CMU LibGuides: Indigenous Studies: Indigenous Data

Data & Code Support at CMU

CMU Library faculty & staff offer in-person and remote support for open source coding languages and data science tools for anyone in the CMU community working on research, class projects, or simply learning a new skill. Some examples of assistance include:

Cleaning and preparing data for analysis in Python and R
Writing code in Python and R and fixing errors in code
Viewing, handling, and manipulating files on your computer and automating tasks with the command line interface
Creating, or working with, relational databases and querying data with SQL
Version control and collaboration with Git and GitHub

Data & Code Support at CMU Libraries

Indigenous Data Sovereignty

What is Indigenous Data Sovereignty?

Indigenous Data Sovereignty is the ability for Indigenous peoples, communities and Nations to participate, steward and control data that is created with or about themselves. The term sovereignty refers to the fact that Indigenous Nations are sovereign in their governance and that extends to their data and Knowledges as well. It recognizes that Indigenous people are the ultimate authority in their data and Knowledges and aims to redefine Indigenous peoples' relationship to research from being participants or subjects to being meaningful partners and co-researchers.

What are Indigenous Data?

"In general, data are any quantitative or qualitative information about a specific topic that are collected through observation, surveys and reporting. For the purpose of this Protocol, Indigenous data is any information that is from or about any Indigenous person or their community, territory or nation, including but not limited to their languages, Knowledges, customs or traditions, intellectual property and ideas. Indigenous data are also relational and reciprocal, and need to reflect and be held by the community as a collective, and are equally as important to pass down through generations as a part of lifelong journeys of coming to be."

From Nindokiikayencikewin: to seek learning or Knowledges Indigenous Knowledges & Data Governance Protocol (pp. 10)

Resources on Indigenous Data Sovereignty, Ethics, & Governance

Indigenous Data Sovereignty and Policy by Edited by Maggie Walter, Tahu Kukutai, Stephanie Russo Carroll, Desi Rodriguez-Lonebear
Call Number: Open Access eBook
ISBN: 9780367567477
Publication Date: 2021
With contributors from Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, North and South America and Europe, this book offers a rich account of the potential for Indigenous data sovereignty to support human flourishing and to protect against the ever-growing threats of data-related risks and harms.
#DataBack: Asserting & Supporting Indigenous Data Sovereignty by Jeff Doctor, Trevor Jang, Jen Polack, Jeff Ward
Call Number: Open Access eBook
Publication Date: 2023
Written for Indigenous-focused organizations and governments to guide the transformation of data governance through advanced tools, principles, and practices. “As Indigenous Peoples regain their strength, they continue to defend their inherent rights and destroy all aspects of colonization until all that remains is a world that is safe and joyous for all of our kin, human or not.
Indigenous Data Sovereignty: Toward an agenda by Tahu Kukutai and John Taylor
Call Number: Open Access eBook
ISBN: 9781760460310
Publication Date: 2016
This book argues that indigenous peoples have inherent and inalienable rights relating to the collection, ownership and application of data about them, and about their lifeways and territories. The varied group of mostly indigenous contributors theorize and conceptualize this fast-emerging field and present case studies that illustrate the challenges and opportunities involved. These range from indigenous communities grappling with issues of identity, governance and development, to national governments and NGOs seeking to formulate a response to indigenous demands for data ownership.
Indigenous Statistics by Maggie Walter; Chris Andersen
Call Number: Open Access eBook
ISBN: 9781611322934
Publication Date: 2013-09-15
While qualitative methods have been rigorously critiqued and reformulated, the population statistics relied on by virtually all research on Indigenous peoples continue to be taken for granted as straightforward, transparent numbers. This book dismantles that persistent positivism with a forceful critique, then fills the void with a new paradigm for Indigenous quantitative methods, using concrete examples of research projects from First World Indigenous peoples in the United States, Australia, and Canada.

Collaboratory for Indigenous Data Governance
Research, Policy, and Practice for Indigenous Data Sovereignty. Includes resources for books, policy briefs, webinars, and articles
Native Nations Institute’s Indigenous Governance Database
A free library of digital resources including videos, audio recordings and documents chronicling the best-of-the-best when it comes to instructional and educational content related to Native nation building, tribal governance, constitutional reform and more.

the IGD includes more than 1600 resources on 16 key topics ranging from Citizenship, to Environmental Resources, to Land/Jurisdiction and Indigenous Laws and Codes. All of the resources in the IGD are available to access for free.

Visitors to the database can search for resources using keywords, look for content from specific thought leaders, filter by content type and even search for resources by or about specific Native nations.

Data on Indigenous Peoples

My Tribal Area - Census Data
The Census Bureau collects data for the American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) population and publishes specific counts, estimates, and statistics. My Tribal Area gives you quick and easy access to selected statistics from the American Community Survey (ACS). The ACS provides detailed demographic, social, economic, and housing statistics every year for the nation's communities.

ICPSR This link opens in a new window
A data archive of datasets related to social and political research, made available through the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research at the University of Michigan. CMU affiliates have access to member-only data. To create an account, click Log In from the home page and then Create Account. Note that you must be in the CMU IP range when creating an account (either on campus, or using the Full VPN). Once an account is created, you can access the resource from any location using the link above. Use this guide for more info.

Indigenous Studies

Related Guides

Librarian for History and Languages, Cultures, & Applied Linguistics (LCAL)