Indigenous Evaluation Gathering, Fredericton, May 2024

Randika De Mel

Manager of Asia Pacific Evaluation Association

​Through the generous support of EvalIndigenous, I was able to attend the Indigenous Evaluation Gathering organized by EvalIndigenous, the Canadian Evaluation Society and the Atlantic Indigenous Evaluation Stewardship Circle and I was able to attend the Canadian Evaluation Society (CES) Conference at Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada from May 3rd 2024 to May 9th, 2024. This post outlines the key learnings and highlights from my participation at the Indigenous Evaluation Gathering.

Day 1. 4 May 2024

Personally, for me to take part in the sweat lodge ceremony with the First Nations people was a rewarding experience. This experience helped me learn about the cultural practices of the First Nations people and the importance of the sweat lodge ceremony is for them. Furthermore, during the sweat lodge ceremony, I learnt about the importance of conserving the environment is for the First Nations people in Canada. Overall, the sweat lodge ceremony taught me to be patient during the extreme heart, to be mindful, and to focus on myself in my daily life.
     During the Indigenous gathering for dinner and stories, I learnt about the different cultural rituals and practices of the Indigenous people in Canada and also the problems they face. The problems the Indigenous people in Canada face are somewhat similar to the problems that the Indigenous people face in Sri Lanka such as land displacement, discrimination and marginalization, climate change and environmental degradation etc. Also, it was shocking and heart breaking for me to learn about the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada.
      Further, during this gathering, I was able to share the work done by APEA and EvalIndigenous in the Asia Pacific Region in order to promote Indigenous evaluation practices. 

Day 3. 5 May 2024

​During the keynote speech, Fiona Cram, Co-Chair of EvalIndigenous highlighted the work undertaken by EvalIndigenous in Asia Pacific, Africa, and Latin America. I was able to learn about the work been carried out by my peers in Africa and Latin America. And the areas where APEA might be able to collaborate for learning opportunities with other regions in relation to Indigenous evaluation.
     Additionally, I was able to share with other participants on the work that was conducted by APEA for the EvalIndigenous Ford Foundation grant. Especially, the participants were interested to learn about the Indigenous Evaluation toolkit developed by APEA. 
     Moreover, I took part in the “Red Dress Day” in order to support the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls and their families. For the “Red Dress Day,” we walked from the legislature to the Old Burial grounds at Fredericton. During this ceremony, it was sad to learn about the recently murdered Indigenous chief sister. Taking part in this march taught me that more steps and initiatives are needed to be taken to protect the lives of Indigenous women and girls in Canada.