Resource link
Roots and Relations is a permanent section of the Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation, co-edited by Larry Bremner and Dr. Nicole Bowman, that creates space for Indigenous worldviews, knowledge systems, and practices in evaluation.
Roots and Relations aims to: “sacredly hold traditional knowledge, celebrate and make visible culture and language utilization, protect and assert sovereignty, provide space for Indigenous voices and celebrate Indigenous wisdom and innovations in and through the lens of evaluation.”
Submissions are aligned with the four directions of the Medicine Wheel (Bowman, 2018):
- “Eastern Door – Be a Good Relative: We come to the work rested and ready in ways that reflect traditional, cultural, and spiritual ways of knowing as a process where we respectfully listen and seek to understand first, then decide on best pathways together.
- Southern Door – Be of Good Mind: This is the awakening, rooting, and centering of pre-contact and post-contact Indigenous and community- centered and created knowledge and practices that are restorative, regenerative, strength based, protect the privacy, and respect the sovereignty of Indigenous nations related to data, cultural, intellectual, human, and non-human.
- Western Door – Do Good Work: This supports the development of culturally specific responsive and regenerative strategies, studies, policies, processes, and work products that align with the need for healthy, reciprocal, respectful and relevant Indigenous approaches to evaluation.
- Northern Door – Be on a Good Journey: Using the wisdom of our Ancestors and Elders, we will be grounded in traditional knowledge to celebrate and share what is working and embrace and learn from challenges. We will support walking on sacred pathways for innovative and sustainable Indigenous evaluation that inspires the next Seven Generations.”