Indigenous Data Sovereignty Agreements
The Indigenous Data Law Lab is developing Indigenous Data Sovereignty Agreements and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) templates that can be used and modified by Indigenous Nations and Institutions that are entering into relationships. Below are Agreement Templates that can be downloaded, shared and modified to suit your particular needs and relationships that you would like to establish.
RECIPROCAL CURATION
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING TEMPLATE
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is a common tool used to build relationships between two parties, setting clear expectations for how they will behave within that relationship. MOUs have become a common and critical tool for Indigenous Nations to establish relationships with institutions, organizations or non-profits they have not previously engaged with. MOUs are not legally binding but can reference legal code, principles and use contract language to support the relationship that is being established within known standards and norms.
A Reciprocal Curation MOU has been developed by the Indigenous Data Law Lab. This MOU represents a commitment to sharing knowledge and, in so doing, building relationships through proper recognition, attribution and value of Indigenous perspectives and worldviews that will directly benefit future generations. This MOU reflects a joint commitment to share collections and knowledge through new paradigms of collaborative curation and respect for Indigenous cultural authority.
Future Acquisition Agreement
The purpose of this agreement is to establish a framework for the fair and equitable flow of information from an institution to a tribe or organization regarding future acquisitions of any new collections. For the purposes of this agreement, this includes any recently or newly identified materials within the institution through processes of better cataloging and processing of previously un-processed collections.
THE CARE PRINCIPLES
FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ DATA
SHARING AGREEMENT
The purpose of this agreement is to share Indigenous Peoples’ data according to the CARE Principles. The CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance center Collective Benefit, Authority to control, Responsibility, and Ethics. These are included as critical elements in this Agreement for how and with what purpose Indigenous Peoples’ data will be shared between parties who are signatories to this Agreement. Parties entering this Agreement are committed to realizing Indigenous Data Sovereignty.
FUTURE STEWARDSHIP AGREEMENT
This Agreement is an opportunity for collecting institutions to develop new forms of stewardship for contemporary Indigenous art that are focused on long term relationships with artists and their communities. It moves the focus away from the artwork itself, and creates space for a dynamic and growing relationship between the artwork, the artist, the artist’s community and the institution. It recognizes the long-term cultural value of the artwork for artist’s community and the broader long-term care for the art as part of a community practice.