Introduction

Conducting research is a difficult process full of complicated ethical issues. Engaging in this valuable work in partnership with Indigenous communities adds yet another layer of complexity as well as leads to a series of provocative and important questions:

How do we, as anthropologists, uphold Indigenous data sovereignty principles such as OCAP®? How do we apply these principles, from project inception to the post-research management and use of qualitative research findings? How will a data sovereignty plan transform research planning and funding proposals? What will the researcher’s role in knowledge translation be and how will it align with data sovereignty priorities? How are we reconsidering colonial copyright and intellectual property laws which can effectively act as barriers to data access for Indigenous research partners and communities? What, in other words, are we doing to critically transform a historically ‘extractive’ industry (Kovach 2021)? How are we working with individuals, communities, research partners, and Elders to collectively and cooperatively manage their stories and experiences that effectively make up a researcher’s qualitative data? How do we ensure a distinction-based approach to data management while continuing to learn from existing best practices? In order to strengthen our ability to fulfil the roles and responsibilities of data sovereignty, how must we rethink how we ‘do’ anthropology? (Adelson, 2022)

This eBook, Advancing Indigenous Data Sovereignty, brings together the voices of a diverse collection of peers, experts, practitioners, and students around the idea of Indigenous data sovereignty. Its content is largely based on their participation in hybrid workshops hosted at Toronto Metropolitan University during 2021 and 2022. It also contains a broad array of resources that will help social scientists conduct research with Indigenous communities in more thoughtful, nuanced, and respectful ways. For more information, please visit our site Advancing Indigenous Data Sovereignty (IDS) where most of the source material for this eBook originated.

Please feel free to explore this eBook online or download it for your offline convenience.