Indigenous Data and Spectrum Sovereignty

Indigenous Data and Spectrum SovereigntyJuly 11, 16, 18, 23 and 25, 2024
Full Tuition Scholarship Available for PYT Members
No Application Fees! 

Applications Closed

This course will explore the concepts of Indigenous data sovereignty and spectrum sovereignty (Indigenous rights to radio waves) under the larger umbrella of digital sovereignty. We will engage with recent and prominent scholarship on these issues, and discuss what prompted the digital sovereignty movement, what these terms may mean as technology rapidly advances, and how sovereignty and self-determination may apply to the digital world. Interested students need not have a robust technical knowledge of computers to sign up, but a basic grasp of the concepts of sovereignty and self-determination will prove helpful.

 

At the completion of this course, students will be able to:

  • Understand what terms such as “Indigenous data sovereignty” and “spectrum sovereignty” mean, and recognize the implications of such terms—both for Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, communities, nations, and institutions
  • Describe how Indigenous data sovereignty link to nation rebuilding
  • Understand how sovereignty and self-determination apply to the digital world

Class Schedule:

Live online classes, with an in-person option for the final two classes at the Pascua Yaqui Tribe – University of Arizona Microcampus, located at 7400 S Settler Avenue, Tucson 85746, Arizona:

  • Thursday July 11, 4-6:00pm (live online)
  • Tuesday July 16, 4-6:00pm (live online)
  • Thursday July 18, 4-6:00pm (live online)
  • Tuesday July 23, 4-6:00pm (live online with in-person option)
  • Thursday July 25, 4-6:00pm (live online with in-person option)

Course fee:

Tuition for this course is $500. Full tuition scholarships are available for the first 20 applicants who are either enrolled members or employees of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe.

Instructor:

 

Darrah Blackwater

Darrah Blackwater

Darrah Blackwater is an attorney, consultant, and artist from Farmington, New Mexico. She is a citizen of the Navajo Nation, and focuses much of her work on advocating for Indigenous spectrum sovereignty, or the right for Indigenous people to own their radio waves. Darrah graduated from Fort Lewis College in 2013 and earned her J.D. from the University of Arizona in 2020. She is currently the CEO of Blackwater Consulting, and lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. 

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