rebuilding. It extends the
Indigenous data sovereignty conversation to tribal data governance and discusses the
implications of Indigenous data sovereignty for non-tribal entities that govern tribal data.
Data and Data Governance
A Native nation’s data are any facts, knowledge, or information about the nation and
about its citizens, lands, resources, programs, and communities. Information ranging
from demographic proles, to educational attainment rates, maps of sacred lands,
songs, and social media activities are all data. Data governance is the exercise of a
nation’s broad right to control all of this information.
Native Nation Rebuilding
Native nation rebuilding acknowledges the destructive impact of colonization on tribal
governance infrastructure and leadership mechanisms. It refers to the reclamation of
Native self-rule and increased self-determination. It occurs as a Native nation harnesses
its capacity to make and implement strategic decisions about its own aairs. It is a
comprehensive eort to rebuild tribal societies that work on tribal terms.
3
Data Governance and Nation Rebuilding
Data sovereignty, data governance, and nation rebuilding go hand in hand . Tribes need
accurate, relevant, and timely data for policy and decision-making. Tribes also need
mechanisms to protect and control their information. As tribes rebuild their governance
institutions, they increase their capability to govern their data, which in turn, facilitates
stronger evidence-based decision-making.
Indigenous data sovereignty is a right; it is also a state to be achieved through data
governance (see Figure 1). Every tribal nation is positioned along a spectrum from data
dependency—the state of depending on other entities to provide data about the tribe
and about its people, communities, and resources—to data sovereignty. By
implementing
Native nations in
the United States
increasingly are
exercising
Indigenous data
sovereignty—the
right of each tribe
to control the
collection,
ownership, and
application of its
own data. Data
governance
provides the
mechanisms for
enacting that right.
mechanisms of data governance, tribes are working toward data sovereignty. In this process, they will develop and use mechanisms such
as research review boards, data sharing agreements, and data repositories. They also will revisit, reuse, and revise these mechanisms
continuously to better achieve their goal. As technological advances or changes in tribal government activities create new data, the
process will continue to evolve.
It is important to note that exercising the right to Indigenous data sovereignty occurs within a larger data system in which other
governments, corporations, and entities also control tribes’ data. Thus Indigenous data sovereignty also requires these external entities to
incorporate tribal principles into their own data governance practices.
Tribes in the United States are incredibly diverse. Indigenous data governance strategies are similarly varied. We posit, however, that there
are common principles of data governance that support tribes as they work toward Indigenous data sovereignty. These may include trust,
recognition of inherent tribal sovereignty by external entities, and tribal ownership of a Native nations data, among others. What might be
some of the other Indigenous data governance principles shared among tribes in the United States?
Recommendations
•
Identify common principles of Indigenous data governance for use by tribes, governments, organizations, corporations, and
researchers within the United States.
• Explore the development of tribe-specic data governance principles.
• Identify and develop mechanisms to facilitate eective tribal data governance.
• Develop data governance mechanisms that non-tribal governments, organizations, corporations, and researchers can use to
support tribal data sovereignty.
This brief was produced by the Native Nations Institute and has been made available to the US Indigenous Data Sovereignty Network.
For more information, contact the Native Nations Institute at nni@email.arizona.edu.
Join the Network!
For more information on the US Indigenous Data Sovereignty Network and to join its community of practice that supports Indigenous data
sovereignty through data-driven research, policy advocacy, and education, visit usindigenousdata.arizona.edu.
Suggested Citation
Rainie, Stephanie Carroll, Desi Rodriguez-Lonebear, and Andrew Martinez. 2017. Policy Brief (Version 2): Data Governance for Native Nation
Rebuilding. Tucson: Native Nations Institute.
US Indigenous Data Sovereignty Network
usindigenousdata.arizona.edu
Native Nations Institute
nni.arizona.edu
INDIGENIZING DATA GOVERNANCE
