Indigenous Community Engagement and Approval for Research with Indigenous Communities or on Indigenous Lands and Waters

The engagement and approval steps described in this RD are intended to augment, not replace, existing Institutional Review Board (IRB) requirements for conducting research with human subjects. The aim is to ensure that project PIs engage with Indigenous community governments to obtain their approval for proposed research on Indigenous lands or with Indigenous data, and to assist researchers in building collaborative relationships for any human subjects research involving Indigenous communities as a significant recruitment group.

In supporting Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination, the following kinds of research activities or initiatives will initiate the need for securing approval from Indigenous community governments:

• Any research that takes place on Tribal or Indigenous managed lands or using Indigenous data, including for recruitment purposes (such as requesting tribal rolls or listservs for outreach)
• Any research involving human subjects that involves genetic testing or testing of blood, tissue or other biological materials in which the individual’s membership in or affiliation with a tribe, Indigenous community, Native Alaskan villages or Native Hawaiian Organizations is identified, and that is intended to or that may foreseeably result in conclusions or generalizations about a Tribe, Indigenous community, village, organization or individuals as members/citizens of that Indigenous collective entity

Please note this list may not be exhaustive, and we recommend that PIs reach out to Indigenous communities or governments to identify the appropriate process for obtaining approval for research activities on, with, by, or for Indigenous communities or governments. 

The PI should ensure compliance with all applicable Tribal consent, research review policies, Tribal IRB processes and procedures outside of this RD, including:

• Any research or other activity involving ancestors (human remains), funerary objects, sacred objects, or objects of cultural patrimony that may be subject to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
• The U.S. Federal Government’s Tribal consultation mandates the government-to-government relationship that Native American/Alaska Native/Hawaiian Nations have with U.S. Federal entities for federal “undertakings” on Tribal Lands; 
• Tribal consultation requirements under the National Science Foundation (NSF) “Seeking and Obtaining Tribal Nation Approval for Proposals that May Impact Tribal Resources or Interests” for research funded by the NSF; 
• Other applicable state, federal, and Tribal laws and; 

Other international standards and regulations.

In many cases, research design will ideally be developed and completed collaboratively by the PI and the Indigenous community government, and/or will emerge from Tribally communicated priorities and needs. PIs should communicate early, regularly, and in good faith with the appropriate Indigenous community government to develop research designs and proposals. Project PIs are responsible for ensuring that collaboration is maintained throughout the project lifecycle, that necessary resources are provided to the community partners as part of the project, and that results are shared with Indigenous community partners. PIs are encouraged to maintain collaborative relationships beyond the project lifecycle.

We honor each Indigenous community’s right to identify their own processes for interacting with research and researchers. It is the responsibility of the PI to follow community process/protocols and build these into their research proposal process to ensure that Indigenous self-determination is upheld.

This RD affirms that Indigenous Peoples hold unique rights to knowledge, know-how, traditional knowledge, science and data as per the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 2007 (Article 31). As such, all research must recognize Indigenous intellectual and cultural property rights.

Any research agreements that involve Indigenous peoples and communities, as outlined above, will require a specific clause that includes recognition of pre-existing ICIP in the research and ICIP that may be generated in the course of the research, including but not limited to associated research products including publications, analysis and datasets. 

Data ownership and/or sharing plans should be communicated in the Confidentiality section of the research protocol in Kuali prior to approval by the UMass IRB.

It is the responsibility of the PI to request written approval from relevant Indigenous community partners for any work done in Indigenous lands (i.e., lands in a federal trust status and/or managed by Indigenous nations) or done with Indigenous controlled data. Indigenous community government approval may emerge from engagement on individual or community levels, but it must involve Indigenous community government leadership or appointees with authority over relevant Tribal departments, programs, or committees, or Tribal IRBs as applicable. These processes and the resulting ‘documentation’ may vary and range from the submission of official Indigenous community IRB permits or approval letters, to letters from local governance boards, elected officials, and/or emails from specific appointed leadership or representatives. In the case of Indigenous data, a Data Use Agreement or Data Transfer Agreement may be required, even if the data is deidentified and the project is determined to be “not human subjects research.”

Additional university approval may be required for the kinds of research activities or community initiatives planned with a partnered Indigenous community/Nation. The project PI is responsible for compliance with all institutional policies for required Tribal/Indigenous consultation. A Tribal IRB review does not necessarily replace the need for a university IRB review; if a Tribal IRB has reviewed and approved a project, the PI should reach out to the UMass Amherst Human Research Protection Office to determine next steps, which may include reliance agreements with that Tribal IRB.

UMass requires that documentation of approval for human subjects work that is carried out on Indigenous lands or with Indigenous data be provided in written form, either issued by the governing body or designated department of the Indigenous community partner. This approval shall be submitted to the UMass IRB office with the protocol submission or Determination Request.

All federally and/or state recognized sovereign Tribes or Tribal members/citizens are invited to bring to the attention of the University any concerns regarding obtaining approval from Tribal/Indigenous Nations, communities, or organizations’ any concerns regarding the process of obtaining approval. UMass Amherst will coordinate with the appropriate University community members and Tribal representatives or other affected individuals to reach a mutually acceptable resolution. If UMass and the affected Tribal/Indigenous Nations are not able to collaboratively develop a mutually acceptable and timely resolution, the issue will be elevated to the level of the Chancellor to continue to address the concerns. The Chancellor will include the Vice Chancellor for Research & Engagement, as appropriate.

• NCAI. “Walk Softly and Listen Carefully”: Building Research Relationships with Tribal Communities. NCAI Policy Research Center and MSU Center for Native Health Partnerships. 2012.
• IKC. Beyond Conservation: A Toolkit for Respectful Collaboration with Indigenous Peoples. Indigenous Knowledge Circle of the National Boreal Caribou Knowledge Consortium (NBCKC). 2023.
• CCC. Toolkit for Meaningful Engagement with Indigenous Peoples in Conservation. Center for Collaborative Conservation. 2023.
• Hatch, Marco B. A., et al. “Boundary Spanners: A Critical Role for Enduring Collaborations between Indigenous Communities and Mainstream Scientists.” Ecology and Society, vol. 28, no. 1, Mar. 2023.
• WRMP. Best Practices for Tribal Engagement.  San Francisco Estuary Wetlands Regional Monitoring Program. 24 May 2023.
• CRC. In It Together; Community-Based Research Guidelines for Communities and Higher Education. The Community Research Collaborative. May 2021.