Your data stays yours
Your data stays with your Nation.
Where it's stored, who owns it, how you get it out, and what it costs. In plain words.
Where it lives
You pick one of two places:
- Your own server, in your building or a data centre you choose.
- A Canadian-owned hosting company, with its servers in Canada.
Backups are kept in Canada too.
Why "Canadian-owned" and not just "in Canada"? A US company can be ordered under US law to hand over data, even from servers in Canada. A Canadian-owned host keeps your data under Canadian law.
A few optional extras, like sending text messages or playing YouTube videos, use outside services. We'll tell you which ones, and you can leave them off.
Who owns it
The Nation does. Member records, documents, recordings, maps: everything you put in is yours.
We look after the software. We don't sell your data, share it, or use it for anything else.
Your staff decide who sees each item. When our team needs to look at something to help you, we ask first.
SovereignD is built to support OCAP® principles for First Nations, and the Nation's own data principles. See below.
Sovereignty, in plain words
Your data, your rules
Three ideas sit behind how SovereignD is built. Here's what each one means, and what the system does about it.
- OCAP®: ownership, control, access and possession
- The First Nations principles that a Nation owns its information, controls how it's used, decides who sees it, and holds it. SovereignD is built to support OCAP® principles: the Nation owns the data, sets who can see each record, and can keep it on its own server.
- Data sovereignty
- Your data is governed by your Nation's laws and decisions, not a vendor's. It stays in Canada, under Canadian law, and you can take all of it with you any time.
- Digital sovereignty
- The tools themselves are yours to control: no US cloud, no outside trackers, and a system that can run on your own server. If we stop working together, your data and your records leave with you.
- Métis governments
- Métis Nations have their own data governance principles. The same controls (who sees what, where it lives, what's logged) can be set up to follow them.
- A note on OCAP®
- OCAP® is a registered trademark of the First Nations Information Governance Centre (FNIGC). Supporting the principles is not a certification.
No lock-in
You can export everything, any time:
- your records, in an open format other software can read;
- your files, just as you uploaded them;
- a list of everything, so nothing gets missed.
You don't need us to open them. If you ever leave, you take it all with you.
SovereignD is built on open-source software. [Check before publishing: the NocoBase licence adds its own terms, so confirm what a Nation can run without us before saying more.]
Export · 11 Oct 2026Zip
- members.csv · every member record
- archive/BCR-2019-014.pdf … every file, as uploaded
- recordings/2016-elder-interview.mp3
- manifest.json · a list of every file, so nothing gets missed
How pricing works
No price per person. No subscription you can't get out of.
A flat fee for the system
One price for your Nation. Not a charge for every staff member, member or login. It covers setup, moving your records in, and getting staff started.
Updates and training when you want them
Pay for new versions, new features and training as you need them. If you don't need an update this year, you don't buy one.
Custom work, quoted first
If you need something built for your Nation, we'll give you a fixed price before we start.
Many First Nations pay for systems like this through ISC programs, such as Band Support Funding or PIDP. Métis governments may have other data funding. We're happy to help with the numbers for a funding application.
Questions people ask
Do we need IT staff?
No. We set it up and look after it. If you run it on your own server, someone needs to keep that server on and backed up, and we can help.
How much staff time does it take to get going?
We move your records in and show your staff how to use it.
When can we reach you for help?
Email support@cloudcraft.software. We reply within two business days.
Our internet isn't great. Will it work?
It runs in a web browser, so it needs a connection. If your internet is unreliable, it can run on a server in your own building, so staff in the office can keep working when the outside line is down. Members using the portal from home still need internet.
Can we try it first?
We'll show you everything with demo data first.
What happens to our data if we stop working with you?
It stays yours. Export it any time, in files you can open without us. If we host it, we'll move the whole thing to a server you choose.
Who can see our records?
Only the people your Nation gives access to. Every item shows who can see it. Sacred and seasonal rules can limit it further.
What if Cloudcraft closes?
You still have your data, in files you can open without us.
Who makes SovereignD?
Cloudcraft, a Métis-owned company.