Indigenous data is included in public health information. Health Quality Alberta acknowledges the following:
- the legislation applicable within Alberta does not fully enable Indigenous Data Sovereignty, where Indigenous Peoples “exercise authority over their own data, over how their data is framed, and how their data is managed” or governed.
- Indigenous Data Sovereignty is rooted in the inherent rights to self-determination and autonomy or self-government.
- each First Nation, Métis, and Inuit government or group will have different data management, governance, and sovereignty needs and desires.
- we have a responsibility to continue learning about ethics related to data governance within First Nations, Métis, and Inuit contexts and supporting Indigenous-led provincial, local, and distinct efforts within Alberta to move toward Indigenous Data Sovereignty.
Our commitments
As we continue learning, and the structures within Alberta and Canada continue evolving to better enable Indigenous Data Sovereignty, our commitments include the following actions specific to First Nations, Métis, and Inuit data:
- Increase the use of agreements (e.g., a collaboration or data-sharing agreement – written and/or oral) with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit partners when data is involved, to support an ethical way of working.
- Report explicitly on Indigenous experiences and/or outcomes only in collaboration with and support from Indigenous health peers, to ensure information is framed with adequate and appropriate context and balancing “aggregate” and “distinctions-based” reporting needs.
- For work that is not done in collaboration with Indigenous health peers, we commit to using demographic information about Indigeneity (e.g., self-identification as Indigenous) only to understand whose voices or experiences are included in the information.
Questions
If you have questions about Health Quality Alberta and how we work with Indigenous data, email info@hqa.ca.