Historically, the people and institutions that carry out research related to Indigenous peoples have assumed that they own those data — they can share them, build on them, withhold them or obscure them, with no real requirement to give a tangible benefit to these communities in return. As a result, the policies and research that these data inform often do not meet the needs and priorities of Indigenous peoples.
The colonial structures that we, as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, have lived in since our land, seas and skies were declared terra nullius — land belonging to no one — means that a significant amount of research has been conducted on or about Indigenous peoples without our input and we have little control over the research data that relate to us1.
Nature Index 2024 Australia
This is especially true in the health sector, where studies often focus on the deficit-based view of our populations, which creates a narrative that does not reflect the historic and systemic inequities that have influenced these outcomes. Acknowledging this context is essential to understanding the data, yet mainstream narratives overlook it, which can result in stigma and stereotyping, rather than support.
In other sectors, we see increasing calls to incorporate Indigenous knowledge systems into Western science. In the environmental sciences, for example, there has been an exponential rise in the number of publications that refer to Indigenous knowledges between 1980 and 20212. Such knowledge has proved invaluable; data on environmental change from Indigenous communities have informed improved ecological modelling and management of natural resources3.
But significant risks remain for those who share Indigenous knowledge and data in good faith with the expectation that it will benefit their community. A 2018 paper4 by researchers at Colorado State University showed that 87% of climate studies have involved an extractive process, meaning researchers use Indigenous knowledge with minimal participation or decision-making by the people who hold that knowledge, and the research has little benefit to the communities in which the research is undertaken.
Ownership of such knowledge, which is rooted in a deep connection to Country, to cultural identity, language and traditional kinship systems, must remain with Indigenous people. When Indigenous communities have no control or ownership of their data, and see no benefits, colonial structures are reinforced. This results in continued oppression and marginalization, which drives distrust and a sense of betrayal, and reluctance to participate or collaborate in future research.
Enacting change
So, what can be done? Indigenous Data Sovereignty, which refers to Indigenous peoples’ rights to own and control Indigenous data, can and should be protected through research practices, including how contracts are written and teams are structured. This right, supported by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), emphasizes the fact that Indigenous peoples should be in the driver’s seat for research that affects us. We should be the decision-makers from the point of conceptualization — from setting the research priorities through to dissemination of the data and ongoing data management, including how they are stored, accessed and used. It is through Indigenous peoples’ involvement that systemic injustices can be broken down, and equity, shared benefits and data protection can be realized.
Researchers and institutions must take the lead in understanding how to develop and implement mechanisms to enact Indigenous data sovereignty, known as Indigenous data governance. An important first step is aligning policies and practices with national and international frameworks and treaties for the protection of Indigenous knowledge and data. The CARE Principles for Indigenous data governance (the acronym stands for Collective benefit, Authority to control, Responsibility and Ethics) for example, were designed to strengthen and uphold Indigenous rights to data, while refocusing data governance to prioritize value-based relationships5.
In Western society, intellectual property (IP) laws offer a means of protection for knowledge and data. These laws can establish ownership and authorship of IP in the form of copyright, trademarks and patents. But they do not fully recognize our lore and experiences as Indigenous peoples, nor the specific forms of Indigenous knowledge and data that may be accessed and shared. This is where research-related agreements, such as contracts and data-sharing agreements, can create greater equity and opportunities to prioritize and support shared power, shared resources, mutual understanding and respect for our cultural protocols.
Agreements can include specific contractual clauses to safeguard Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP), which refers to the tangible and intangible intellectual property that is held by individuals, families, kinships and communities, including cultural expressions such as songs, ceremonies, art, design, expertise and technical knowledge, as well as cultural heritage6. ICIP clauses commit to the recognition of Indigenous ownership and initiate discussion for Indigenous data governance to establish mechanisms for data sharing.
Australia’s national science agency, the CSIRO, and the University of Newcastle in Callaghan, have recognized the importance of protecting Indigenous knowledge and the shortcomings of Western law, and have developed ICIP Principles in 2024 and 2023, retrospectively. These include the fundamental recognition of ICIP and articulation of ICIP-related rights, as well as associated contracting, consent, attribution, provenance and benefit-sharing processes.
Embedding institutional processes to support Indigenous Data Sovereignty through Indigenous Data Governance and the implementation of ICIP-focused principles provide a way forward not only to support Indigenous peoples’ rights to govern their data, but also to enact systemic change. This approach provides a path for Indigenous peoples and their communities to manage and protect their own data, while engaging in meaningful research processes. It can create a space for high-quality research outputs with shared benefits that support Indigenous peoples’ rights to self-determination and self-governance.