The CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance were drafted at the International Data Week and Research Data Alliance Plenary co-hosted event “Indigenous Data Sovereignty Principles for the Governance of Indigenous Data Workshop,” 8 November 2018, Gaborone, Botswana. In 2019 the Global Indigenous Data Alliance (GIDA) was formed with the purpose of promoting indigenous control of indigenous data. GIDA endorsed and agreed to host the CARE Principles:
- (C)ollective benefit – Data ecosystems shall be designed and function in ways that enable Indigenous Peoples to derive benefit from the data;
- (A)uthority to control – Indigenous Peoples’ rights and interests in Indigenous data must be recognised and their authority to control such data be empowered. Indigenous data governance enables Indigenous Peoples and governing bodies to determine how Indigenous Peoples, as well as Indigenous lands, territories, resources, knowledges and geographical indicators, are represented and identified within data;
- (R)esponsibility – Those working with Indigenous data have a responsibility to share how those data are used to support Indigenous Peoples’ self determination and collective benefit. Accountability requires meaningful and openly available evidence of these efforts and the benefits accruing to Indigenous Peoples; and
- (E)thics – Indigenous Peoples’ rights and wellbeing should be the primary concern at all stages of the data life cycle and across the data ecosystem.
GIDA has translated the Principles from English to Maori, German and Khmer, and it sponsors programming to advance their use. The #BeFAIRandCARE campaign advocates for complementing the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) Principles with the CARE Principles. In 2022 GIDA issued “Indigenous Peoples’ Rights in Data” that cover “Data for Governance” and “Governance of Data.” These resources and guidance by indigenous peoples for indigenous peoples are invaluable for equity, inclusion and justice for all peoples.
