About this Collection

This collection is a living resource that we hope will help people see how the goals of collaborative science can align with and respect Indigenous sovereignty. We hope that the information presented in this collection will help people to better understand the broader context of this topic, and to be respectful of knowledge that is not, and cannot be assumed to be, theirs. We are also open to feedback, corrections, and suggestions for additional content.

We aren’t experts in Indigenous sovereignty nor do we think that this collection can give a full accounting of all experiences with Indigenous sovereignty within or beyond the Reserve System. This collection is not a shortcut for people who are looking to speed up a collaborative process for a project – after all, there is no substitute for taking the time to develop reciprocal relationships with potential partners. Rather, we intend this resource to help project teams and encourage informed, forward-thinking partnerships when engaging with sovereign and other Indigenous partners.

We acknowledge that this collection contains stories that aren’t ours and we thank those who entrusted us to help share them more broadly; we’ve done our best to keep these stories intact and true to the voices of the people who shared them. You can learn more about our approach to developing these resources below.

Interview and Design Approach

To explore this topic, we organized a series of semi-structured interviews that began with reserve staff  who were working with sovereign nations. As interviews progressed, most interviewees identified other people for us to contact for additional information. While our earlier interviews focused more narrowly on Indigenous data sovereignty, we learned along the way that Indigenous data sovereignty is a key piece, but not the only piece, of Indigenous sovereignty as a whole. Indigenous data sovereignty cannot be understood out of context from Indigenous sovereignty more broadly. As a result, we expanded our focus to include developing resources that help people understand the importance of Indigenous sovereignty and what respecting sovereignty means for the practice of collaborative science. All told, we spoke with eight people and co-developed case examples to share.

Elevating the Work of Others

Throughout this collection, you’ll find references to many external resources from other organizations and agencies that are actively developing their own guidance and understanding of Indigenous sovereignty. This collection isn’t meant to be duplicative of those existing works; rather, we attempted to compile relevant information that will help people who want to understand how the goals of collaborative science can align with and respect the ideals of sovereignty.

Review Approach

Our approach included checkpoints for external review of each module, which consisted of written comment periods followed by discussions with reviewers. Given the complexity of these topics, we felt it was important to seek the perspectives of people representing a range of cultures, regions, and levels of experience with collaborative science. We are incredibly grateful to the external reviewers who dedicated their time and knowledge to this effort to ensure that the information in this collection is shared respectfully and accurately. See the acknowledgements section below to learn more about the reviewers who contributed to the collection. 

In particular, we have done our best to seek input from individuals who live and work in the areas we discuss in these modules. We know that this collection, which is high-level by nature, cannot possibly provide full histories of the people and places featured within. We are always open to feedback if any information within is unclear or in need of correction. 

Please contact us at nerrs-info@umich.edu to provide any suggestions or corrections.

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the many people who took time to provide insights and feedback to strengthen these resources. The Science Collaborative program is grateful to Sabra Marie TallChief Comet - Osage Nation Tribal member and the Training and Engagement Program Coordinator at the South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve - for serving as a co-author for the written pieces and co-developer of the full resource collection. We also thank those who have been willing to share deeply about their work through webinars and case studies so that others may learn from it.

Special thanks to written document reviewers:

• Paulette Blanchard, Haskell Foundation, Haskell Indian Nations University

• Michaela Madrid (Lower Brule Sioux Tribe), Program Director, Native Governance Center

• Darren Ranco, Chair of Native American Programs, Professor of Anthropology, Coordinator of Native American Research, University of Maine

• Laura Farwell, Conservation & Science Coordinator - Coastal Wetlands, Pacific Birds Habitat Joint Venture

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration personnel with relevant background and experience