Governing data and data for governance: The everyday practice of Indigenous sovereignty.
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Governing data and data for governance: the everyday practice of Indigenous sovereignty Diane E SmithNot everything that can be counted counts, And not everything that counts can be counted.-Albert Einstein (according to the available data)
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Uncritically open data regimes can replicate the tragedy of colonial commons, where colonial powers declared Indigenous lands terra nullius or open access, paving the way for taking without accountability.
“But uncritically open data regimes can replicate the tragedy of colonial commons, where colonial powers declared Indigenous lands terra nullius (nobody's land) or open access, paving the way for taking without accountability (Smith 2016).”
From Preventing AI extractivism: the case for braiding indigenous data justice with ABS for stronger AI data governance (2026) · cites this paper as Smith 2016
The Conclusion describes open Indigenous data as a “double-edged sword” and raises concerns about protecting cultural information, rights and intellectual property. “From datum nullius to data sovereignty” describes terra nullius as a colonial legal fiction extended to Indigenous governance and knowledge. The paper does not explicitly characterize open data as a tragedy of colonial commons or say that colonial powers declared lands open access to enable taking without accountability. (LLM, conf=0.86)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredTribal use of tribal data, whether collected by the tribe or by others, lies at the heart of tribal data governance.
“Tribal use of tribal data, whether collected by the tribe or by others, lies at the heart of tribal data governance (Smith, 2016).”
From Data as a Strategic Resource: Self-determination, Governance, and the Data Challenge for Indigenous Nations in the United States (2017) · cites this paper as Smith, 2016
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Research works printed but not linked: 9
- Agrawal A (1995). Dismantling the divide between indigenous and scientific knowledge. Development and Change 26(3):413-59.
- Bruhn J (2014). Identifying useful approaches to the governance of indigenous data. The International Indigenous Policy Journal 5(2):1-32.
- Daly A & Smith DE (1996). The contemporary economic status of Indigenous Australian families. The Australian Journal of Social Issues 31(4):354-75.
- de Alcantara CH (1998). Uses and abuses of the concept of governance. International Social Science Journal 155:105-13.
- Ellis T & Levy Y (2012). Data sources for scholarly research: towards a guide for novice researchers, Graduate School of Computer and Information Sciences, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., proceedings.informingscience.org/InSITE2012/ InSITE12p405-416Ellis0114.pdf.
- Giddens A (1984). The constitution of society, Polity Press, Cambridge.
- Moustakas J (1989). Group rights in cultural property: justifying strict inalienability. Cornell Law Review 74:1179-227.
- Nakata M (2007). Disciplining the savages: savaging the disciplines, Aboriginal Studies Press, Canberra.
- Nakata M, Nakata V, Gardiner G & McKeough J (2008). Indigenous digital collections: an early look at the organisation and culture interface. Australian Academic & Research Libraries 39(4):223-36.
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Prehn (Worimi), J., Carlson (Aboriginal), B., Walter (Palawa), M., Lovett (Wongaibon/Ngiyampaa), R., & Maher (Yamatji, N. (2026) · Journal of Sociology · doi:10.1177/14407833261460137
- Authors
- Smith, D.
- Corresponding author
- Smith, Diane
- Venue
- Indigenous Data Sovereignty
- Publisher
- ANU Press
- Published
- 2016-11-14
- OpenAlex
- W2626588954
- Cited by
- 38
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 1 · 2017: 1
- FWCI
- 7.05
- Type
- book chapter
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- ANU Press eBooks (publishedVersion)
- ANU Open Research (Australian National University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Law › Indigenous Peoples' Rights and Law
- Social Sciences › Anthropology › Indigenous Cultures and History
- Social Sciences › Health › Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights
- Keywords
- Indigenous sovereignty, data governance, Indigenous data sovereignty, Indigenous data, everyday practices, Indigenous self-determination
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