‘‘The past is rich in glory and knowledge’’—The intersection of indigenous evaluation and culturally responsive evaluation

Abstract

In this article, each author describes the development of what we loosely refer to as Indigenous Evaluation (IE) within our homeplace, and how IE has contributed to and benefited from connecting with the larger stream of Culturally Responsive Evaluation (CRE). Like IE, CRE frames evaluation through a lens that privileges the worldviews of those who are minoritized and marginalized, and names and challenges the societal barriers to Indigenous wellbeing. For many Indigenous peoples, these societal barriers can be traced back to the legacies of colonization, including the theft of Indigenous territories and the disconnection of Indigenous children from their peoples and their traditions. The resulting burden of intergenerational trauma shouldered by Indigenous peoples therefore requires IE and CRE to be in service of the sovereignty, vitality, and prosperity of Indigenous peoples. This is the future our ancestors wanted for us, and what we desire for generations yet to come.