IDN LogoIDN

Indigenous Data Governance

The IDN Catalogue Project will be informed by the key deliverables from Stream 1 of the Improving Indigenous Research Capabilities project.

An Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research Data Commons (PDF) is "to agree on a set of core, and uniquely Australian, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Data Governance principles that will inform and be applied to all other streams and activities of this project."

The IDN Catalogue Project is trialling data characterisation, profiling metadata and creating vocabularies to embed Indigenous data governance and sovereignty elements for discovery, access and use where it exists and where it could exist in the future.

This project uses the following terms as defined in the Indigenous Data Sovereignty Communique, 20 June 2018:

  • In Australia, 'Indigenous Data' refers to information or knowledge, in any format or medium, which is about and may affect Indigenous peoples both collectively and individually.
  • 'Indigenous Data Sovereignty' refers to the right of Indigenous peoples to exercise ownership over Indigenous Data. Ownership of data can be expressed through the creation, collection, access, analysis, interpretation, management, dissemination and reuse of Indigenous Data.
  • 'Indigenous Data Governance' refers to the right of Indigenous peoples to autonomously decide what, how and why Indigenous Data are collected, accessed and used. It ensures that data on or about Indigenous peoples reflects our priorities, values, cultures, worldviews and diversity.
The Indigenous Data Network acknowledges the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we work and live. We pay respect to their Elders, past and present, and the place of Indigenous Knowledge in the academy and beyond. We acknowledge and respect that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have always used resources from the land and waters for nourishment, medicine and healing.
© Indigenous Data Network 2025