Listening with the Heart: A Reflection on Relationality and Ceremony

Abstract

This practice note describes how listening is an essential practice and can be part of honoring relationality and ceremony in Indigenous research and evaluation. Through a research project assessing the quality and availability of culturally attuned services for Native survivors of gender-based violence, the authors describe how they put being a good relative into practice by centering Indigenous values and protocol while utilizing western methodologies. Aligning with the Eastern Door, this note offers insight into the incorporation of Indigenous approaches into how evaluators honored and engaged with the research process.