The Communication and Media Studies program congratulates Donald Leone who was awarded a 杏吧原创 University Senate Medal for Outstanding Graduate Work at the Fall 2021 convocation ceremony, held virtually on Saturday, November 13th. Leone graduated with his MA in Communication with a specialization in Data Science.听听
Focusing on colonial governance in relation to First Nations, Inuit and M茅tis peoples, Leone鈥檚 master鈥檚 thesis,听Data Colonialism in Canada: Decolonizing Data through Indigenous Data Governance, examines how Indigenous data were constructed as colonial objects and asks, 鈥渨hat does it mean to decolonize these data and the practices which produce, manage and govern them?鈥� The thesis maps the foundations of data colonialism, Indigenous data and decolonization as concepts and administrative practices, shows how the Canadian state used data as both a tool for classification and control of Indigenous peoples, and contrasts these practices with First Nations, Inuit, and M茅tis-led approaches to data governance. Donald鈥檚 research was funded by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Canada Graduate Scholarship. Continue reading听here!