“Do you collect data to give to the university or do you do the work to benefit people?”: Indigenous Data Sovereignty in Environmental Contexts

Abstract

Indigenous data sovereignty is the right of tribes to own, control, and apply data about their lands, peoples, and resources. Although grassroots and academic definitions of Indigenous data sovereignty encompass the idea of tribal authority over environmental data, few sources provide case studies or theoretical background on how Indigenous data sovereignty can be operationalized in an environmental context. Through interviews with 3 Indigenous environmental activists and practitioners and an environmental case study with the Penobscot Nation, I explore how Indigenous data sovereignty is currently practiced in the environmental area. I analyze the findings using the CARE principles, a set of Indigenous data sovereignty and governance principles. From this, I find further environmental case studies for the development of environmental specific Indigenous data sovereignty guidelines are necessary. Additionally, I advocate for further detailing of rightsholder and stakeholder obligations in the CARE principles for better collaborative research.