Download Yulang’s Indigenous data sovereignty and governance principles PDF
Right perspective
- Consistent with multi-level empowerment, socio-ecological lens
- Informed by and reflective of local Indigenous people, communities, organisations and cultures
Right purpose
- An overall, ongoing commitment and “by design” for specific reasons, fit for purpose
- For supporting responsibilities including relationships and partnerships, empowering nationhood, and promoting self-determination and self-governance
- For individual and collective use
- For individual and collective benefit
- For justice and equity
- For accountability and transparency
- For immediate and future use
- Influencing others’ data, research and narratives to align rightfully with local Indigenous peoples’ lifeworlds
- Affirmed by formal agreements that have timeframes
Right ownership
- We have ownership of individual and collective data
- Existing in ways ownership and control can be expressed and operationalised, supported by data infrastructure and resources, trusting relationships, and capacity and capability development
Right leadership
- We have autonomous decision-making about data, governed by Indigenous people with rightful standing in the local jurisdiction decided by the relevant local collective
- With Indigenous people leading governance and decision-making, beyond participation
- Relational, with critical reflection, dialogue, complaints processes, conflict resolution and recourse promoted
Right substance
- Both data about us, and data for us to use
- Inclusive of metadata
- Across the data lifecycle: idea, planning, creation, infrastructure design, collection, access, analysis, interpretation, reporting, management, distribution, translation and reuse
- Inclusive of knowledges, information, resources and other formats determined locally
- Representative of rights, cultures, diversity, needs, aspirations, priorities, protocols, values, worldviews, positions
- Holistic
- Framed respectfully, to strengthen and protect cultures and identities
- Able to be contextualised and disaggregated, available at individual, community, regional and national levels
Right form
- In consistently findable, accessible, interoperable and reuseable ways, with supportive stewardship and resources
- With methodologies, methods and data quality and gaps identified and strategies developed to improve these and their accessibility over time
- Compliant with local legislation, policies and lores in the jurisdiction
- Sustainable with integrity
- Ethical
- Safely gathered, stored and shared
Synthesised from …
Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. (2020). AIATSIS Code of ethics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research. https://aiatsis.gov.au/research/ethical-research
Brown, I., & Stephens, M. (2023). Ngaramanala: Aboriginal knowledge program. Responding to Indigenous Data Sovereignty and Indigenous Data Governance
Coalition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peak Organisations and Australian Governments. (2020). National Agreement on Closing the Gap. https://www.closingthegap.gov.au/national-agreement/national-agreement-closing-the-gap
Data.NSW. (2026) Strengthening transparency and trust. https://data.nsw.gov.au/nsw-government-data-strategy/themes-principles-and-actions/strengthening-transparency-and-trust
Global Indigenous Data Alliance. (n.d.). CARE principles for Indigenous data governance. https://www.gida-global.org/care
Kukutai, T., & Taylor, J. (2016). Data Sovereignty for Indigenous Peoples: Current Practice and Future Needs. In T. Kukutai, & J. Taylor (Eds.), Indigenous Data Sovereignty: Towards an Agenda (pp. 1-18). ANU Press.
https://doi.org/10.22459/CAEPR38.11.2016
Maiam nayri Wingara Indigenous Data Sovereignty Collective. (2024). Taking control of our data. https://www.lowitja.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Taking-Control-of-Our-Data-Discussion-Paper.pdf
NSW Health. (2024). NSW Aboriginal Health Governance, Shared Decision Making and Accountability Framework. https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/aboriginal/framework/pages/default.aspx
Trudgett S., Griffiths K., Farnbach S., et al. A framework for operationalising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander data sovereignty in Australia: Results of a systematic literature review of published studies. eClinicalMedicine, 2022; 45
Walter, M., Lovett R., Bodkin Andrews, G., & Lee, V. (2018). Indigenous data sovereignty briefing paper 1. Maiam nayri Wingara Data Sovereignty Group and the Australian Indigenous Governance Institute. https://www.maiamnayriwingara.org/news-and-updates
Affirms commitments to Indigenous people’s sovereignty in:
- the Australian Evaluation Society’s First Nations Cultural Safety Framework (Gollan, S., & Stacey, K. (2021). Australian Evaluation Society First Nations Cultural Safety Framework, Australian Evaluation Society, Melbourne)
- in articles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2008)
- research ethics statements by the Aboriginal Health & Medical Research Council of NSW (2020). Ethical guidelines: Key principles https://www.ahmrc.org.au/publication/ahmrc-guidelines-for-research-into-aboriginal-health-2020/ ) and the National Health and Medical Research Council (2018, Ethical conduct in research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities: Guidelines for researchers and stakeholders. NHMRC. https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/research-policy/ethics/ethical-guidelines-research-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-peoples (AH&MRC, 2020; NHMRC, 2018).
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