Respecting Indigenous Data Sovereignty When Utilizing Tribally Identifiable Data Collected By Universities

Universities in the United States have a long and fraught relationship with Indigenous Peoples. While policies and practices have continued to improve with the advent of Indigenous Data Sovereignty and other principled areas that drive self-determination, challenges remain. These educational institutions still possess enormous amounts of data related to Indigenous individuals for internal use in university systems rather than share out with relevant Indigenous Nations. Universities collect Tribally Identifiable Data on their students such as scholarships, demographic data, and allocation of monetary funds for various events and activities on campus. One example of Tribally Identifiable Data kept by institutions is self-reported Tribal Affiliation data. Additionally, in the US, University students often must submit verification that they are enrolled with a federally recognized Tribal Nation to be eligible for certain scholarships. Despite the copious amount of Tribal Affiliation data that universities have for students, it is unclear to what extent the universities collaborate with Tribal Nations on the protection, use, and ownership of these data. This presentation will give a detailed experience of dissertation research working with Indigenous students at the University of Arizona, collaboration with Indigenous serving organizations on campus, and the challenges of respecting Indigenous Data Sovereignty when it comes to Tribally Identifiable Data for a university population. The presentation will conclude with suggestions on how to hold universities accountable for data they collect on Indigenous People and how Indigenous scientists can work with non-Indigenous organizations to improve data sharing for all Tribally Identifiable Data collected.