An Evolving Approach to Supporting Indigenous Data Sovereignty in an Institutional Data Repository
Zuniga, Alicia; Hunt, Shanda; Marsolek, Wanda; Gerber, Kent; Farrell, Shannon
- Publisher
- Zenodo
- Language
- en
Abstract
Within our institutional data repository, the Data Repository for the University of Minnesota (DRUM), we seek to improve and strengthen our relations with Minnesota Native Tribal Nations (Dakota and Anishinaabe) by supporting and advocating for Indigenous data sovereignty (IDSov), which affirms the rights of Indigenous Peoples, communities, and Nations to govern the collection, ownership, and application of data pertaining to them, their lands, and their non-human relations. We are reviewing our processes and content to better align them with the CARE principles (Collective Benefit, Authority to Control, Responsibility, and Ethics) of Indigenous Data Governance. We initiated this effort in 2021 when a dataset was submitted that contained data collected on Tribal lands. This lightning talk will discuss practices we have implemented since 2021 and describe the initial progress of our current efforts: After 2021, we sought to further educate ourselves about Indigenous Data Sovereignty through research and attending conferences, added a request for tribal consent as an initial step in the submission for all researchers who submit to the repository, and established a relationship with the University of Minnesota Native American Affairs Office. In 2024, we served as a capstone host for a member of the Data Services Continuing Professional Education program who created an audit protocol and initial dataset of records from our repository that are potentially governed by Tribal nations. We are currently building upon that project and working to deepen our relationship with the UMN Native American Affairs Office, partnering with them to select and update a list of keywords to search our repository, and expanding upon the initial audit to review all the content in our data repository for datasets potentially governed by Tribal nations.
Full text
An Evolving Approach to Supporting Indigenous Data Sovereignty in an Institutional Data Repository Presented by Kent Gerber Northeast Institutional Repository Day (NIRD2025) December 5, 2025 [email protected] Alicia Zuniga1, Shanda Hunt2, Wanda Marsolek2, Kent Gerber2, and Shannon L. Farrell2 1California State University, Sacramento; 2University of Minnesota
Impetus ●Strengthen relations with Minnesota Tribal Nations ●Support and advocate for Indigenous Data Sovereignty (IDSov) ○“an assertion of the rights and interests of Indigenous Peoples in relation to data about them, their territories, and their ways of life”* ●Put CARE Principles^ into action ○Collective benefit ○Authority to control ○Responsibility ○Ethics * https://doi.org/10.5334/dsj2020-042 ^ https://www.gida-global.org/care
Timeline of Work
Top Challenges ●Which datasets are collected from, with, or about a Tribal agency? ●What permissions do we have and where do we find them? ●What practical steps can we take to further incorporate the CARE Principles and IDSov into our repository practices?
Initial Outcomes –Email Template ●2023 email template If you submitted data that was collected from, with, or about a Tribal agency, please provide documentation about who owns the data. We seek to apply the CARE Principles of Collective Benefit, Authority to Control, Responsibility, and Ethics.
Initial Outcomes ●2023 email template ●Initial protocol and dataset from 2024 Data Services Continuing Professional Education fellow Alicia Zuniga ●Development of keywords for discovery, codebook, & data collection protocol ●Established relationship with UMN Office of Native American Affairs who advised on our keywords for discovery ●Data Curation Network presentation (several DCN members looking to conduct their own Indigenous data audits)
Preliminary Audit of the Repository ●Built upon Alicia’s initial review ●53 search results from 7 keywords ●Analyzed if dataset was related to Indigenous data ●Looked for Tribal agency permission
Next Steps ●Complete data collection for audit using all 82 keywords ●Reconvene with the Native American Affairs Office ●Decide if or how to take reparative actions ●Decide what protocols and practices to implement regarding Indigenous data shared in the institutional repository
