Ethical Challenges Inherent in the Evaluation of an American Indian/Alaskan Native Circles of Care Project

This article provides first-person accounts of ethical issues inherent in an evaluation of the Native American Indian Center of Central Ohio (NAICCO) Circles of Care project. Circles of Care is a three-year, infrastructure development program funded through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) which is part of the federal Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). The grant program is for American Indian and Alaskan Native (AI/AN) tribes and urban Indian communities and includes a strong emphasis on community engagement and community ownership. The Native American Indian Center of Central Ohio received a Circles of Care grant in the fifth cohort of the program. The first author (Project Evaluator) presents views that typically represent a western approach to evaluation, while the second author (Project Director) presents a Native perspective. Ethical issues are defined as well as the authors' efforts to address these concerns.