WHAT IS INDIGENOUS DATA

What is Indigenous Data

Indigenous data is any data connected to Indigenous peoples, communities, lands, cultures, or knowledge systems — whether collected directly or generated through digital and AI systems. It exists across business, government, research, and everyday operations. It includes not just cultural records, but administrative data, analytics, and insights derived from Indigenous-linked data. This is not just information. Indigenous data carries ongoing Indigenous authority (rangatiratanga — decision-making authority). That authority does not disappear when data is digitised, analysed, or embedded into systems. It persists across the entire lifecycle. Indigenous Data Sovereignty affirms the right of Indigenous peoples to govern data about them — how it is collected, used, and applied. If governance is not embedded at the point of use, then authority is lost in execution. Read more: Most organisations treat data as something…