PODCAST
Indigenous Insights: An Evaluation Podcast
with Gladys Rowe
Tansi, greetings, welcome, my name is Gladys Rowe, I am so grateful that you are here.
What is Indigenous evaluation? Who is doing this work? How are we doing this work and what have we learned so far?
Each episode I sit in conversation with Indigenous evaluation practitioners, leaders, researchers, and scholars who are working in, thinking about, and supporting Indigenous evaluation to share how they are doing their work and the challenges and insights they’ve experienced along the way.
It is my hope that this podcast will feel like a deep breath – where we invite you to grab a cozy beverage and settle in. Join me and my guests as we open up our evaluation bundles – to share the gifts, knowledges, and hopes that we have gathered in our journeys and bring them together in this space. I hope in these stories you will find resonance in the critical contributions that Indigenous evaluation can make as we work towards decolonial futures and strengthening Indigenous resurgence.
I would also like to extend an invitation. If you are someone who has an interest in Indigenous evaluation and would like to have a conversation on this podcast, I would love to hear from you. Please send me a note and we can connect about your work, what you are learning, and the questions you are thinking about.
LATEST EPISODE
S04E06: Stories, Trust, and Showing Up: Evaluation as Relationship with Corrie Whitmore
In this episode Dr. Gladys Rowe and Dr. Elizabeth Carlson-Manathara are joined by Dr. Corrie Whitmore, Associate Professor of Health Sciences at the University of Alaska Anchorage, former President of the American Evaluation Association, and founding President of the Alaska Evaluation Network. Corrie shares her journey as an “accidental evaluator,” tracing how her lifelong relationship to Alaska, her academic training in psychology, and her work within Alaska Native–led health systems shaped her understanding of evaluation as a deeply relational and community-rooted practice.
The conversation explores the role of trust, story, and cultural humility in evaluation, particularly within Indigenous and Tribal contexts. Corrie reflects on learning to move beyond Western notions of professionalism and expertise, emphasizing the importance of showing up as a full human being in relationship with community. She shares lessons from her work in Alaska Native health organizations, her experiences building local evaluation capacity, and her leadership within AEA, including her decision to center story as the 2023 conference theme. Throughout the episode, Corrie speaks candidly about mistakes, learning, and growth, offering grounded insights into land acknowledgements, Indigenous sovereignty, evaluation ethics, and the responsibility evaluators hold to listen, witness, and translate community knowledge without extracting it. The episode closes with a powerful reminder that evaluation, at its best, is not about distance or neutrality but about relationship, accountability, and honoring the stories communities entrust us to carry forward.In this episode Dr. Gladys Rowe and Dr. Elizabeth Carlson-Manathara are joined by Dr. Corrie Whitmore, Associate Professor of Health Sciences at the University of Alaska Anchorage, former President of the American Evaluation Association, and founding President of the Alaska Evaluation Network. Corrie shares her journey as an “accidental evaluator,” tracing how her lifelong relationship to Alaska, her academic training in psychology, and her work within Alaska Native–led health systems shaped her understanding of evaluation as a deeply relational and community-rooted practice.
Podcast Swag
Profit from the sales of the podcast swag will be deposited into an Indigenous evaluation development fund. Once enough funds are available a call will be announced seasonally for Indigenous evaluators to apply through a letter of interest to support wholistic capacity development.
