Circle Teachings as Ceremony and Research

This workshop will begin with an introduction to sharing circle protocols. This professional development training uses real-life examples and lessons learned in Indigenous performance measurement and evaluation.

Information will be relayed by sharing pictures, storytelling, and lived experiences in the field. This will be followed by a facilitated sharing circle. The intended outcome is to bridge Indigenous methodologies into evaluation practice by using sharing circles for data collection and analysis.

Indigenous approaches to holistic evaluations take into consideration the complex intersectional impacts of the environment, the community, cultural practices, traditions, as well as the existing processes and realities including environmental degradation, systemic racism, social injustice, and economic inequality.

Photos are able to visually capture progress, engage stakeholders with visual representation, provide qualitative aspects that are difficult to share in words, and used in storytelling. This workshop has been delivered online and in-person with overwhelming participation at the CES Community of Practice in 2021, Canadian Evaluation Society (CES) National conference in 2022, and the first Indigenous Evaluation Network (IEN) opening ceremony in February 2024.

This workshop will be facilitated by a certified Indigenous restorative justice circle practitioner.

Tina Dewache, MDR Associates Conflict Resolution Inc.
Tina Dewache is a member of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation (QC) and serves as its restorative justice coordinator. She specializes in Indigenous alternative dispute resolution and, as a restorative justice practitioner, operates Indigenous restorative justice circles, mandated by the local court and the community.

Tina holds the Qualified Mediator designation from the ADR Institute of Ontario as well as a BA (English), a B.Ed., an MA (History) and a J.D. from the University of Ottawa Law School.

Since receiving her mediation training with MDR some years ago, Tina has helped introduce Indigenous dispute resolution knowledge and approaches to MDR’s training program participants. Like her MDR colleagues, Tina is interested in ensuring that applied conflict management processes resonate with the diversity of people at the table.