From Data Sovereignty to Algorithmic Sovereignty: Indigenous Evaluation in the Age of AI
Mesa redonda | En línea
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Organizado por:
EvalIndigenous
Sobre el evento
As artificial intelligence becomes embedded in decision-making systems, it raises urgent questions about power, knowledge, and control. For Indigenous peoples, these concerns are not new but extend long-standing struggles over data sovereignty into a new domain: algorithmic sovereignty. This panel will explore how Indigenous evaluation inquiry can guide critical engagement with AI, foregrounding principles of relational accountability, collective governance, and knowledge protection. We will examine emerging risks, including the risks of extracting Indigenous knowledge into LLM and AI systems, the reclassification of identities through automated decision-making processes, and the potential erosion of Indigenous authority and sovereign rights. At the same time, we will consider how Indigenous evaluators and our allies can assert leadership in shaping ethical boundaries for AI use. Rather than asking how AI can be applied to Indigenous contexts, this panel reframes the question: under what conditions, and with whose authority, should AI be used at all? Join us for an interactive discussion, where our panelists want to hear back from you about the issues you're facing, the questions you're asking, and the ways you're navigating AI in Indigenous evaluation.
Presentador/a
| Nombre | Título | Biografía |
|---|---|---|
| Nicky Bowman | Algorithms of Our Ancestors: Traditional Indigenous Knowledge and Indigenous Data Sovereignty Perspectives on AI | Dr Nicole Bowman (Lunaape/Mohican) is the founder and President of Bowman Performance Consulting, based in Wisconsin, USA. She is a nationally and internationally recognised leader in Indigenous evaluation, with over two decades of experience advancing approaches grounded in Indigenous knowledge systems, values, and priorities. Her work spans tribal nations, government, philanthropy, and community-based organisations, supporting culturally responsive and Indigenous-led evaluation, research, and learning. Nicole is known for her leadership in strengthening evaluation capacity in Indigenous contexts and for advocating the meaningful inclusion of Indigenous perspectives in mainstream evaluation. She has contributed to key frameworks, professional standards, and guidance that centre Indigenous worldviews, ethics, and methodologies, with a strong emphasis on sovereignty, relational accountability, and Indigenous data governance. Through her consulting practice, Nicole partners with organisations to design evaluations that are both rigorous and culturally grounded, helping navigate complex cross-cultural contexts and build respectful relationships with communities. She has held influential roles within the global evaluation field, including contributions to EvalIndigenous and the American Evaluation Association. Her work continues to shape evaluation practice in ways that uphold Indigenous rights, strengthen community wellbeing, and support self-determination. |
| Louise Were | Seeking alliances: How might Ancestral Intelligences & evaluation work in alliance to affirm Indigenous Digital Sovereignty | Louise is an Indigenous evaluator who seeks to weave a Māori worldview, evaluation and systems thinking. As a young mother in the 90’s, Louise picked up the tools of evaluation, while navigating systems with her daughter who lived as a fierce Māori Disabled woman. Louise has complemented 15 years of working in service to communities with post graduate studies, recently completing her PhD exploring what evaluation ecosystems can look like when led by Disabled Peoples’ and their families. |
Moderador/a
| Nombre | Título | Biografía |
|---|---|---|
| Fiona Cram | Co-Chair, EvalIndigenous | Dr Fiona Cram (Ngāti Pāhauwera, Pākehā) is a leading Indigenous evaluator based in Aotearoa New Zealand, with over 30 years’ experience in Kaupapa Māori research conducted by, with, and for Māori communities. Her work focuses on collaborative, community-led evaluation that strengthens whānau wellbeing and addresses structural inequities across housing, health, and social services. Fiona has experience evaluating housing-related initiatives, including research on the impacts of housing quality and home repairs on Māori whānau. This work highlights the importance of warm, safe, and secure homes for supporting physical health, reducing stress, and strengthening whānau relationships. Her evaluation practice is grounded in Kaupapa Māori methodologies, combining mixed methods with whānau narratives to centre lived experience alongside measurable outcomes. She works in partnership with Māori providers to deliver culturally grounded, mana-enhancing evaluation that supports learning and service improvement. More about Fiona’s work can be found at www.katoa.net.nz |