Whose Data, Whose Ethics? Rethinking Ethical Accountability in Research Using Publicly Available Indigenous Data

Prevailing practices in research are to treat information found in the public domain as ethically unencumbered, requiring no obligation to the individuals or groups represented. This assumption rests on a narrow interpretation of ethical responsibility, namely, that if information is publicly accessible and unprotected by privacy law, it falls outside the purview of consent and harm considerations. Canadian ethical guidelines such as the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS2, 2022), can be interpreted as placing the burden of protection on individuals and communities, rather than on researchers, when information enters the public domain. However, this interpretation overlooks the histories and abuses of Indigenous Peoples, whose publicly available data still carry cultural significance and reflect collective identity. As a consequence of colonization, the inherent sovereignty of Indigenous Nations—and our right to affirm, control, and protect our cultural identities—has been historically denied or constrained. This colonial legacy continues to shape current research ethics frameworks, which often fail to acknowledge or operationalize Indigenous Peoples’ collective rights and sovereignty over data concerning us. In response, Indigenous ethical frameworks such as the First Nations principles of Ownership, Control, Access, Possession (OCAP), affirm Indigenous Peoples’ collective rights to govern how data and research about us are conducted and used. While Chapter 9 of the TCPS2 encourages researchers to respect Indigenous protocols and ethical guidelines, it falls short of fully recognizing Indigenous Peoples’ inherent sovereignty or our right to consent, approve, or be meaningfully involved in interpretations of all publicly-available data that describes us collectively as a group, community, or nation. This commentary argues that relational accountability grounded in community engagement and Indigenous-led decision-making must be recognized as an ethical imperative in all research pertaining to Indigenous Peoples, including when leveraging data from public sources.