AISP Toolkit Feb25 2025 - Flipbook - Page 68
WORKING WITH TRIBAL AND INDIGENOUS DATA ACROSS THE DATA LIFE CYCLE
Working with Tribal and
Indigenous Data Across
the Data Life Cycle
One key concept that was missing in our last Toolkit, and which applies to work at every stage in
the data life cycle, is Tribal data sovereignty. Tribal Nations have an inherent right to govern their
own data and must be consulted about any data that concerns them. Tribes are sovereign nations,
meaning that they have a government-to-government relationship with state and federal agencies
and hold the authority to make decisions about their people and their lands—referred to as “Tribal
sovereignty.” This includes decisions about the collection, ownership, and use of their data, which
may be referred to as “Tribal data sovereignty” or “Indigenous data sovereignty” when speaking more
broadly than the U.S. Tribal Nation context. In some cases, Tribes may also have legal authority to
access data collected by other governments.
It is critical to engage in ongoing Tribal Consultation whenever Tribal data use is considered. Every
Tribal Nation is unique and will have their own protocol for Tribal Consultation. Some may also have
their own data protection policies, research codes, and Tribal Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) that
must be included in the process. These are especially important to abide by given the long history of
Tribal Nations and Tribal members being exploited in research.16 For more guidance on principles and
best practices for Tribal Consultation, see and reach out to your agency or state Tribal Affairs O昀케ce
or Tribal Liaison. For more guidance on principles and best practices for Tribal Consultation, see
Guidance and Responsibilities for Effective Tribal Consultation, Communication, and Engagement
and reach out to your agency or state’s Tribal Affairs O昀케ce or Tribal Liaison.
Tribal Consultation: A formal process of engaging meaningfully with Tribal
partners about their data (or other matters concerning their people or lands)
When working with any data, understand the Native population that may be represented in your
data and use language that is speci昀椀c to that context. For example, the term “Indigenous” broadly
refers to peoples with pre-existing sovereignty who were living together as a community prior to
contact with settler populations and may be appropriate to use as an inclusive term for Native
peoples around the world. However, if you are talking about data for a speci昀椀c Tribal Nation, use
the name of that nation (e.g., Cherokee Nation, Lakota Sioux) unless directed otherwise by a Tribal
partner. The United States alone has 574 federally recognized Tribes, many others that may be
recognized only by states, and still more Tribal Nations that are not o昀케cially recognized.
The terms “American Indian” and “Alaska Native” broadly refer to the Tribal Nations across the United
States and may be appropriate to use when working with data that covers many Tribes within this
geographic context. In Canada, the equivalent term is First Nations, Inuit, and Metis. Keep in mind,
however, that every Tribe has its enrollment policy—not everyone who identi昀椀es as Indigenous may
be enrolled in a Tribe. Additionally, urban Tribal members may not be given the same protections
16 Saunkeah, B., Beans, J. A., Peercy, M. T., Hiratsuka, V. Y., & Spicer, P. (2021). Extending research protections to tribal
communities. American Journal of Bioethics, 21(10), 5-12.
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