Unearthing the axe heads: Hearing about Indigenous-led Evaluation from Aboriginal survivors of The Stolen Generations

Nicole Tujague

doi:10.25918/thesis.326

The Research Title Unearthing the axe heads – Hearing about Indigenous-led evaluation from Aboriginal survivors of the Stolen Generations The Research Question What can we learn about Indigenous Evaluation (IE) through understanding what works in an Aboriginal, survivor-led project that interrupts intergenerational trauma and supports healing the wounds of colonisation? For many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, barriers exist that make it difficult or even impossible to access services that are designed to improve our lives. Over six billion dollars are spent each year in Australia on projects and programs that affect our lives, yet less than 7% of these programs go through an evaluation process. Those that are evaluated are done so through a Western lens. This lack of meaningful evaluation perpetuates the non-Indigenous view or stereotype that “nothing works” in Aboriginal communities. In this research, I wanted to understand what Aboriginal Peoples feel is important when evaluating projects and programs that impact their lives. I wanted to understand what it is Aboriginal Peoples care about when measuring the worth of projects, programs and policies that affect their lives. I worked with the survivors of one of Australia’s most cruel institutions that operated during Australia’s era of The Stolen Generations. I yarned with 20 Aboriginal people: the survivors; their descendants; and the staff of their organisation. The Indigenous data methodologies of yarning, Thought Rituals and Collaborative Story Analysis, to uncover the key messages from the stories I heard, were used. The yarns that revealed that ‘healing’ was the single most important indicator that needs to be measured when evaluating projects and programs that affect Aboriginal Peoples. I also learned that projects and programs should interrupt intergenerational trauma, successfully build safe spaces (both culturally safe and trauma-informed), create opportunities for Aboriginal voices to be heard and help close the equity gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. I found that Indigenous Evaluation has the potential to be a healing tool for Aboriginal Peoples. The social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal Peoples in Australia can be supported by ensuring policies and programs are more culturally safe, trauma-informed and effective. This means Indigenous Evaluations must incorporate the values and things that matter to Aboriginal Peoples. This includes the way evaluations are carried out and most importantly, what we consider to be ‘success’ when we evaluate these programs. Finally, the design and facilitation of Indigenous Evaluations should be done by Indigenous Peoples.

Unearthing the axe heads: Hearing about Indigenous-led Evaluation from Aboriginal survivors of The Stolen Generations

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