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🌟 We are excited to share our 2024-2025 Annual Report, our organization’s first public-facing report of this kind.

After a welcome from Executive Director Hop Hopkins, you will find stories around our growth and impact from this two-year span. We have aimed to provide a window into our efforts and those who work with the Labels and Notices.

See our blog for the link!

#Indigenous #IndigenousRights #LandBack #KnowledgeBack

On this #GivingTuesday, we are excited to begin accepting donations to sustain our work and directly support Indigenous communities to uphold their sovereignty.

Through your donations, the Local Contexts Label Development Fund provides capacity support for Indigenous communities to uphold their sovereignty using the Local Contexts tools.

We have heard repeatedly from Indigenous communities that the greatest barrier to their use of Local Contexts is capacity. To address this, the Fund expands access to essential resources including staff time, training, and community workshops.

This week, our goal is to raise $5,000US to establish the Fund. We invite you to donate to help advance the authority and local power of Indigenous communities.

Local Contexts is recognized as a 501(c)3 tax-exempt nonprofit organization with the US Internal Revenue Service. In the US, your donation is tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

Link to donate in our bio.

#IndigenousRights #GiveNative #SupportNativeLed #NativeNonprofit

💥 Comic about Local Contexts

“Local Contexts: Restorying Sovereignty with Plant Relatives” is a gorgeous new comic that illustrates the collaboration between Shinnecock Nation @shinnecock_nation, Local Contexts @localcontexts, and New York Botanical Garden @nybg around reconnection and sovereignty with plant relatives.

The project leaders are:
💥 Jane Anderson, Local Contexts & NYU
💥 Maui Hudson (Whakatōhea), Local Contexts & University of Waikato
💥 Sunshine Gumbs (Shinnecock Nation), Shinnecock Nation
💥 Alex C. McAlvay, New York Botanical Garden
💥 Kelsey Leonard (Shinnecock Nation), University of Waterloo

This short-form comic by Petroglyph Studios comes out of the Center for Braiding Indigenous Knowledges and Science, funded through National Science Foundation’s Science and Technology Centers: Integrative Partnerships program.

Link to the full comic in our bio!

#Indigenous #IndigenousRights #LandBack #KnowledgeBack #Comic

💡 Local Contexts to present at IASSIST

On June 3 UTC, Outreach Manager Emily Santhanam (Chickasaw) and Director of Programs Corrie Roe will virtually present “#BeFAIRAndCARE: How The Local Contexts Tools Support Indigenous Data Sovereignty” as part of the 51st Annual Conference of IASSIST, the International Association for Social Science Information Service and Technology.

💡 Session Description: The Local Contexts Traditional Knowledge and Biocultural Labels and Notices have been recognized as practical tools to enact the CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance, including as part of the forthcoming CARE Data Maturity Model. The TK and BC Labels and Notices identify Indigenous rights and interest in data and collections, embedding community protocols and expectations of ethical use. By making an intervention into digital infrastructures, the Labels and Notices ensure the inclusion of Indigenous provenance, protocols, and permissions across data systems. In this presentation, Local Contexts team members will introduce the Local Contexts system, discuss how Labels and Notices have been used around the world, and review how they might fit your context best.

See our events page for more information!

#Indigenous #IndigenousKnowledge #IndigenousRights #BeFAIRandCARE #IASSIST2026

🌲 Local Contexts at Society of Ethnobiology Annual Conference

As ethnobotanists and biologists work increasingly with historic and contemporary data collected about and with Indigenous Peoples, what are the necessary actions to ensure outcomes are aligned with the FAIR and CARE principles?

The Local Contexts team will cover this question and more in a session at the 47th Annual Conference of the @societyofethnobiology, held virtually and in-person in Sewanee, Tennessee, United States.

Outreach Coordinator Amy June Breesman (Eastern Shawnee) will present “Activating the Local Contexts tools to uphold Indigenous Peoples’ rights in biocultural data sharing” as a part of the “Ethics and Collaborations in Ethnobiology” session on May 21 UTC.

For information on registration (including virtual attendance), see the 🔗 to the Events page in our bio.

#Indigenous #IndigenousKnowledge #IndigenousRights #BeFAIRandCARE #SoE2026

🖼️: Conference Logo by George Handley

🏜️ Local Contexts at US IDSov & Gov Summit

The Local Contexts team was thrilled to be a part of the 2026 US Indigenous Data Sovereignty and Governance Summit, held last week on the Homelands of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe and Tohono O’odham Nation in Tucson, Arizona, United States.

We were appreciative to make new connections, learn from other attendees and presenters, and share about Local Contexts.

The convening’s theme, “Coming Home: Indigenous Data Governance By Us For Us,” was woven throughout the gathering — with thanks to the volunteers and organizers, the Indigenous Data Alliance @indigenousdataalliance, US Indigenous Data Sovereignty Network @usidsn, and Collaboratory for Indigenous Data Governance @indigenousdatacollab!

Present at the Summit (pictured, from left) were Outreach Manager Emily Santhanam (Chickasaw), Outreach Coordinator Amy June Breesman (Eastern Shawnee), Director of Programs Corrie Roe, and Executive Director Hop Hopkins.

#IDSovSummit26 #IndigenousDataSovereignty #DataAreOurRelatives

New resource 🌟 Labels & Notices in Publications

Did you know that Labels and Notices have been used in a community publication, a zine collection, a Moana plan, theses, and peer-reviewed journal articles?

Including Labels and Notices on publications supports Indigenous Data Sovereignty and cultural authority in the research and publishing fields.

The Local Contexts team is excited to share a new page on our website to showcase these amazing uses! This page also includes how you can add Labels or Notices to your next publication.

Pictured here (see 🔗 for more details):
🌟 Te Roroa BC Provenance Label in use on Master’s thesis
🌟 BC Notice in use on journal article
🌟 TK Notice in use on journal article
🌟 TK Notice in use on zine collection

#Indigenous #IndigenousRights #Publication #OnlinePublication

🌵 Local Contexts team at IDSov & Gov Summit 2026

Next week, catch the Local Contexts team at the U.S. Indigenous Data Sovereignty & Governance Summit 2026!

On April 16 at 11 am MST, Outreach Manager Emily Santhanam (Chickasaw) and Outreach Coordinator Amy June Breesman (Eastern Shawnee) will present about the Local Contexts tools in “Supporting Indigenous Provenance and Authority with Traditional Knowledge and Biocultural Labels.”

Executive Director Hop Hopkins and Director of Programs Corrie Roe will also be in attendance on April 15. Local Contexts is also excited to be a sponsor of this convening.

If you will be at the Summit, we would love to connect! DM us or contact us through our website.

For information on the agenda and registration (including virtual attendance), see 🔗 to the convening's website.

📷 @usidsn / @indigenousdataalliance / @indigenousdatacollab

#Indigenous #IndigenousKnowledge #IndigenousRights #IDSov #IDSovSummit

We are grateful to our sponsors, including @LocalContexts for supporting the U.S. Indigenous Data Sovereignty & Governance Summit 🤝✨

Your support helps create space for Indigenous-led learning, relationship-building, and data governance in practice 📚🌱

Through tools that support Indigenous cultural authority, Local Contexts helps communities assert governance over their data, heritage, and knowledge systems.

Thank you for walking alongside us in this work!

Join us and Local Contexts in Tucson or online:

📍 Tucson, Arizona
📅 April 14 - 17, 2026

🔗 REGISTER TODAY: Link in bio (virtual or in-person available)

Registration closes Sunday, April 12.
No on-site registration available.

👉 We invite you to share this post and join us in celebrating our 2026 IDSov & IDGov Summit sponsors 🎉🪶✨

#IndigenousData #IndigenousDataGovernance #IndigenousLeadership #IndigenousEducation #LocalContexts

Join a delegation of Wabanaki artists, cultural leaders, and partners for an evening of visual storytelling and conversation about Tekαkαpimək Contact Station at Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, situated in the traditional and present day homeland of the Penobscot Nation.

Tekαkαpimək serves as an Indigenous-led model for place-based interpretation, cultural continuity, and the role of contemporary art in sustaining community resilience.

Speakers will address how long-term relationships, community authority, and Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) frameworks make it possible to share language, stories, and site-specific knowledge within a permanent public space.

🗓️ April 8, 6–8 pm
📍20 Cooper Square, Room 101

Presented in conjunction with the Grey Art Museum’s current exhibition, “Irriṯitja Kuwarri Tjungu,” this program considers how Indigenous art and cultural practice can support self-determination, community resilience, and kinship relationships across time.

Speakers:

• Nick Francis (Penobscot), Executive Director, Wabanaki Community Foundation
• Gabriel Frey (Passamaquoddy), basketmaker and artist
•Suzanne Greenlaw (Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians), ecologist, artist, and writer
•Jennifer Sapiel Neptune (Penobscot), basketmaker and writer
• Lucas St. Clair, President, Elliotsville Foundation
• Moderated by Prof. Jane Anderson (Anthropology and Museum Studies, New York University), co-founder of Local Contexts and Indigenous Intellectual and Cultural Property (ICIP) consultant.

Registration required—link in bio to attend!

___

Image: Tekαkαpimək Contact Center door handles

We’re excited to welcome the @localcontexts team for an upcoming webinar on TK & BC Labels ✨

Learn how Traditional Knowledge and Biocultural Labels support Indigenous sovereignty by adding provenance, protocols, and permissions to data.

📅 April 1, 2026 | 2 - 3 PM MST
🔗 Register: link in BIO

#IndigenousDataSovereignty #IndigenousDataGovernance #LocalContexts #IndigenousKnowledge #IndigenousFutures

🌼 Local Contexts team at #DataBack Day

On February 20, Local Contexts team members presented as a part of #DataBack Day, an online convening hosted by Niiwin, the community-focused data platform built by @animikii.thunderbird, and @wabuskdata.

Local Contexts Strategic Advisor and Co-Founder Jane Anderson, Executive Director Hop Hopkins, and Director of Programs Corrie Roe shared about the Traditional Knowledge and Biocultural Labels as a practical tool towards #DataBack.

In addition to the recordings, Niiwin has a robust write-up of the convening on their blog, including resources from each of the presentations.

🔗 in bio

📷 Niiwin by Animikii

#Indigenous #IndigenousKnowledge #IndigenousRights #DataEthics