Abstract
Data, as described by a Yurok Tribe council member, is “the original theft”—the first thing stolen from Native peoples in the United States. Indigenous data sovereignty seeks to redress this and prevent future data infractions by placing Indigenous communities in charge of decision-making about their own data. Yet with no established body of federal case law on tribal data authority, it is not immediately clear how Indigenous data sovereignty would fit within the complex and contradictory web of federal caselaw that confines tribes’ inherent sovereignty. This Article seeks to address this gap. First, as a policy matter, it argues that tribes are best suited to govern their own data. To illustrate this claim, this Article relies on interviews conducted with members and employees of the Yurok Tribe, the largest tribe in California, to explain what data sovereignty means to them and why it matters for tribal self-governance, economic security, cultural preservation, and the Tribe’s health and welfare. Second, as a legal matter, this Article lays out the favorable case for tribal authority to enforce tribal data sovereignty laws and policies against non-tribal members under each exception within the Montana framework. In anticipation of concerns about how to locate transient data or placeless activity, this Article proposes that federal and tribal courts use the Calder effects test, which assesses intentional forum-targeting in non-tribal cases. Finally, this Article concludes with a set of recommendations for tribes seeking to actualize their data sovereignty and for federal courts that may review future cases involving data sovereignty.
Recommended Citation
Bailey Ulbricht,
Actualizing Indigenous Data Sovereignty Through Tribal Self-Governance,
55
N.M. L. Rev.
77
(2025).
Available at:
https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/nmlr/vol55/iss1/4
