Sovereign Data Storage Tech Options: Examples from Kanien’kehá:ka/Mohawk Territory

Description

This webinar explores how the Longhouse people within the Akwesasne and other Kanien’kehá:ka communities are envisioning and building relational infrastructure rooted in Indigenous principles, sovereignty, and long‑term stewardship. Rather than treating infrastructure as a set of technical components, the session highlights how The People of the Longhouse approaches it as a living system shaped by relationships between people, land, data, energy, and governance. Speakers will discuss how Indigenous worldviews guide design choices, showing how values such as relationality, reciprocity, and responsibility become embedded in both organizational processes and technological systems. Guest speaker Marina Johnson-Zafiris will share how the community’s infrastructure work strengthens Two Row principles of non-interference, offering insight into what distinguishes sovereign data practices from externally imposed models. The webinar will weave together examples of how physical systems, energy sources, and sustainability practices are selected and configured to support relational and sovereign goals, emphasizing the importance of circularity and long‑term caretaking. Participants will also learn how the team identified needs, assessed capacity, and developed an implementation strategy aligned with leadership decision‑making. The session will reflect on how community support was cultivated through collective processes, how financial structures were designed to sustain the work, and how the physical placement of infrastructure was determined through cultural, environmental, and practical considerations. By sharing challenges encountered and opportunities that emerged, the webinar offers useful insights for other communities. It concludes with reflection questions to help participants consider how relational infrastructure might take shape in their own contexts, supporting systems built on sovereignty, sustainability, and relational accountability. 

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