Data Governance and Sovereignty

Data sovereignty, as it relates to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, is the “right to maintain, control, protect and develop their cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions, as well as their right to maintain, control, protect and develop their intellectual property over these” ([1] p.xxii).

In 2015, First Nations scholars and leaders from Australia, Aotearoa/New Zealand, Canada and the United States defined data sovereignty [1]. Non-Indigenous people must seek real and meaningful consent in research before publishing any data about First Peoples, their livelihoods and their lands and waters [1]. It is a clear ethical and legal responsibility in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research, which is related to wellbeing, justice reinvestment, and the co-design of Indigenous research projects [2].