Indigenous Data Sovereignty
We build systems that respect OCAP® principles and community data sovereignty. If you work with First Nations communities, hold Indigenous data, or bid into Indigenous procurement with genuine cultural protocol requirements, we can help you design it right.
Who we are
NorthOps is led by Russell Jones, an Anishinaabe operator rooted in Sagamok First Nation. Indigenous data sovereignty isn't a service line we added to win bids — it's lived context. That context shapes how we design consent flows, storage jurisdiction, access boundaries, and the people those systems ultimately serve.
What we build
- Systems aligned with OCAP® (Ownership, Control, Access, Possession) principles
- Data architectures that make community stewardship explicit, not implicit
- Consent and access flows that respect cultural protocol requirements
- Storage and hosting decisions informed by jurisdictional data-sovereignty considerations
- Documentation that keeps governance legible to community decision-makers, not just developers
Who this is for
First Nations organizations, Indigenous-led non-profits, and public-sector teams delivering programs to Indigenous communities. Also: private-sector firms bidding into Indigenous procurement with genuine — not performative — cultural protocol requirements. If you're not sure whether the requirement is genuine, we'll tell you during discovery.
How we engage
This work typically starts as a Discovery Sprint (from CAD $12,000) to map governance, data flow, and community stewardship requirements, then transitions into a build or retainer as the scope clarifies.