Indigenous-Centered Research, Strategy, and Evaluation

Community-led. Culturally grounded. Impact-driven.

Meet Adriann

Founder and Principal Consultant

I am an enrolled member of the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux tribes and hold a PhD in Indigenous Health from University of North Dakota, with academic and professional training rooted in Indigenous health, research ethics, and community-based approaches. I am an experienced adjunct faculty instructor, having taught undergraduate and graduate-level courses in areas such as Indigenous Evaluation Frameworks, Public Health Evaluation, ethics, leadership, and systems-level approaches. Teaching is a core part of my practice, and I view education as both a responsibility and a form of community care.

Professionally, I bring over fifteen years of experience working within and alongside Indigenous communities, Tribal Nations, nonprofits, universities, and funders in varying capacities that contribute to my knowledge I bring into my consultation business. My work includes Indigenous-based research and evaluation, strategic planning and facilitation, PL 93-638 programmatic and strategic implementation, policy writing and review, grant writing, qualitative analysis, and community engagement. Across all of this work, I prioritize approaches that are ethical, culturally grounded, and responsive to community priorities, while resisting extractive or deficit-based practices.

Photo Courtesy of Įtugasa Photography a Female Indigenous Owned and Operated Company located on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation

Areas of Expertise

Indigenous-Centered Research & Evaluation

Indigenous-based research approaches with specialization in Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR), focus groups, qualitative analysis, and community engagement
Evaluation planning, design, and implementation
Information research and synthesis

Strategy, Planning & Facilitation

Strategic planning design and facilitation
Meeting facilitation and collaborative process design

Policy, Programs & Systems

PL 93-638 programmatic and strategic implementation
Policy writing, review, and development

Education, Teaching & Capacity Building

Training and education services (e.g., Indigenous Leadership, Indigenous Qualitative Approaches 101, The Responsibility of the Storyteller)
Adjunct faculty instruction with experience teaching undergraduate and graduate-level courses in Indigenous health, research methods, ethics and systems change.
Curriculum development and guest lecturing

Advocacy & Speaking

Health advocacy and speaking engagements

Latest Insights

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Our Vision

At Spotted Hail Woman Consulting, we envision systems rooted in Indigenous knowledge, guided by community voice and accountable to the people they are meant to serve. Our mission is to support Indigenous communities and organizations through community-driven research, strategy, and evaluation practices that honor Indigenous ways of knowing, strengthen relationships and build capacity for long-term impact.

Adriann Ricker Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux (1)_edited.jpg

I locate myself in this work as an Indigenous woman, researcher, facilitator, and educator who is accountable first to community. My approach is grounded in Indigenous ways of knowing, relational responsibility, and lived experience, with a clear understanding of the historical and ongoing impacts of colonization on Indigenous communities and the systems that affect them.

I approach research, strategy, and evaluation with the recognition that this work is never neutral. I am committed to ethical, community-driven practices that honor Indigenous sovereignty, elevate community voice, and resist extractive approaches to research and engagement. I do not position myself as an “expert over” communities, but as a partner who listens, learns, and works alongside community members to support their priorities, strengthen relationships, and advance self-determined goals.

Indigenous-Centered Research, Strategy, and Evaluation

Meet Adriann