Indigenous DataSET now recruiting 2026 IDSov Fellows

The Indigenous DataSET (Indigenous data sovereignty and ethics training) Fellows program is seeking 15 early career professional researchers (postdoc through assistant-professor level) in any field of study from universities and tribal colleges across the United States to join our cohort of Indigenous DataSET Fellows for the 2026 academic year. 

Priority will be given to scholars from Arizona institutions, but all pre-tenure scholars employed at public institutions in the U.S. are eligible to apply to participate in the Indigenous DataSET Fellowship program by Nov. 15.

Indigenous data sovereignty (IDSov) advances the rights and interests of Indigenous peoples to govern the collection, storage, application and use of their data. IDSov shifts data practices from an extractive, colonial, capitalist framework to a relational model centered on Indigenous values and interests. IDSov-informed research enhances scientific practices while conducting science in service to communities.

We are looking to recruit research professionals with any level of knowledge and experience with IDSov and Indigenous data governance (IDGov), including those with no previous exposure to these concepts, to participate in this training and outreach program.

From January to December 2026, those selected to participate as Indigenous DataSET Fellows will take part in professional training and development courses designed by renowned IDSov scholar Stephanie Russo Carroll, DrPH, MPH, and her team of dedicated researchers. Indigenous DataSET Fellows will also participate in a public IDSov and IDGov event in spring 2026.

During your Fellowship, you will:

• Engage in three online training sessions with IDSov and IDGov thought leaders.
• Network regularly with peers, instructors and cohort members.
• Enhance your learning with a custom curriculum of curated IDSov and IDGov content selected by program leaders.
• Help shape the Indigenous DataSET program for future participants.

We all work, study and live on Indigenous lands. However, Indigenous peoples and their communities have been targets of extractive research practices for centuries. 

In the absence of comprehensive guidelines, standards and laws outlining how ethical research involving Indigenous subjects is to be performed and how Indigenous data and knowledge are to be used, questionable practices persist. As a result, many researchers today do not know how to engage with Indigenous communities or steward data about Indigenous communities, knowledge and ecosystems. The Indigenous data sovereignty movement has been widely recognized as enhancing the data ecosystem for other marginalized communities, as well.  

Funded by the National Institutes of Health American Indian Research Centers for Health at the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Indigenous DataSET aims to check unethical research practices and restore Indigenous data sovereignty and the governance of Indigenous data to participating Indigenous peoples.

This is your chance to play a key role in this emerging field in a way that will impact research practices for generations to come and reassert Indigenous ownership and power throughout data ecosystems.

Learn more about Indigenous DataSET and find links to apply here.