ABIGAIL ECHO-HAWK
Area of Expertise: Health
"Decolonizing data means that the community itself is the one determining what is the information they want us to gather. Why are we gathering it? Who's interpreting it? And are we interpreting it in a way that truly serves our communities? Decolonizing data is about controlling our own story, and making decisions based on what is best for our people."
Abigail Echo-Hawk is the Chief Research Officer of the Seattle Indian Health Board and also the Director of the Urban Indian Health Institute. She is working to decolonize programs and databases that are currently based on Western concepts and is building new data systems by Indigenous Peoples, for Indigenous Peoples.
https://crosscut.com/2019/05/abigail-echo-hawk-art-and-science-decolonizing-data