Address Conflict Research Articles

Indigenizing Evaluation Research: How Lakota Methodologies Are Helping "Raise the Tipi" in the Oglala Sioux Nation

At a 1998 meeting of Elders and spiritual leaders convened to consider how best to meet the needs of children and families on the Pine Ridge Reservation, the late wakan iyeska ("spiritual interpreter") Matthew Zack Bear Shield remarked, "When we followed the Lakota ways and spiritual laws of the universe, the people flourished. Because we went away from the Lakota spiritual calendar, our people suffer and are in chaos."1 The spirit of Bear Shield's remark, that the knowledge and practice of lakol wicohan ("Lakota ways") are a means of overcoming the colonial oppression the Oglala Lakota oyate ("people") continue to experience, resonates with an increasingly large constituency in Lakota country. Efforts to recover and actively use traditional knowledge and practices are evident in ongoing work to, for example, advance treaty rights, design interventions for families and children, create more effective institutions of governance, and address conflict and crime. Critically, these efforts also include the recovery and use of Indigenous approaches to research and evaluation, processes of knowledge creation that were once under Indigenous control but have been supplanted by Western ways of knowing promoted by the "scientific community" and non-Native government bureaucracies. This article documents a currently unfolding example of that reclamation, which originated from the desire of evaluators of the "Comprehensive Indian Resources for Community and Law Enforcement" (CIRCLE) Project to make the federally mandated evaluation as useful to the Oglala people as possible. Using the models of participatory action research and empowerment evaluation, the CIRCLE Project evaluation team has arrived at a way of working that mirrors the Lakota approach to [End Page 499] research and evaluation—an approach grounded in the ideas of wopasi ("inquiry") and tokata wasagle tunpi ("something you set up to go to in the future"), which views research and evaluation as the process of creating knowledge in order to accomplish an end that is desired by the people. By embracing this process the circle Project evaluation team, of which we are members, has found that the recovery of one set of traditions (concerning Indigenous approaches to evaluation) has become inextricably intertwined with the recovery of another set (concerning Indigenous governance). CIRCLE Project research and evaluation, guided by Lakota methodologies, have become vital supports in the "nation building" efforts undertaken through CIRCLE, in which Lakota people are seeking to improve the administration of criminal justice by rebuilding key justice institutions to reflect community needs and culture. "Nation building" is a term used increasingly in the literature and by leaders in Indian Country to refer to the process of constructing effective institutions of self-governance that can provide a foundation for sustainable development, community health, and successful political action.2 In other words, it is the process of promoting Indian self-determination, self-governance, and sovereignty—and, ultimately, of improving tribal citizens' social and economic situations—through the creation of more capable, culturally legitimate institutions of governance. The term echoes the intentions in the treaties tribes signed with foreign sovereigns (including the United States) in the postcontact period and embraces Chief Justice John Marshall's admission that American Indian tribes are "domestic dependent nations" and Vine Deloria and Clifford Lytle's more palatable term, "the nations within." By calling attention to tribes' nationhood, the term emphasizes the fact that tribes are not vestigial elements of American society, but an enduring yet separate part of it. Additionally, the term acknowledges that Indian nations need governing institutions capable of dealing with contemporary issues—be they problems of crime, financial management, mental health, or international trade—and that tribes must make conscious efforts to build Indigenous institutions that are up to the task. Viewed through the powerful lens of nation building, research and evaluation, or wopasi and tokata wasagle tunpi, are also tools in service of the Oglala...

Team development and group processes of virtual learning teams

This study describes the community building process of virtual learning teams as they form, establish roles and group norms, and address conflict. Students enrolled in an HRD masters program taught entirely online were studied to determine (1) how virtual learning teams develop their group process, and (2) what process and strategies they use as they work through the stages of group development. Both quantitative and qualitative methods of inquiry were used to capture the dynamic interaction within groups and the underlying factors that guided group process and decision-making. The results show that virtual learning groups can collaborate effectively from a distance to accomplish group tasks. The development of virtual learning teams is closely connected to the timeline for their class projects. Virtual teams are also similar in terms of their task process and the use of communication technologies. In contrast to face-to-face teams, the leadership role of virtual teams is shared among team members. Recommendations are discussed in order to facilitate peak integration of virtual learning teams into Internet-based training courses.