Concern 53 · Working draft · editorial review in progress
Indigenous data sovereignty
Indigenous data sovereignty means Indigenous peoples' authority to govern information about their communities, knowledge, and lands.
Understanding the concern
An individual permission form may not settle collective responsibilities around cultural knowledge. Decisions about access, interpretation, and benefit can belong within community governance, especially where material has a history of extraction or misrepresentation.
The CARE Principles emphasize collective benefit, authority to control, responsibility, and ethics. These principles are a framework for respectful governance, not a universal license. Developers should engage the relevant community rather than decide alone what sharing means.
An example
A recorded story may be publicly accessible while its community considers some retellings or commercial uses inappropriate.
Illustrative unless identified as a documented case.
Words in plain English
- Sovereignty
- The ability of a country or community to make and carry out its own decisions. In AI discussions it often concerns control over data and technology.
Evidence and its limits
GIDA's community-led principles directly address collective governance and benefit; local authority and law still need specific inquiry.
Global Indigenous Data Alliance · Community-led governance principles
CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance ↗ (opens in a new tab)Collective benefit, authority to control, responsibility, and ethics; these are governance principles, not a universal legal license.
Broader frameworks and background
These resources provide context. They do not establish every claim in this concern.
A question to discuss
Who within the community has authority to decide how this knowledge may be used?
Keep track of different views, what needs checking, and any next step in your own discussion notes.
Open discussion notes →Principles for the conversation
Before you finish · reflect together
Virtues and principles to consider
Virtues are qualities we practice in how we treat people and make choices. They are not scores for judging someone. Use these ideas to explore what a thoughtful response could look like.
Truthfulness
Truthfulness means making claims that match the evidence and being clear about what we do not know. It includes correcting mistakes rather than protecting a polished story.
Check sources, label guesses, and distinguish a trial result from a proven benefit. If AI helped produce a claim, someone still needs to take responsibility for checking it.
Ask together: What can we honestly say, and what still needs checking?
Justice
Justice means fair treatment, fair procedures, and attention to who receives benefits and burdens. It asks whether people with less power can be heard and seek repair.
Look at outcomes across different groups and individual cases. Provide a usable way to challenge decisions and correct harm. Equal wording in a policy does not guarantee equal treatment in practice.
Ask together: Who benefits, who bears the cost, and who can challenge the decision?
Stewardship
Stewardship means caring for resources and systems that others depend on, including people who will use them later. It looks beyond the benefit of a quick launch.
Plan for maintenance, energy use, data protection, and eventual shutdown. Ask who will look after the tool when the original team moves on and how future users can avoid inheriting hidden costs.
Ask together: What are we responsible for caring for over time?
Editorial ratings
These are editorial judgments from the register, not measured probabilities or predictions about your situation.
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