Indigenous Peoples assert their sovereignty today by defining and leading initiatives that govern the collection, storage and use of their community’s knowledge, information and data. These actions of Indigenous Data Sovereignty set the expectations and standards for data governance globally. It is critical that researchers, institutions, funders and governments work together to implement policies and laws that enable and empower Indigenous Peoples’ rights, responsibilities and expectations. Indigenous data must be protected from extractive research practices and the historical and ongoing misuse of Indigenous data and knowledge – a key topic of discussion at the US Indigenous Data Sovereignty Conference, which James attended on April 11-12 in Tucson, Arizona. New criteria and guidance for practitioners is emerging through these conversations.