AMSANT’s CEO John Patterson spoke at the Indigenous Data Sovereignty Symposium on the 11-12th October 2017, which was hosted by the University of Melbourne and AIATSIS.
The symposium was a strategic gathering of Indigenous community leaders, quantitative and qualitative researchers, Community Controlled Health services, peak body organisations representatives, currently involved in formalising a national Indigenous Data Sovereignty Framework alongside the avant-garde Maiam nayri wingara: Indigenous Data Sovereignty Network.
The themes explored by the panels and keynote speakers included:
- What is Indigenous data sovereignty?
- Indigenous data ‘sharing’: The new land grab?
- Our data; our priorities; our way; our right
- Access to and underutilisation of current data in Indigenous sector
- data for health
International models such as the Chiefs of Ontario First Nations data Governance framework and NZ/Aotearoa Te Reraunga were discussed. Local communities and researchers also presented inspiring examples of communities and organisations who are developing indigenous sovereignty frameworks and making use of their data:
- Justice Reinvestment, Yawuru & Ngemba Data Research Hub
- Algabonyah Data Unit, Kaiela Institute
- Wadeye Community Archive Project
- National Empowerment Project
The indigenous Data Sovereignty Network is currently forming a working group and will continue to develop the framework and principles collaboratively.