About this book

This is an evolving reading list geared towards understanding the ethical concerns and best practices of data collection, management, and analysis, especially as it pertains to working with Indigenous peoples and environmental science and management. Open data has been widely pushed to increase data sharing, usage, and to help develop a global data science community. While there are many benefits, data sharing can further entrench systemic issues. A reliance on external data and analysis, which do not reflect community needs, values, or priorities, threatens self-determination. Indigenous data sovereignty addresses aspects of data inequality and may place restrictions on what data can be shared and by whom. Here, you’ll find an overview of data sovereignty networks, and a collection of podcasts, seminars, tools, books and peer-reviewed papers. If you’re aware of a resource that would fit in well or have other feedback, please share!

This reading list reflects the continuous development of learning materials at the Arctic Data Center and National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) to support researchers and practitioners to understand, adopt, and apply ethical open science practices. In bringing these materials together we recognize that many individuals have contributed to their development. The primary author is listed in the citation below, and additional contributors are recognized for their roles in guiding the development of this document through previous iterations.

Citation: Phoebe Racine. Indigenous Data Sovereignty and Open Data in Environmental Sciences. July 2022. DOI:10.5281/zenodo.6908484

Additional contributors: Natasha Haycock-Chavez, Nākoa Farrant, Ben Halpern and Matt Jones

Github repo: https://github.com/phoeberacine/indigi_data_sovereignty_bib

Land Acknowledgement

This book was created on unceded Chumash ancestral lands in gratitude and solidarity with all our relations. We are committed to learning about how to implement Indigenous Data Sovereignty within our own institutions and in the trainings that Arctic Data Centers offers the Arctic research community. The Chumash people are comprised of the descendants of Indigenous peoples removed from their Island of origin Limuw (Santa Cruz), Anyapac (Anacapa), Wima (Santa Rosa) and Tuqan (San Miguel) subjugated by 5 missions during Spanish colonization of the Central Coast. Chumash Territory stretches from Malibu to Morro Bay and inland to Bakersfield, encompassing 7,000 square miles. The Villages, upon which University of California Santa Barbara sits, were a traditional place of knowledge sharing, education, trading and abundance.

Map of Chumash Villages [source: Wikipedia Commons]

Figure 0.1: Map of Chumash Villages [source: Wikipedia Commons]

If you are interested in learning more about the Chumash and how to support them, please visit their website here.

Author Positionality

Phoebe Racine is a descendant of the Blackfeet and Cree Nations and mixed-European heritage. She lives and studies on Chumash lands.