This session, led by Dr. Krystal Tsosie, examines how genomic data move across temporal, environmental, and institutional contexts, from ancient DNA and paleogenomics to emerging environmental DNA research and forensic applications. Drawing on Indigenous Data Sovereignty frameworks, this work explores how scientific practices can extend beyond moments of sampling and analysis toward long-term stewardship responsibilities to Ancestors, environments, and future generations. Dr. Tsosie highlights emerging work on the return and rematriation of DNA and considers what Indigenous-led governance offers for shaping ethical, collaborative, and future-oriented genomic research.

This talk is sponsored by the Native American and Indigenous Studies research seminar hosted by the Denbo Center for Humanities & the Arts.

Dr. Krystal Tsosie, PhD, MPH, MA is an Indigenous (Diné/Navajo Nation) genetic epidemiologist and bioethicist whose work advances Indigenous Data Sovereignty, genomics, and health equity. She is an Assistant Professor at Arizona State University in the School of Life Sciences and the School of Human Evolution and Social Change, and serves as Associate Director of the Biodiversity Knowledge Integration Center at ASU. Her research examines how ancient DNA, environmental genomics, and forensic applications intersect with Indigenous governance and long-term stewardship responsibilities. Her primary research domains include precision health, dynamic consent, and artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML), with attention to how emerging technologies shape Indigenous control over data across time. She is the co-founder of the Native BioData Consortium, the first U.S.-based Indigenous-led biobank governed by Tribal Nations. Her scholarship advances Indigenous-led models of genomic stewardship, data governance, and Indigenous futures.