Indigenous Data Sovereignty News
Video - Virtual Wānanga Series | The Environment and data sovereignty
Hosted by Maui Hudson, this webinar detailed the features of environmental data, and the flow-on effects data sovereignty can contribute towards the environment, and subsequently, Iwi.
A one-page summary and review of the event will be posted shortly.
Backgrounds on the event’s amazing speakers, along with links to their slide content, are available below:
Jason Donaghy (Ngāti Porou, Whakatōhea) - Jason is a manager at Northland Regional Council leading a unit of science, hydrology, coastal water quality & data management teams
Julie Jakobski - Julie is an oceanographer at MetOcean, Raglan. Her focus is on ocean observations for Aoteroa’s public use and assimilation into ocean models with Te Tiro Moana teams of the Moana Project.
Kelly Pendergrast - Kelly specializes in digital policy, ocean conservation, and the political economy of technology. She co-founded Antistatic, a research and communications consultancy focused on complex issues around technology and the environment.
Temuera Hall (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Te Arawa) - Temuera (co-founder and managing director TAHITO). Applies Māori values & principles into his governance business management, private equity & funds management roles.
Whāki Webinar Series launching 28th of September
Te Kotahi Research Institute has announced the introduction of a new webinar series aimed at the indigenous data community, hosted by founding Te Mana Raraunga member Maui Hudson. The series will cover a wide range of important topics including data sovereignty, governance, and science. It involves an interactive debate and Q&A format and includes a variety of different data sovereignty speakers. The series launches on the 28th of September, and more information can be gathered from the Te Kotahi website.
Māori Data Governance Co-design process reports available now
In 2020, Data ILG led a Māori Data Governance co-design process between te ao Māori leaders, including iwi and national Māori leaders, representatives of Māori organisations with data interests, and individual Māori data experts, and 16 Crown agencies. The primary purpose was to design a system-wide model for Māori data governance to ensure data design, collection and dissemination supports iwi and Māori needs and aspirations. The process was led by Te Kāhui Raraunga Charitable Trust, with support from Statistics New Zealand. Independent facilitators, AATEA Solutions and Creative HQ, conducted a series of co-design wānanga with te ao Māori leaders and Crown agencies and produced two reports: Tawhiti Nuku and a Co-Design Review Report which you can request from the Te Kahui Raraunga website.
Te Mana raraunga press release on use of facial recognition for surveillance
Te Mana Raraunga Maori Data Sovereignty Network calls on NZ Police to open its black box on facial recognition. Te Mana Raraunga Māori Data Sovereignty Network tautoko concerns raised by Māori communities as well as Children’s Commissioner Andrew Becroft about reports that the NZ Police photographed Māori youth and stored their images in a national database that can be used in facial recognition technology. This development is alarming given the Police’s history of racialised surveillance of Māori, and the broader racism within the criminal justice system. Te Mana Raraunga acknowledges the impacts that the Police’s behaviour has had on the rangatahi involved and their whānau. Read the press release here.
TE Mana Raraunga Statement on Department of Internal Affairs facial recognition system procurement
Te Mana Raraunga releases a statement on the Department of Internal Affairs facial recognition system procurement which represents clear and significant risks to Māori Data Sovereignty. See the statement here.
Te mana Raraunga submission on the draft Algorithm Charter
Te Mana Raraunga have made a submission on the Draft Algorithm Charter. We see a critical need to ensure Māori rights and interests are upheld in the use of algorithms by government. See the submission here.
Archived Pānui
Our past newsletters have various useful data sovereignty resources:
Archived Māori Data Sovereignty News
Maori, Stats & Data Sovereignty webinar
This webinar explores the issues with the 2018 Census data collection and examines what the implications could be for communities and funding. See below to read some relevant articles prior to the webinar. The webinar is presented by Kirikowhai Mikaere, a leading Māori data and information specialist, focused on harnessing information to empower iwi, hapū, whānau and community development and Tahu Kukutai, Professor of Demography at the National Institute of Demographic and Economic Analysis. They discuss iwi data sovereignty and data bias and the reasons why we should all pay more attention to the quality of the data we provide, use and collect. Access the webinar here.
Independent review shows major change required if the next Census is to deliver high quality Maori data
Te Mana Raraunga, the Māori Data Sovereignty Network, welcomes the findings of the independent External Data Quality Panel on the results of the 2018 Census (https://www.stats.govt.nz/reports/initial-report-of-the-2018-census-external-data-quality-panel). The report of the Data Quality Panel indicates that the electoral counts and national Māori ethnicity data is acceptable quality. The expert panel confirms that the methods for generating these Census counts are robust for this data. However, the unplanned extensive use of administrative data to backfill gaps in Census 2018 remains a concern for Te Mana Raraunga. Māori and Pacific peoples were most affected by this change in census method but had no input into decision-making. The data matching processes raise issues around the social licence and cultural licence of agencies working with people’s data and are definitely inconsistent with the principle of indigenous data sovereignty. Read the full press release here and the news report on the issue here too.
New Global INdigenous Data Alliance launched
The Global Indigenous Data Alliance was launched today on the 12th Anniversary of the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by the UN General Assembly. You can find information about the Indigenous Data Sovereignty Communique, formation of GIDA, the Global Indigenous Data Alliance, and the launch of the CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance, on their website www.gida-global.org. In support of Māori language week the press release and Communique have been translated into Te Reo Māori.
Te Mana Raraunga Statement on Independent Review of New Zealand’s 2018 Census:
Treaty-based data governance and partnership crucial
Te Mana Raraunga, the Māori Data Sovereignty Network, welcomes the findings of the Independent Review of New Zealand’s 2018 Census. Te Mana Raraunga forewarned about a poorly executed census in July last year, and has consistently raised questions about Census 2018 and the implications for Māori in a series of public statements. The Review provides a long-awaited explanation for what went wrong and why. This included a lack of strategic direction and effective programme management at the Census management level, an insufficient field workforce, and ineffective strategies to increase participation, particularly for Māori. Read the full statement here.
Appalling Census collection response rates for Māori
Te Mana Raraunga, the Māori Data Sovereignty Network, is appalled that Stats NZ only managed to collect individual census forms for 68% of the Māori population in the 2018 Census. The ‘traditional‘ Māori collection response rate, based on individual form returns, was 68.2%. This was far lower than the rate of 85.5% for the 2013 census. Te Mana Raraunga raised the warning bell about a poorly executed census in July last year warning that the national Māori response rate could be around 80 percent, and lower in areas such as Northland and the East Coast. The Stats NZ report finally confirms that TMR’s concerns were well founded. Te Mana Raraunga’s press release can be found here.
Te Mana Raraunga Statement on 2018 New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings
‘The limitations of the Census 2018 Māori data are an unacceptable brake on efforts to advance Māori social, cultural and economic wellbeing that cannot be allowed to happen again’ says Te Mana Raraunga – the Māori Data Sovereignty Network. ‘As we predicted, it appears that the Census has not delivered equitably for Māori’. Te Mana Raraunga released this press release in response to Statistics NZ announcement today about the state of the 2018 New Zealand Census of Populations and Dwellings.
Submission on the Law Commission Review of the law governing the use of DNA in criminal investigations
Te Mana Raraunga’s submission on the Law Commissions review of the the law governing the use of DNA in criminal investigations in New Zealand can be found here. The submission was authored by Donna Cormack and describes the principles of Maori Data Sovereignty and their application to the use of samples/DNA in criminal investigations, as well as comments on the specific questions in the review discussion document.
Te Ao Māori Data Hui
On Wednesday 19th December a hui facilitated by the Data Iwi Leaders Group was held in Rotorua. The primary purpose was to bring together Maori data stakeholders for a ‘strategic data’ conversation on engagement with the Crown, in relation to ‘Māori Data’ and consider what participation in the 'co-design’ process with the Crown for Maori Data Governance across the government data system should look like.
Delay in the release of census data 2018
Statistics NZ has released a statement outlining their revised timeline for the release of data from the Census 2018 without giving a clear indication of what data will be available and when. While Te Mana Raraunga supports moves by Stats NZ to appoint an external data quality panel and to have an independent review of Census 2018, we remain concerned that Census 2018 may yet fail to deliver high quality Māori and iwi data. The TMR press release can be found here.
Te mana raraunga submission on the review of the statistics act 1975
We welcome the opportunity to contribute to the review of the Statistics Act 1975. We see a critical need for embedded Māori governance of Māori data across the Official Statistics System (OSS). Robust, relevant, high-quality data are an important resource for Māori. Confidence and trust in the OSS depends on meaningful Māori involvement (at governance and decision-making levels) in how our data are collected, managed and used. See the full submission here.
Māori Data Sovereignty principles released
Te Mana Raraunga has developed this short briefing paper to give some general definitions for Maori data, Maori data sovereignty, Maori data governance, as well as describe the principles of Maori data sovereignty. You can access the briefing paper here.
Update from Stats NZ
Statistics NZ has just released an update on a number of key projects and activities including Maori data governance. You can access the update here and it has links through to information about the various projects.
Māori Data Futures report
The Maori Data Futures Hui was held at Te Herenga Waka Marae on 9 May 2018. A report on the hui, describing the discussions from the day, can now be found here. The hui report describes seven areas of development for Māori Data, identified and discussed by attendees. It also shows the domain areas discussed for Māori Data, and how they relate to each other. That image can be downloaded separately, here.
Data Summit 18
Stats NZ is hosting a 2-day summit on informed decision-making through the ethical use of data in Wellington on September 27-28th. The summit will discuss balancing the tensions between data innovation and protecting privacy – ensuring New Zealanders have trust and confidence in the way their data is used. It will cover data sovereignty from an international and New Zealand perspective as well as an in-depth look at privacy, ethics and algorithms. Professor Tahu Kukutai will talk about Māori data sovereignty and the opportunities and challenges of big data and integrated data in Aotearoa. For more information and tickets click here.
Te Mana Raraunga Statement on 2018 New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings: A Call for Action on Māori Census Data
Te Mana Raraunga, the Māori Data Sovereignty Network, is concerned that Census 2018 may fail to deliver high quality Māori and iwi data. Interim figures for the 2018 Census released by Stats NZ indicate that full or partial information has only been received for around 90 percent of individuals. For Māori, the extent of the problem will inevitably be worse. We may well be looking at a total Māori response rate of less than 80 percent, and even lower in areas that have historically had lower coverage, such as Northland and the East Coast. Census 2018 may yet turn out to be the poorest quality enumeration of Māori in recent history. Te Mana Raraunga has put together a press release (included here in te reo Māori) and a more detailed technical statement on Census 2018.
Correspondence responding to the Census Statement
https://thespinoff.co.nz/atea/01-08-2018/has-the-2018-census-failed-maori/
australian Indigenous Data Sovereignty communique
The Maiam nayri Wingara Indigneous Data Sovereignty Collective and the Australian Indigenous Governance Institute held an Indigenous Data Sovereignty Summit in Canberra on 20th June 2018. An outcome of that summit was the development of a communique which outlines the delegates view on Indigenous Data Sovereignty and Indigenous Data Governance. Enacting Indigenous Data Governance requires Indigenous leaders, practitioners and community members with the skills and infrastructure to advocate and participate across all sectors and jurisdictions. Indigenous communities retain the right to decide which sets of data require active governance and maintain the right to not participate in data processes inconsistent with the principles asserted in this Communique.
Powering health equity action with on-line Data tools
Policylink has just released a report on powering health equity action with on-line data tools. Achieving health equity—when everyone has a just and fair opportunity to be as healthy as possible regardless of race, income, or other socially defined characteristics—is essential to building resilient communities, a prosperous economy, and a just society. This report outlines 10 design principles including honoring Indigenous Data Sovereignty.
Indigenous Data Sovereignty 'What Works Workshop'
Te Mana Raraunga ran a 'What Works Workshop' on Indigenous Data Sovereignty at the Waikato Tainui College of Research and Development on September 5th and 6th. The event will have a range of national and international speakers talking about how they operationalise Indigenous Data Sovereignty in their activities.
Māori engagement report on National Research and information system
The Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment has released a report on preliminary Māori engagement in relation to the conceptual model for the National Research and Information System (NRIS).
NEW Guidelines for Trusted data Use
NZ Data Futures Partnership has just released Guidelines for Trusted Data Use. They have been developed through consultation with communities around Social License for Data Use. Further guidance will also be developed about trusted use of iwi/Māori data.
Cultural license recognised in MPI Primary sector science roadmap
The Ministry for Primary Industries has just released a Primary Sector Science Roadmap which includes references to social license and cultural license. Cultural license is defined as the ability of an organisation or industry to undertake business in a culturally acceptable way with confidence from Māori Treaty partners and iwi.
Statement on Social License and Cultural License
Te Mana Raraunga has released a statement on the the difference between individual and collectives rights in the context of data sharing, data linkage and data aggregation, suggesting that Cultural License is a complementary process to the development of a Social License for Data Use.
Authoritative reference on the potential of big data
It's hard to argue with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) when it comes to an authoritative reference on the potential of big data to increasingly impact on inequality for minority populations
2018 World Congress of Sociology in Toronto (15-21 July 2017)
Indigenous Data Sovereignty is now officially part of the program for the 2018 World Congress of Sociology in Toronto (15-21 July 2017 )
Call for abstracts open on 25 April and close 30 September 2017.
Statistics NZ partners with Statistics Netherlands
Statistics New Zealand announces a unique partnership with Statistics Netherlands (CBS) to unleash the potential of new data sources and analytics for decision-making.
The new international collaboration aims to leverage and build on the strengths and networks of the two organisations who are both leaders in their field.