2.5 A transformative approach

Exhibit 2.1: Guiding principles for Indigenous evaluations

While recognizing that each Indigenous community possesses unique views, involving unique cultural, political and historical contexts, the four subject matter experts highlighted the following broad guiding principles as especially important to Indigenous approaches to evaluation and research. This list is not exhaustive, and additional detail with respect to the guiding principles presented here are included in the four papers appended to the report.

Relationships are central

Relationships are central to Indigenous approaches to evaluation and research practices. This includes relationships with the land, culture, community, people, ancestors, and spirituality.

Respect, trust, and responsibility are key factors when it comes to building relationships. Evaluators and researchers have responsibilities in the relationships they create in the community that includes how they remain accountable to those who have shared their knowledge. Developing trusting and respectful relationships with community members, program staff, and program participants can be achieved by participating in face-to-face meetings, listening and speaking, sharing and hosting, being generous and respectful in sharing one’s own knowledge. Evaluators and researchers can also demonstrate accountability by being actively present during the sharing of information, allowing time for reflection after information is shared, and ensuring that the information will serve the community and organization in the end.

Reciprocity is also a key part of being respectful and accountable to the relationships developed through the evaluation or research process. Evaluators and researchers have the opportunity to build capacity in a community, and it is important that they determine what will be left behind to ensure a deeper understanding of the role of evaluation or research and the skills necessary to do this work. This is also important when it comes to sharing and disseminating the findings; it is important to ensure that the results are disseminated in a way that is meaningful to the community. This can be done through community events or gatherings, videos or user-friendly materials.

Culturally responsive and community driven

Culturally responsive means that programs and services are respectful and relevant to the beliefs, practices, culture, and linguistic needs of diverse client populations and communities. It also requires the knowledge and capacity to respond to these needs. A culturally responsive evaluation or research study recognizes the need to bring to the forefront the land, language and cultural practices that are specific to those involved.

Recognizing the importance of community and the context of a program, community leaders as well as program staff and/or participants need to be engaged at the outset of a project. This means that members of the community would be the ones to determine the purpose of the evaluation or research study as well as the methods that will best capture information that would be most useful. This would ensure that the study meets the needs of the program and community. They would then be involved in all aspects of the research or evaluation from planning the scope and methodology to sharing the findings.

A key aspect of community-driven and culturally responsive approaches to evaluation and research is engaging an advisory group throughout the process. This approach recognizes that although the evaluation or research team may bring technical expertise to the project, it is the community and program that provide direction throughout the process. The advisory group can include program staff, community leaders, Elders, knowledge keepers, and other partners directly involved in the program. The role of the advisory group can include determining and validating the approach, the questions, and the evaluation/research results. They should also determine the best way to share the information among members of their community. This ensures that a community-driven approach is ultimately used.

Elders, knowledge keepers, and healers

Developing partnerships with Elders, Indigenous knowledge keepers, and healers is essential because it ensures that their insights guide the work of the evaluation or research. It also allows for the inclusion of ceremonies and the sharing of medicines or sacred objects that are appropriate given the community context (Johnston, 2019; Rowe, 2019), and ensures that knowledge and sacred stories shared are not given away without permission.

Respecting community protocols is also important when in communities. This may include the giving of tobacco or wild rice to show respect and to ask for guidance during the study or the use of a talking piece/stick in talking circles. Elders, knowledge keepers, and healers can provide guidance with these protocols as it is also important that the person who is giving these medicines/gifts understands the teachings related to the offering.

Sharing personal experiences

Holding and honouring the stories of participants, communities and organizations is sacred and not to be taken lightly in Indigenous methods. How a community’s stories are used and presented is crucial to being accountable to the relationships established during the process. Evaluators and researchers have a responsibility to ensure that personal experiences and stories are represented accurately. This can be done by sharing preliminary findings with participants and asking that they review the draft report to validate the findings.

Strengths-based perspectives

Indigenous approaches to evaluation and research use strengths-based perspectives rather than deficit-based ones. A strengths-based perspective focuses on identifying the resources available to address problems in a positive way. Whereas, deficit-based perspectives focus on problems with outcomes, without taking into account the social or structural issues underpinning the conditions for Indigenous peoples. Evaluation must focus on strengths, recognize challenges, but also consider individual and community resilience. Strengths-based perspectives look for opportunities for growth, emphasize a community’s assets, and identify solutions to issues.

Decolonized approach

Indigenous approaches and methodologies to evaluation and research must take a decolonized approach that recognizes the intergenerational impacts of colonization on Indigenous peoples, their families and their communities. These approaches must consider the historical trauma and cultural repression experienced by Indigenous people.

Trauma-informed approach

Evaluators and researchers need to be aware of and understand a community’s history and understand the intergenerational impact of colonization and its associated negative impacts on the lives of Indigenous people. This will help to ensure that evaluation and research approaches or processes that have alienated Indigenous peoples in the past can be avoided. When a trauma-informed approach is used, the process can contribute to the well-being of the community decolonization, and reconciliation.

Ensuring appropriate timelines and resources