Indigenous Data and Knowledge Sovereignty in the Age of Digital Transformation: Navigating the Way Forward

Abstract

Throughout history indigenous people across the globe have been target of researchers and scholars from a myriad of disciplines resulting in the extraction of data and knowledge regarding indigenous people, thus raising intriguing questions regarding ethical practices. Indigenous people are expressing their discontent with how their data and knowledge is managed under the modern information management frameworks. The study explores how the proliferation of digital technologies including emerging technologies are impacting the indigenous people’s data and knowledge sovereignty. The Janus-faced nature of emerging technologies has both positive and negative impact on indigenous people’s data and knowledge. The study examines the impact of Open Scholarship regarding indigenous data and knowledge, and how libraries can respond. It explores the challenges arising from the incapacity of indigenous people to access their data and knowledge housed in institutions managed by non-indigenous people. The study is underpinned by the transformative justice theory that resonates with the decoloniality paradigm and appropriate for exploring critical issues regarding indigenous data and knowledge sovereignty.