Reframing Data as a Taonga: A Māori Data Sovereignty Framework

The value of data continues to increase as new technologies have a seemingly insatiable demand for information. This places Indigenous peoples in the difficult position as both users of diverse data for standard and unique ends and the producers of standard and unique data for diverse ends. In Aotearoa New Zealand, Māori have entered scholarly and policy debates on data with typical relish. Yet our communities are at different stages of understanding and empowerment as the owners, producers and users of data. This article details a co‐design process in producing a data framework that originated in the biosecurity space but has wider applications. While we use cultural metaphors to explain and communicate our work with the mundane and sacred, we are committed to providing practical templates for groups wanting to engage in research. But just as our data is linked to our people, so are current and future technologies that are subject to influence through societal laws and regulations. We offer some thoughts on how a safer world might arise through working in a more ethical way with Indigenous peoples and their data.