Jennifer O’Neal
Clara Gorman
This presentation will examine recent case studies and projects addressing the local application of the CARE Maturity Model to University Research Policies through Indigenous protocols, data sovereignty, and data governance. We argue how the CARE Principles must be applied at a local level for direct benefit and impact to Indigenous communities to reflect the specific needs of tribal communities. Due to the impact on Indigenous peoples when conducting research in and with Indigenous communities, we argue that universities and funding organizations must implement Indigenous data governance policies and protocols into larger institutional research policies, including Institutional Review Boards, as well as to archives, libraries and museums where collected data research is then deposited at institutional repositories. We will highlight how the Protocols for Native American Archival Materials and the CARE Data Maturity Model provide the key guidelines for the development of the policies, as well as an assessment tool to evaluate CARE maturity of data ecosystems for targeted improvements. Through specific case studies from tribal communities and institutions in Oregon we will examine how the indicators, priorities, and guidelines assist in measuring the actions for Indigenous data governance to provide a benchmark for university research coordinators, as well as archives, libraries, and museums to evaluate their policies, practices, relationships, and data infrastructure for alignment to the CARE Principles. We will provide examples of innovative digital technologies, like Mukurtu and Local Contexts, rooted in Indigenous knowledges and protocols to guide relationality accountability and everyday acts of resurgence.