Spatial Data Sovereignty and Privacy in Indian Country

Abstract

Ownership, control of and access to tribal spatial data are long-standing issues for American Indian tribes in the United States. Federal and state court decisions resulting in the disclosure of tribal information under freedom of information laws, the sophisticated data integration and analysis capacity of GIS, and advances in satellite remote sensing heighten concerns. Fundamental issues are at stake, including tribes' rights and interests in their knowledge and resources, federal agencies' authority and decision-making that affect those resources, and the public's right to know. Within the context of the federal-tribal relationship, this research investigates tribes' concerns regarding unwanted disclosure of tribal spatial data and the circumstances under which disclosure may occur. This study also evaluated mechanisms to mitigate these risks. Sensitive tribal spatial data include sacred sites and cultural resources, information about land parcel status, water rights, resource leases, and more. Tribes are concerned about the potential for misuse of their spatial data for several reasons: infringement on individual and group privacy; misappropriation of intellectual property and its use for commercial gain; misinterpretation or discrediting of cultural practices; abrogation of treaty rights; and the impact on the federal Trust relationship. Spatial data about tribes potentially may be disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act if the federal government creates or maintains the data, or if tribes share their data with the federal government in response to consultation, litigation, or federal funding requirements. Tribes may strengthen their sovereignty by building the internal capacity to understand and use spatial technologies to their advantage, and by keeping abreast of new spatial technologies and their potential implications. Tribes could develop criteria to assess the sensitivity of spatial data, regardless of the technology; use that criteria to identify the most sensitive and valuable information; ...