Hello, AEA365 community! Liz DiLuzio here, Lead Curator of the blog. This post is a continuation from Transformational Eval Week (12/10/23-12/16/23), a topic so hearty that we couldn’t contain the posts to just seven. Please enjoy.
Greetings! I am Andrealisa Belzer, President of the Canadian Evaluation Society and a Credentialed Evaluator employed with the Atlantic Region of Indigenous Services Canada. I have practised health and social services evaluation since 1995 in Canada and internationally. She embraces evaluative practice that facilitates social and ecological thrivability.
And I am Taruna Gupta, a Kenyan national and an independent evaluator interested in people and the planet. She is the Secretary-General of the European Evaluation Society. I recently attended the keynote speech Nicky Bowman and Ian Goldman delivered for the European Evaluation Society online conference. Nicky mentioned that Indigenous People should do Indigenous evaluation work for Indigenous People. Nicky then said some trusted evaluators, including Andrealisa’s, work on Indigenous issues. The following blog is an interview in which Andrealisa shares her wisdom.
How do you take the first step and identify indigenous communities?
When I participate in virtual events or travel, I learn about the context, including the Indigenous Peoples. To learn about local indigenous communities, Peoples, territories and treaties around the world, Native Land and Whose Land are good starting points.
Next, to learn basic history and current affairs from the perspective of the groups, search for websites by a community or a People.
When I access information from non-Indigenous governments and organizations, I compare it with information shared by communities and reflect on how non-Indigenous systems demonstrate progress in exposing colonial history and upholding Indigenous rights.
How did you build trust with the indigenous communities?
My participation in Indigenous evaluation discussions and activities depends upon invitations from Indigenous colleagues.
Whether in my employment or volunteer roles, I strive to conduct myself worthy of the time, knowledge, and relationships entrusted to me.
I am a European-Canadian person embedded in organizations that stem from Eurocentric colonial control. I need to demonstrate that I am conscious of the positionality and privilege I have due to intergenerational injustices perpetrated upon the communities I am visiting.
How did you educate yourself on indigenous issues?
I actively sought work in organizations where I felt I could learn the truth about colonialism in Canada. Initially, I worked to increase collaborative approaches that engaged community staff in completing funder-driven reporting requirements.
Nan Wehipeihana‘s principles for non-Indigenous participation in Indigenous evaluation made me realize that evaluation conducted WITH Indigenous Peoples could mitigate risks associated with other approaches. Still, they had limited potential to contribute to community cultural revitalization and self-determination.
In 2016, I began to look for ways to support conditions for evaluation to be driven BY and AS Indigenous Peoples. Some references and notes from a 2016-17 collaboration with Stephanie Francis are on this Padlet: Reconciliation: Our Journey Together.
This learning journey has blessed me with lifelong friendships and volunteer opportunities with EvalIndigenous, the American Evaluation Association IPE TIG, and various Truth and Reconciliation initiatives. Recently, I completed the Canadian Evaluation Society‘s e-institute course on Truth and Reconciliation for Evaluators.
How can evaluators educate themselves about what and how we communicate?
There are lists of terms, such as “stakeholder,” that are widespread in evaluation discourse despite requests from Indigenous groups to stop using them. Sometimes, the mental model and assumptions expressed by language need to be deeply understood and corrected in decolonial processes. Evolving our language and mental models is essential for all evaluators’ capacity to practice in a way that contributes to positive outcomes in interconnected social and ecological systems.
Rad Resources
- The United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) is grounded in the right to self-determination. Indigenous Peoples and individuals have the right to belong to an Indigenous community or Nation in accordance with the group’s traditions and customs.
- Anthropocene as Context Principle – Blue Marble Evaluation
- The global polycrisis reflects a civilizational crisis that calls for systemic alternatives – resilience.
- Exiting the Anthropocene and Entering the Symbiocene | Center for Humans and Nature
- ‘Let us learn from Indigenous peoples’, UN chief declares.
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