Indigenous data sovereignty: What it means and why it matters
When the Osage Nation launched its first census in 2023, tribal officials weren’t just gathering numbers. They were laying claim to a fundamental right: deciding what information their government needs and how it will be used. Across Indian Country, similar moves to control information like surveys, maps and biological samples are driving a growing movement known as Indigenous data sovereignty. The stakes are high, influencing everything from health spending to emergency planning.
- Tribal nations are asserting authority to gather data and govern its use.
- Census and survey projects led by tribes produce reliable numbers for their own data archives.
- Those numbers drive fair funding and policy while safeguarding cultural heritage.
- CARE and OCAP frameworks guide governments, researchers and journalists in the ethical use of Indigenous data.
What is Indigenous data sovereignty?
Native Nations Institute defines Indigenous data sovereignty as “the right of a nation to govern the collection, ownership and application of its own data,” a right that flows from tribal authority over people, land and resources.
Data is broadly understood. It can be a digital spreadsheet or a handwritten census ledger, a GIS layer that maps sacred sites or an oral history stored on tape.
The movement links self-determination to information control. By setting their own rules for consent, storage and reuse, tribal governments aim to keep community knowledge from being miscounted, misused or mined for outside profit.
National and global networks — such as The Collaboratory for Indigenous Data Governance — offer model policies that reflect Indigenous legal and cultural norms rather than default federal standards.
Why it matters
- Undercounts tilt the scales. The Census Bureau’s 2020 Post-Enumeration Survey found a 5.64 % net undercount of American Indians and Alaska Natives living on reservations, the highest miss rate of any U.S. population group. Funding for health clinics, housing and schools relies on those numbers, so even small gaps mean real losses.
- Old abuses still echo. Tribes point to blood samples reused without consent and maps of burial sites posted online as warnings of what happens when others control the data.
- New privacy tools can backfire. Differential privacy, a method the Census Bureau now applies to protect identities, has left many tribal nations with less detailed demographic tables than they received in 2010, hampering local planning.
- Better data strengthen sovereignty. Tribal-run censuses and surveys give governments solid evidence to negotiate funding, draft policy and guard cultural heritage on their own terms.
By reclaiming the numbers — and the stories the numbers tell — Native nations are asserting a fundamental aspect of sovereignty in every arena from disaster response to language preservation.
Key frameworks for ethical use
Indigenous nations are drawing on community-driven standards to safeguard information and uphold data sovereignty. Three widely cited guides stand out:
| Framework | Built on | Core idea | Why it’s used |
|---|---|---|---|
| CARE Principles | Developed in 2019 by the Global Indigenous Data Alliance (GIDA) and an international Research Data Alliance working group. | These principles state that data must generate Collective benefit, grant Indigenous Peoples the Authority to control their data, carry a Responsibility to communities, and be guided by community Ethics. | Provides a people-focused counterweight to purely technical data standards. It is increasingly cited by research funders and academic journals as a requirement for projects involving Indigenous data. |
| OCAP® (Canada) | Established by the First Nations of Canada, beginning in 1998, and now stewarded by the First Nations Information Governance Centre. | Based on the principles of Ownership, Control, Access, and Possession, OCAP® asserts that First Nations have complete sovereignty over data collected from their citizens and communities. | A foundational, proven model for data governance. U.S. tribes and other Indigenous groups often adapt the OCAP® framework to fit their own legal and cultural contexts. |
| Operationalizing CARE | Published in a 2021 paper by Indigenous scholars to translate the CARE principles into concrete actions. | Expands the four CARE principles into a detailed set of 14 rights and interests for Indigenous Peoples in data, such as the rights to consent, privacy, governance, and redress for harm. | Helps researchers, policymakers, and tribes translate the broad CARE principles into specific, measurable actions that can be written into contracts, institutional policies, and data-sharing agreements. |
Indigenous data sovereignty in action
Osage Nation census
After its Congress passed a historic census law in 2022, the Osage Nation launched its first-ever nationwide census in 2023. The locally controlled data generates an up-to-date count of its citizens, independent of the U.S. Census, and now guides budgets for health, education and housing — a direct exercise of the nation's data sovereignty.
Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa research oversight
The Tribal Nations Research Group runs a volunteer Research Review Board and a tribal data center. Under the Turtle Mountain Research Protection Act of 2014, every outside study involving tribal citizens or lands must clear that board. Approved projects deposit raw files in the on-site repository, giving the nation a single, secure source of statistics while safeguarding cultural knowledge.
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe IRB at Sitting Bull College
Anyone who wants to conduct research on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation must first gain approval from the Institutional Review Board at Sitting Bull College. The board’s guidelines, rooted in Lakota/Dakota values, require that studies share results with the college and respect cultural protocols before data collection begins. This process keeps control of tribal data in tribal hands and ensures research serves community needs.
These are just a few examples of Indigenous data sovereignty in practice. We invite representatives of tribal nations and Native-led organizations to share their stories with us.
How to respect Indigenous data rights
Recognize sovereignty first
Understand that tribal nations are sovereign governments — not simply community stakeholders or minority groups. Interactions should be conducted on a respectful nation-to-nation basis, acknowledging the tribe's inherent authority.
Ask who owns the numbers
Confirm whether a dataset is generated or approved by the tribal nation it describes. If not, check for tribal consent statements or data-sharing agreements before using it.
Look for community protocols
Many tribes publish research guidelines or require Institutional Review Board approval. Follow those rules even if your work is based outside tribal jurisdiction.
Use CARE, not just FAIR
The CARE Principles — collective benefit, authority, responsibility and ethics — prioritize community welfare. This contrasts with technical standards like FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) that can promote open-by-default access. Align your project with CARE before you collect, store or share data.
Provide context, not just numbers
Work with the community to interpret findings and present them with the proper cultural and historical context. This guards against data being used to create a harmful or incomplete narrative.
Share results back
Return analysis, data and any tools you build to the tribe. This practice strengthens trust and allows the community to put its own information to work immediately.
Budget for capacity building
When possible, include funding or training that helps tribal staff manage and analyze their own data. Supporting local expertise is a tangible way to honor Indigenous data sovereignty.
Frequently Asked Questions
References
- Bush Foundation, Building dynamic data ()
- Collaboratory for Indigenous Data Governance, Intersection of Indigenous data sovereignty and tribal agriculture data needs in the United States (Policy Brief No. 1) ()
- Sitting Bull College, Institutional review board
- Tribal Nations Research Group, Research review board