On 21 June, National Indigenous Peoples Day, communities across Canada hold events to celebrate Indigenous cultures and contributions. To mark the occasion, this HillNote provides information about research and data collected about Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous data sovereignty, the federal government’s role in data collection and Indigenous-led data initiatives.
Research and Data Collected about Indigenous Peoples
Photo by CIRA/.CA
Indigenous data refers to information about Indigenous Peoples that includes demographics, health data, languages, stories and information about lands and resources. In the past, the federal government collected and used data to support colonization and assimilation policies. For example, data was used, in some cases, to forcibly remove Indigenous children from their families to attend residential schools. Data was often collected with little Indigenous involvement or using unethical research practices. Research approaches generally did not align with Indigenous world views. On the other hand, governments and academics have often benefited from data and research on Indigenous Peoples.
Today, many Indigenous people feel over-researched; they mistrust data-collection initiatives like the Census and are reluctant to share their information. While some research initiatives do involve partnerships with Indigenous Peoples, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami notes that, in Inuit Nunangat (the Inuit homeland consisting of four Inuit regions), non-Inuit continue to benefit from research and that research “tends to be governed, resourced and conducted in a manner that limits Inuit participation.”
Today, data about Indigenous Peoples is collected by Indigenous, federal, provincial and territorial governments, among others. However, as indicated in the graphic below, challenges arise when using and collecting data about Indigenous Peoples.
Figure 1 – Challenges that Arise When Using and Collecting Data about Indigenous Peoples
Sources: Figure prepared by the Library of Parliament using data obtained from National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, Vol. 1a, 2019, p. 486, 529, 534, 535, 563, 564; Shelley Trevethan, QMR Consulting, Strengthening the Availability of First Nations Data, 30 January 2019, p. 1; First Nations Information Governance Centre, Exploration of the Impact of Canada’s Information Management Regime on First Nations Data Sovereignty, August 2022; Janet Smylie and Michelle Firestone, “Back to the basics: Identifying and addressing underlying challenges in achieving high quality and relevant health statistics for [I]ndigenous populations in Canada,” 2016; Government of Canada, An update on the socio-economic gaps between Indigenous Peoples and the non-Indigenous population in Canada: Highlights from the 2021 Census; Alex Chernoff and Calista Cheung, An Overview of the Indigenous Economy in Canada, Bank of Canada, 31 October 2023.
As noted in the research paper Strengthening the Availability of First Nations Data, these challenges leave First Nations governments without a “comprehensive profile of strengths and challenges of their communities with which they could prepare plans and report to their citizens on the progress of programs/services.”
Calls for Indigenous Data Sovereignty
In the past, Indigenous organizations and governments have advocated for data sovereignty – the right to govern and manage the collection, access, analysis and dissemination of Indigenous data – and they continue to do so today. Self-determination is connected to Indigenous data sovereignty because Indigenous control over data “shifts the power imbalances that have seen others control and use Indigenous peoples’ data.”
Indigenous Data Collection by the Federal Government
The Government of Canada currently holds data about Indigenous Peoples, such as residential school records, and continues to collect personal, health and demographic information, and data on Indigenous governance, among others.
Laws and regulations govern the collection, use and access to personal data held by the federal government, including the Indian Act, the Access to Information Act (ATIA) and the Privacy Act. The federal access-to-information regime was updated in 2019. The federal government has undertaken engagements with Indigenous Peoples and organizations on matters related to access to information and privacy as part of a required legislative review of the ATIA and plans for modernizing the Privacy Act.
The federal government is also supporting Indigenous Peoples to develop data strategies and capacity to collect, use and manage their own data. However, Indigenous Peoples, governments and organizations have raised concerns about federal information and privacy regimes that may affect access to records, including about residential schools.
For all levels of government, including Indigenous governments, access to quality data supports decision-making, community planning and the evaluation of programs and initiatives. Federal government initiatives to improve research approaches involving Indigenous Peoples include the federal research agencies’ ethics framework and Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Indigenous Science Division, which aims to develop and apply an Indigenous lens to the department’s science and program activities.
Indigenous-Led Data Initiatives
Today, Indigenous communities, governments and organizations are working on innovative data initiatives that support each other to reclaim control over data and to use it for their own priorities. Some Indigenous organizations have developed research and data strategies, such as the First Nations Information Governance Centre’s data governance strategy and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami’s research strategy, to ensure data and research are governed by Indigenous peoples.
Indigenous Peoples are creating their own innovative principles and tools to support each other to move toward data sovereignty. For example:
- The First Nations principles of ownership, control, access and possession (OCAP®)* support First Nations’ information governance and data sovereignty. OCAP® includes key principles whereby First Nations governments own their data; control all parts of information-gathering and research processes; and they can access the data about themselves and possess it by asserting physical ownership.
- Self-Governing Indigenous Governments created the Data Governance and Management Toolkit to help use and manage socio-economic data to “improve life for their peoples, and in ways that reflect their cultural traditions.”
Some Indigenous Peoples, governments and organizations have developed protocols to ensure that research benefits them, it is done ethically and it respects Indigenous cultures. For example:
- Mi’kmaq have developed research principles and protocols for conducting research with and/or among Mi’kmaw people.
- The Nunatsiavut Government in northern Labrador and Six Nations of the Grand River have developed research application processes for research within their territory.
- Indigenous organizations have prepared a report on requirements for conducting research with and by Indigenous youth.
- The Native Women’s Association of Canada has developed a toolkit with information about Indigenous data-collection methodologies for law enforcement working on cases that involve missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, Two-Spirit, transgender and gender diverse people.
Some Indigenous research networks and institutions have developed their own initiatives to ensure research is done according to their own priorities. For example:
- The First Nations University of Canada announced the establishment of a National Indigenous Economic Prosperity Institute to collect and govern data on Indigenous demographics, lands, resources and businesses.
- The Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning offers land-based education and undertakes research in northern Canada that is rooted in Dene ethics, values and laws.
- The Urban Aboriginal Knowledge Network is a network comprising urban Indigenous communities, academics and others working on community-driven research.
- Inuit Qaujisarnirmut Pilirijjutit is an Inuit led, directed and governed initiative that funds research in Inuit Nunangat.
Indigenous Peoples are using their own culturally appropriate approaches to collect data and assert control of this data. For example:
- Indigenous Guardians manage waters and lands for their Nations and collect knowledge and data to support decision-making.
- Indigenous-led surveys, such as Qanuippitaa? National Inuit Health Survey and surveys by the First Nations Information Governance Centre, collect data on topics like health in Inuit and First Nations communities respectively.
- Ongoing Indigenous-led research includes a project by the First Nations Health Authority on 2SLGBTQI+ individuals returning to Indigenous communities and resuming their place within them. Other examples include the Métis Nation of Alberta’s health research and the Buffalo Lake Métis Settlement Residential School Research Project, which has documented stories of Métis residential school Survivors in four Metis settlements in Alberta.
Conclusion
While some federal initiatives improve research and data collection, Indigenous Peoples, governments, organizations and research institutes are paving the way toward Indigenous data sovereignty by establishing their own approaches to ensure that research and data collection benefit their communities.
Further Reading
First Nations Information Governance Centre (FNIGC). Welcome to the Fundamentals of OCAP®.
McBride, Kate. Data Resources and Challenges for First Nations Communities. Prepared for the Alberta First Nations Governance Centre.
* OCAP® is a registered trademark of the FNIGC. For more information, see Understanding OCAP.
By Brittany Collier, Library of Parliament
Categories: Indigenous affairs, Information and communications