Taking care of knowledge, taking care of salmon: towards Indigenous data sovereignty in an era of climate change and cumulative effects

In this paper, we argue that Indigenous data sovereignty (IDS) is vital for addressing threats to ecosystems, as well as for Indigenous Peoples re-establishing and maintaining sovereignty over their territories. Indigenous knowledge-holders face pressure from non-Indigenous scientists to collaborate...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:FACETS
Main Authors: S.E. Cannon, J.W. Moore, M.S. Adams, T. Degai, E. Griggs, J. Griggs, T. Marsden, A.J. Reid, N. Sainsbury, K.M. Stirling, Axdii A. Yee S. Barnes, R. Benson, D. Burrows, Gala'game R. Chamberlin, B. Charley, D. Dick, A.T. Duncan, Kung Kayangas M. Liddle, M. Paul, N. Paul Prince, C. Scotnicki, K. Speck, J. Squakin, C. Van Der Minne, J. Walkus, K. West, Kii'iljuus B. Wilson
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Canadian Science Publishing 2024
Subjects:
Indigenous data sovereignty
Pacific salmon
research practices
British Columbia
cumulative effects
collaborative research
Education
L
Science
Q
First Nations
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2023-0135
https://doaj.org/article/95c6121af78a4fef80aebe492a88fecc
Description
Summary:In this paper, we argue that Indigenous data sovereignty (IDS) is vital for addressing threats to ecosystems, as well as for Indigenous Peoples re-establishing and maintaining sovereignty over their territories. Indigenous knowledge-holders face pressure from non-Indigenous scientists to collaborate to address environmental problems, while the open data movement is pressuring them to make their data public. We examine the role of IDS in the context of cumulative effects and climate change that threaten salmon-bearing ecosystems in British Columbia, guided by content from an online workshop in June 2022 and attended exclusively by a Tier-1 audience (First Nations knowledge-holders and/or technical staff working for Nations). Attention to data is required for fruitful collaborations between Indigenous communities and non-Indigenous researchers to address the impacts of climate change and the cumulative effects affecting salmon-bearing watersheds in BC. In addition, we provide steps that Indigenous governments can take to assert sovereignty over data, recommendations that external researchers can use to ensure they respect IDS, and questions that external researchers and Indigenous partners can discuss to guide decision-making about data management. Finally, we reflect on what we learned during the process of co-creating materials.

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