Relational Science

What does it mean to have authority over your data — not just ownership, co-ownership, but the living right to say who uses it, how, and when to stop?

In this first part of the episode, WarīNkwī Flores and Sierra Hicks welcome Lisa Pizzoni, founder of the Indigenous Data Authority (Aotearoa, New Zealand), into the circle. Together they explore the distinction between sovereignty (the right to govern data) and authority (the active permission over it) — a difference that carries profound implications for Indigenous Peoples navigating AI, digital infrastructure, and cross-jurisdictional data flows.

From the moko on a son's face captured by a security camera to tukutuku panels in a wharenui — this conversation grounds big-tech policy questions in the relational truth that data is never neutral, but also not only an asset. It is always whakapapa. It is always connected.

Our co-hosts, Sierra Hicks and WariNkwi Flores, continue their examination of Part II of the insights and foresights on the IEEE 2890-2025 Recommended Practice for Provenance of Indigenous Peoples' Data, focusing on sections 7.3 through 14. Their analysis explored key aspects of data creation, transfer, storage, and publication, powerfully emphasizing the essential importance of safeguarding Indigenous provenance information throughout the data lifecycle.

The presenters confidently highlighted the necessity of due diligence and due process efforts to identify and disclose provenance information, particularly with respect to pre-existing datasets. They navigated the complexities of the community's diverse interests in data, affirming the enduring responsibility to disclose provenance information in the dynamic landscape of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence and biotechnology.

The session culminated in a compelling discussion of the disclosure limitations imposed by Indigenous communities, underscoring the fundamental function of community governance on decision-making processes and privacy.

How do you validate the origin of knowledge in the age of AI and Big Data? The answer may lie in the IEEE 2890-2025 Recommended Practices for Provenance of Indigenous Peoples Data.

Join our co-hosts, WariNkwi and Sierra, for a critical analysis of the first international standard that applies the CARE Principles through technical provenance. As the US Indigenous Data Sovereignty Network notes, this is a milestone step for governance—but what does it look like in practice?

At Relational Science, we guide you through the operational realities of this document. In Part 1, dissecting the standard up to Section 7.3, exploring:

• Provenance as a Data Asset: How "appropriate disclosure" adds value and integrity to datasets.

• The Operational Gap: The purpose, scope, and necessary limitations of the standard.

• The New Compliance: Why properly documenting Indigenous relationships to data is now a prerequisite for ethical research and the fair Indigenous shareholdershio in the data economy/bioeconomy

Don't get left behind by the shifting regulatory landscape; whether you are an Indigenous guardian, a tech developer, or a policy maker, this standard changes the rules of the "Data Gambit". Listen now to understand the new mechanisms of Indigenous Data Provenance.

We yarn on the territorial and international perspectives of the so-called "COP30, the Indigenous COP" with the Post Growth Institute fellows from the UK and Brazil to discuss Indigenous participation in climate negotiations, particularly focusing on the "COP of Indigenous Peoples".

The discussion explored challenges around knowledge production, representation, and trust in climate processes, with participants sharing perspectives on how Indigenous communities can be more effectively included in decision-making.

We invite Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities to a conversation for addressing climate impacts, concluding with reflections on the roles of technology, climate finance, and systemic change.

We've embraced a temporal new path in our Data Kinship Series after a season filled with rich ceremonies, engaging conferences, and meaningful fieldwork. In this episode, we embark on an autoethnography of those transformative experiences. Nkwi and Sierra explore the ethics of capturing moments through photos at ceremonies, how our positionality represents embodied metadata, and the vital role of imparting knowledge about pluralism to college students.

The Data Kinship series continues! In this episode, Nkwi and Sierra apply Indigenous autoethnography by beginning with a reflexive discussion about their positionality, intentionality, and the tension of integrity (potentiality). They then delve into what it means to learn from Indigenous Peoples' systems thinking (pattern thinking) and glean some insights into Indigenous systems thinking without “cherry picking” to fit your own paradigms.

How do you know you have the right story? Find out by giving this episode a listen!

Follow us and not miss out on our next episode with a VERY special guest. We’re also happy to announce that we’ll be extending the series with special conversations around all things DATA. More soon to come.

In their second episode of Relational Science, WN and Sierra launch a three-episode Data Kinship series, beginning with the topic of appropriation at a listener's request. The newly minted podcast hosts discuss the relationships and responsibilities inherent to data, how data can be appropriated, and the consequences for Indigenous Peoples. They also examine the cultural differences that contribute to data appropriation and provide recommendations for intervention. 

"Relational Science" is a thought-provoking podcast that delves into the intricate web of relationality in the realms of knowledge, data, information, and technology. Join PhD students WariN. Flores and Sierra Hicks as they engage in insightful dialogues with researchers, exploring the dynamics, multiplicity, and dimensionality of knowledge production and tackling pressing questions about our futures, pasts, and presents. Tune in for new episodes released monthly, and embark on a journey of discovery and understanding through the lens of biocomplexity systems, self-determination, sovereign praxes, and data & AI central dogma.