ID: 2148
Presenting Author: Charlene Williams
Session: 591 - Managing the right to privacy in impact assessment
Status: pending
The session will focus on the implications of data sharing of sensitive and traditional knowledge of self-governing indigenous nations through the IA process
to ensure data sovereignty.
Current systems ask Indigenous self-governing Nations to provide governments and industry with exact locations of traditional sites. This practice is increasingly concerning and threatens the safety of Treaty Rights and cultural resilience. Through Athabasca Chipewyan First Nations’s (ACFN) experience working with governments in the resource extraction sector, many lessons have been learned and clear opportunities identified to strengthen the protection of Treaty Rights. The current system’s demand for “proof” of present and historical land use imposes one worldview over another. As Indigenous peoples continue advocating for the inclusion of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC), it is essential to establish strict Traditional Knowledge (TK) and Traditional Land Use (TLU) sharing agreements that uphold Ownership, Control, Access, and Possession (OCAP) Principles. These must be implemented in all agreements responding to government or industry information requests, including consultation, policy engagement, and impact assessment processes.
Protection of TK is tied to data sovereignty—it is not only the responsibility of researchers but also of those seeking to use this information for project development or policy reviews. Given colonial demands for hard evidence to prove Treaty Rights and land use, data protection is more vital than ever.
This session will explore: 1) How to ensure publicly available data is relevant to specific Nations; 2) Whether documented knowledge reflects current use; and 3) If input from affected communities is accurate and verified. ACFN will pr
ACFN DLRM Industry Relations Director with over 10 years of experience in academia, government, and First Nations communities