Indigenous Rights in Research: Future Needs for Involvement of Indigenous Perspectives

Torjer Andreas Olsen; Susanna Raghnild Andersdatter Siri; Christina Storm Mienna; Sheryl Ligthfoot

doi:10.7557/5.8332

Authors

Torjer Andreas Olsen UiT The Arctic University of Norway https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7571-4652
Susanna Raghnild Andersdatter Siri UiT The Arctic University of Norway https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3231-8139
Christina Storm Mienna Umeå University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2365-4598
Sheryl Ligthfoot University of Toronto https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4164-713X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7557/5.8332

Keywords:

Indigenous research, inclusion, research ethics, methodologies, research management

Abstract

Over the last decades, there has been a movement towards higher degree of recognition and involvement of Indigenous knowledge and perspectives worldwide. An integral and defining part of this development is the work of scholars (and activists) from all over the Indigenous worlds claiming the necessity of decolonization/Indigenization and the recognition of Indigenous rights. Today, this struggle is not over. But change has happened. Indigenous research is a growing field. The ethics and formalities of publication and data management are addressed in ways that aim to answer to the needs of Indigenous communities. This panel takes the current situation and diversity as a starting point and looks to the future needs and challenges, and asks how can we continue working for research practices that are FAIR and include CARE? How can we learn across different Indigenous contexts and areas? The panelists represent research communities from different parts of the global north with its variety of Indigenous cultures.

Author Biographies

Torjer Andreas Olsen, UiT The Arctic University of Norway

Torjer Olsen is professor in Indigenous studies and head of department at the Centre for Sámi Studies at UiT The Arctic University of Norway. His academic interests include Indigenous education, methodologies in Indigenous research, and research management.
Susanna Raghnild Andersdatter Siri, UiT The Arctic University of Norway

Susanna Ragnhild Andersdatter Siri is the professional name of Fimben-Áillu-Ántte ja Gáren-Niillas-Máhte-Ristena Susanna, who works as a researcher at the Centre for Sami Health Research. Besides doing research on epidemiology and health issues related to the Sami people in Norway, Susanna is also engaged in biobanking i.e., collection, storage, and use of the biological material collected in the SAMINOR Study. Since 2021, Susanna has been involved in questions about Indigenous data governance and sovereignity, and she is one if the founding members of the GIDA-Sápmi network, which is a cross-border Sámi network promoting the CARE principles and Sámi reseach data governance.
Christina Storm Mienna, Umeå University

Christina Storm Mienna, is the Director of Várdduo - Centre for Sámi Research at Umeå university, Sweden, and an Associate Professor of Odontology at the Faculty of Medicine, Umeå university. She holds a PhD in medicine and is a senior consultant dentist specialized in orofacial pain and temporomandibular disorders at Region Västerbotten. Dr Mienna has longstanding experience in Sámi and Arctic research, with a particular focus on Indigenous health. She is currently the scientific co-leader of an interdisciplinary health project and serves in several expert roles, including as Swedens’s representative in the Arctic Council's SDWG Arctic Human Health Expert Group (AHHEG) and in the IASC Standing Committee on Indigenous Involvement appointed by the Swedish Research Council.
Sheryl Ligthfoot, University of Toronto

Sheryl Lightfoot is Professor at the University of Toronto, jointly appointed in the Department of Political Science and the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, and serves as Vice Chair and North American member of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP). Her research and policy work focus on the implementation of global Indigenous rights, including self-determination, governance, and free, prior, and informed consent across international and domestic contexts. She is Anishinaabe from the Lake Superior Band of Ojibwe.

Professor Lightfoot’s contribution to this panel draws upon three interconnected areas of experience. First, she has long engaged with the evolution and implementation of Chapter 9 of the Canadian Tri-Council Policy Statement (TCPS2), which sets standards for ethical research involving Indigenous peoples and is increasingly aligned with the principles of Indigenous data sovereignty. Second, in her university leadership roles, she has been involved in initiatives to ensure that academic institutions uphold Indigenous rights in research governance, including respect for Indigenous jurisdiction, community protocols, and shared benefit. Finally, through her current UN EMRIP mandate, she has contributed to the 2025 study on Indigenous data, which addresses global challenges and opportunities in promoting research practices that are not only FAIR but also firmly guided by CARE principles.

At the Munin conference, Professor Lightfoot is supported by the Embassy of Canada to Norway.