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Indigenous Data Sovereignty and Governance: The Australian Traumatic Brain Injury National Data Project

Nature Medicine volume 28, pages 888–889 (2022)Cite this article

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To the Editor — Data exist in a range of forms (open, big, reuse, linkage, sharing, etc.) and are accessible by various mining techniques (machine learning, artificial intelligence, etc.). Indigenous data can be defined as data in any format or medium that contain information and/or knowledge on Indigenous peoples as individuals or a collective1,2. Indigenous Data Sovereignty and Governance structures are essential, as they ensure that the sovereign rights of First Nations are respected, considered and acted upon1. Indigenous Data Sovereignty focuses on data self-determination for Indigenous peoples, by providing autonomy over the “collection, access, analysis, interpretation, management, dissemination and re-use” of such data1. Indigenous Data Governance encompasses formal policies and procedures that support this data self-determination1.

Indigenous Data Sovereignty and Governance is an international movement that embodies the reclamation of Indigenous knowledges and research methodologies1,2. It facilitates processes to reduce statistical exploitation, an action whereby data are manipulated to reinforce negativity and control1,2. The movement also aims to reduce the impact of white possessive logic, the invisible and unacknowledged systems of power and control3. Indigenous Data Sovereignty and Governance seeks to protect the integrity of Indigenous Data, including the way in which clinical quality indicators are defined and how indicators are selected and analyzed, through to outcome interpretation and translation into policy2.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the traditional lands in which this Correspondence was created and shaped (Kaurna Yerta, Noongar Boodja, Dharawal Country, Eora and Kulin Nations) and pay respect to their Elders, past, present and emerging.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

    Courtney Ryder, Roland Wilson & Shane D’Angelo

  2. The George Institute for Global Health, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

    Courtney Ryder & Kate Hunter

  3. National Trauma Research Institute, Alfred Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Gerard M. O’Reilly, Biswadev Mitra, Yen Kim, Jin Tee & Mark C. Fitzgerald

  4. Emergency and Trauma Centre, Alfred Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Gerard M. O’Reilly & Biswadev Mitra

  5. School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Gerard M. O’Reilly & Biswadev Mitra

  6. Department of Surgery, Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Yen Kim

  7. Brain Injury Australia, Putney, New South Wales, Australia

    Nick Rushworth

  8. Neurosurgery, Alfred Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Jin Tee

  9. School of Population Health, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia

    Delia Hendrie

  10. Trauma Service, Alfred Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Mark C. Fitzgerald

  11. Susan Wakil School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

    Kate Curtis

  12. Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia

    Kate Curtis

  13. Emergency Department, Wollongong Hospital, Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia

    Kate Curtis

Authors
  1. Courtney Ryder
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  9. Jin Tee
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  12. Kate Curtis
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Contributions

C.R. conceptualized and edited all versions (Kaurna Yerta); R.W. and S.D. contributed to the initial version (Kaurna Yerta); G.M.O., B.M. and M.C.F. assisted in all revisions (Kulin Nation). K.H., Y.K., N.R., J.T. and D.H. contributed to the initial version and proofreading of subsequent versions (Noongar Boodja, Eora and Kulin Nations); and K.C. provided academic mentorship and support of revisions (Dharawal Country) (Aboriginal lands on which the contributions occurred, in parentheses).

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Correspondence to Courtney Ryder.

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Ryder, C., Wilson, R., D’Angelo, S. et al. Indigenous Data Sovereignty and Governance: The Australian Traumatic Brain Injury National Data Project. Nat Med 28, 888–889 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-022-01774-7

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