White Privilege and the Decolonization Work Needed in Evaluation to Support Indigenous Sovereignty and Self-Determination

Abstract

This paper builds on a keynote paper presented at the 2018 Canadian Evaluation Society annual conference by Kate McKegg, a Pākehā, non-Indigenous evaluator from Aotearoa, New Zealand. Kate reflects on the concept and implications for Indigenous people of white privilege in colonized Western nations. She discusses some of the ways in which white privilege and its consequences play out in the field of evaluation, perpetuating colonial sentiments and practices that maintain and reinforce inequities and injustice and potentially threaten the social justice aspirations of the field. Kate argues that those with white privilege have much work to do, unpacking and understanding their privilege if they are to have any chance of playing a role in deconstructing and dismantling the power structures that hold colonizing systems in place. She suggests that for evaluators to be effective allies for Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination, they must undertake ideological, cultural, emotional, and constitutional work. This work will be tough and scary and is not for the faint hearted. But it is vital to unlocking the potential transformation that can come from just and peaceful relationships that affirm and validate Indigenous peoples’ ways of knowing and being.

‘So people wake up, what are we gonna do?': From paralysis to action in decolonizing activism

“…This work opened up spaces to engage in ideological, historical, constitutional, cultural and emotional labour, as P akeh a were challenged to re-learn much of their historical and cultural understandings (see Beausoleil, this volume). This approach supports McKegg's (2019) argument that privileged white settlers have an opportunity, and an obligation, to unpack their privilege, and this requires more than acknowledging it. The journey of becoming an ally for indigenous social justice requires inhabiting new ideas and changing oneself.…”

Power, Privilege, and Competence: Using the 2018 AEA Evaluator Competencies to Shape Socially Just Evaluation Practice

“…Unique ways of keeping stakeholders engaged in and abreast of an evaluation' s progress may be required as the evaluation proceeds. New stances on control, power-sharing, and local expertise may be necessary (McKegg, 2019). Evaluators can purposefully plan and manage the evaluation in enfranchising rather than colonizing ways.…”

“…Chapter 5 (Stevahn, Berger, Tucker, & Rodell, 2020) details ways that individual evaluators, organizations, and professional associations can engage in reflection and then work to enhance their knowledge and skills. Recent scholarship (e.g., McKegg, 2019; Shanker, 2019; Symonette, 2014) makes it clear that evaluators need to regularly inquire about their own readiness, preparedness, and responsiveness for the complex, interdependent, and often conflicting demands our emerging profession requires. Considered thoughtfully by practicing evaluators, the 2018 AEA Evaluator Competencies related to social justice can help people to mindfully monitor emergent needs for their own ongoing personal and professional development work.…”

Decolonising global health evaluation: Synthesis from a scoping review

“…Respecting and acknowledging the selfdetermination and sovereignty of the recipients of global health evaluation efforts requires global health evaluation professionals to reframe their mental models first and foremost. It requires them to be intentional in allowing the recipients to lead efforts and to serve as followers recognizing their own privilege, power, positionality and gaze to counter racist an oppressive mindsets and actions [40] Several advocates of the decolonisation of global health evaluation successfully demonstrate these principles in practice. Bennie and colleagues (2019) [41] applied the four domains of an Aboriginal Ngaa-bi-nya health and social evaluation framework to cocreate and deliver a "culturally respectful, meaningful, and beneficial health education and promotion coaching workshop program with, and for, Aboriginal peoples" [41].…”