Indigenous Insights: An Evaluation Podcast

Martell Hesketh, a member of Michel First Nation from Treaty 6 territory in Canada, is a program evaluator dedicated to advancing Indigenous ways of knowing through data and storytelling. After studying Human Biology at Stanford University and earning her MPH from the University of Washington, Martell worked with Urban Indian organizations at a tribal epidemiology center. Her work focuses on reclaiming narratives through evaluation...

Dr. Lindsay Marie Brant  is the Director, Indigenous Initiatives at St. Lawrence College and is from Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. In addition to her administrative role, Lindsay is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Master of Health Professions Education program at Queen’s, and Senior Advisor, Teaching, Innovation and Learning, advising on the curriculum design and redevelopment for this program.

Lindsay has received ...

Bio

Elliott Young is a Nehiyaw (Cree) scholar from Ermineskin Cree Nation with family ties to Louis Bull Tribe, Samson Cree Nation, and Tsuut’ina Nation. He lives in Edmonton with his wife and two children and is a PhD Candidate in the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta. His doctoral research, Indigenous Sovereignty through Health Economics Evaluation, examines how Nehiyaw worldviews can reshape how health s...

Overview

In this episode, Gladys sits down with Dr. Shawn Wilson, author of Research Is Ceremony, to reflect on the ongoing evolution of Indigenous research, evaluation, and relational ways of knowing. Moving between humor, storytelling, and deep reflection, Shawn revisits the origins of Research Is Ceremony and shares how writing to his children and future generations transformed not only the style of his work, but the accountabil...

Bio

Dr. Kathy Absolon loves sharing stories about how we come to know. She is Anishinaabekwe from Flying Post First Nation Treaty 9. She has been involved in restoring Indigenous knowledge in education for 40 years now and for the last 19 years has been a professor in the Indigenous Field of Study MSW program in the Faculty of Social Work at Wilfrid Laurier University. Her search for How we Come to Know is shared in her books Kaand...

Overview 

In this episode, Gladys is joined by Rachel Chaffee, Abby Perez, and Sakira Hermawan to reflect on their collaborative evaluation of the Grounded by Our Roots exhibit in the Pacific Northwest Coast Hall at the American Museum of Natural History.The conversation traces how their partnership began and explores the possibilities that emerge when museums invite Indigenous approaches to evaluation and storytelling into cu...

In this episode, Gladys sits down with Dr. Chesleigh Keene, Diné (Navajo) scholar and Vice President of Research and Evaluation at a Native-owned organization, to explore her journey into Indigenous evaluation. What began in relationship with her students supporting them in grounding their research in community evolved into a career shaped by cultural values, storytelling, and relational accountability.

Dr. Keene reflects on teachi...

Overview 

Season 5 opens with a reflective and “meta” conversation about the creation of Insights for Indigenous Evaluation—an open-access book drawn from the first season of the podcast. Gladys is joined by Taylor Wilson and Nadine Flagel, who share the journey of transforming spoken conversations into a living, multimedia text.

Together, they explore what it means to carry stories with care: honoring voice,...

Overview 

In this closing episode of the Season 4 Spotlight Series, Dr. Gladys Rowe and Dr. Elizabeth Carlson-Manathara reflect back on the teachings, tensions, and transformations that emerged across the season’s conversations. This episode creates space for collective sensemaking, where Liz and Gladys reflect on how these dialogues have shifted their thinking about evaluation, leadership, and anti-colonial practice.&nb...

Corrie Whitmore, Associate Professor of Health Sciences at University of Alaska Anchorage, served as 2023 President of the American Evaluation Association and founding president (2012) of the Alaska Evaluation Network (AKEN). She is a lifelong Alaskan who returned to the state after completing an M.S. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology and Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology at Virginia Tech to help Alaska "grow our own" wor...

Bio

Hafsa Mustafa – Decolonial MEL Strategist - is a researcher, writer, and data expert with more than 20 years of experience in the field of learning and evaluation. Hafsa's perspective is rooted in both professional expertise and personal history.

Her career spans grassroots movements, philanthropy, impact investing, and academia, where she has helped organizations turn complex information into actionable insights and impa...

Bio

What happens when Black identity is loved, protected, and defended as we collectively learn about process and change in communities, organizations and programs? This is the question that dr. monique liston unapologetically built a community-engaged intellectual and regenerative life practice around. She is the founder, chief strategist, and joyful militant at UBUNTU Research and Evaluation, an undisciplined learning organizatio...

Bio

Louise Adongo was born and mostly raised in Kenya but has also lived in various parts of Southern Africa. A bold and grounded leader with close to 20 years' experience in systems change, policy and evaluation, Louise runs the inclusive engagement consultancy, Caprivian Strip Inc (CSI) and is a co-steward in systemic mediation with the Transition Bridges Project collective *https://www.transitionbridges.net 

Drawing lessons...

Toni (she/her) is a descendant of white settlers, mostly from Britain, Ireland, Wales who was born and raised here, in Treaty One territory, in the heart of the Metis nation in Winnipeg MB, Canada. She is a daughter, sister, wife, parent, friend, community member, and a member of the 2SLGBTQQIA* community. Toni has a deep love for animals and the beauty of Mother Earth. She is committed to dismantling the systems, structures, and p...

Dr. Elizabeth Carlson-Manathara is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Work at Laurentian University. She is a non-Indigenous scholar whose work focuses on the roles of non-Indigenous peoples in decolonization, reconciliation, Treaty, and LANDBACK; and on anti-colonial methodologies and decolonial change through public education and film. She is the author of the book Living in Indigenous Sovereignty and a filmmaker with...

In this season 3 finale, Gladys pauses in gratitude and looks back across a season filled with stories of disruption, creativity, and community-rooted evaluation. Drawing on the night sky as a guiding metaphor, she reflects on how each conversation this season has been a bright star in a larger constellation of Indigenous resurgence and systems change.

Gladys shares what she has learned about holding space as a host, artist, and re...

In this episode, Gladys is joined by Natalie Nicholson, Pearl Walker Sweeney, and Roxanne Johnson—leaders and practitioners at Mewinzha Ondaadiziike Wiigaming, an Anishinaabe-led women’s and family wellness clinic in Northern Minnesota. Together, they reflect on their journey of building a culturally grounded evaluation practice rooted in Anishinaabe values and relationships.

From the origin story of Mewinzha, founded b...

In this episode of Indigenous Insights, host Gladys Rowe welcomes Dr. Carolee Dodge Francis, Joseph Jean, and Linnea Hjelm for a conversation on kinship, mentorship, and the role of culturally responsive Indigenous evaluation. Together, they share how evaluation is more than a technical process, it is a relational practice that centers community, reciprocity, and the responsibilities evaluators carry in honoring Indigenous ways of ...

In this heartfelt episode of Indigenous Insights, host Gladys Rowe sits down with An Garagiola, an evaluator, researcher, writer, and PhD student. An shares her remarkable journey from overcoming personal and systemic challenges to becoming a passionate advocate for Indigenous research sovereignty. She reflects on her work with CEDAR (Community Engagement for Decolonizing and Advancing Research) and the Truth Project, discussing th...