FROM MINING RECLAMATION TO DATA MINING: using Indigenous data governance to advance open science
Lydia Jennings, Ph.D Indigenous Data Sovereignty Fellow Zuckerman School of Public Health University of Arizona
As the science community advocates for open science to create more accessible inquiry and discovery processes, it is vital that we understand Indigenous governance within the contexts of mining and data policy. Heavy metal mining has negatively impacted many Indigenous communities in Arizona, where 40% of mines are on or bordering Indigenous communities. This presence of the mining industry illustrates how, when Indigenous communities do not have the power to protect their own communities and ecosystems, resource extraction dominates. In this presentation, Dr.
Jennings will discuss the severe lack of tribal consultation in General Mining Law and NEPA, the importance of mining reclamation that incorporates Indigenous knowledge, and how calls for open science that don’t consider the CARE Principles may be opening up tribal nations to further intellectual and resource extraction.
