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Ethical guidelines for research involving the Sámi people in Finland have been completed. The guidelines have been published online in Finnish, North, Inari and Skolt Sámi, and English
Here you can find the ethical for research concerning The Sámi have been published in September 2024. The working group that prepared the guidelines consisted of professors of Sámi and Indigenous studies from the Universities of Lapland, Oulu, and Helsinki, as well as representatives from three key Sámi institutions: the Sámi Parliament, the Sámi Museum Siida, and the Sámi Education Institute. 

CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance The growing importance of data in decision-making, innovation, and resource allocation has significant implications for Indigenous Peoples’ rights to self-determination. Indigenous knowledge, often oral, is frequently excluded from key decision-making processes, undermining these rights. The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) emphasizes self-governance and control over Indigenous cultural heritage, including data. Indigenous data sovereignty asserts these rights, challenging the open data movement, which prioritizes data sharing (e.g., FAIR principles) while overlooking power dynamics and Indigenous values. Indigenous Peoples seek greater control over their data to align with their collective interests and responsibilities. Complementing the FAIR principles, the CARE principles—Collective Benefit, Authority to Control, Responsibility, and Ethics—emphasize Indigenous values, power dynamics, and the responsibility of researchers and institutions to engage respectfully and ethically with Indigenous data. The Global Indigenous Data Alliance (GIDA) works to raise awareness, provide resources, and support Indigenous communities and organizations in asserting their data sovereignty. GIDA’s efforts address the historical exclusion of Indigenous Peoples from data-related decision-making, fostering equitable and respectful approaches that uphold Indigenous rights and knowledge systems globally.

Global Indigenous Data Alliance
The Global Indigenous Data Alliance (GIDA) is an international organization that promotes the sovereignty and governance of Indigenous data. It aims to ensure that data relating to Indigenous Peoples, their cultures, lands, and resources are managed in ways that respect Indigenous rights, self-determination, and collective interests. GIDA advocates for the ethical use of Indigenous data in research, policy, and practice, emphasizing Indigenous control over how their data are collected, accessed, shared, and used. It is a network of Indigenous researchers, data practitioners, and policy activists working to advance Indigenous data governance and promote Indigenous control at both national and international levels.

GIDA-Sápmi is a regional network established to develop guiding principles for the collection, management, use, sharing, and protection of research data generated by or about the Sámi people and Sámi society. Connected to the Global Indigenous Data Alliance (GIDA), this network was founded in June 2021 and includes members from universities, archives, and memory institutions in Norway, Sweden, and Finland. The network promotes and operationalizes the CARE Principles (Collective Benefit, Authority to Control, Responsibility, and Ethics) within the Nordic Sámi context. It works to raise awareness of these principles among researchers and institutions while advancing discussions on Sámi data governance. GIDA-Sápmi is committed to strengthening Sámi data sovereignty to meet the needs of contemporary Sámi society. The Global Indigenous Data Alliance (GIDA) is a global network of Indigenous researchers, data practitioners, and policy activists advocating for Indigenous data governance and advancing Indigenous data control within their nation-states and at the international level.

Procedure for seeking the free, prior, and informed consent of the Sámi in research projects and other actions concerning Sámi cultural heritage and traditional knowledge, or actions that may affect Sámi cultural heritage and traditional knowledge
The procedure is based on the principle of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) and the Akwé: Kon Guidelines, aiming to safeguard Sámi Indigenous rights in research and actions affecting Sámi cultural heritage and traditional knowledge. Its objectives include preserving Sámi heritage, ensuring self-determination, and aligning research with Sámi values. Key elements of the procedure: