Living Indigenous Leadership: Native Narratives on Building Strong Communities

Living Indigenous Leadership: Native Narratives on Building Strong Communities

Indigenous scholars strive to produce accessible research grounded<br>in the daily lives of Native peoples, research that will improve their<br>communities in meaningful and sustained ways. They also recognize that<br>long-lasting change depends on effective leadership.<br><br><i>Living Indigenous Leadership</i> showcases innovative research<br>and leadership practices from diverse nations and tribes in Canada, the<br>United States, and New Zealand. The contributors use vibrant stories<br>and personal narratives to offer insights into the unique nature of<br>Indigenous leadership. These dynamic case studies reveal that Native<br>leaders, whether formal or informal, ground their work in embodied<br>concepts such as land, story, ancestors, and elders, concepts rarely<br>mentioned in mainstream studies of leadership. Indigenous leadership,<br>they show, finds its most powerful expression in collaboration, in the<br>teaching and example of Elders, and in community projects to promote<br>higher education, language revitalization, health care, and the<br>preservation of Indigenous arts. <br><br>This collection not only adds Indigenous methods to studies on<br>leadership, it also gives a voice to the wives, mothers, and<br>grandmothers who are using their knowledge to mend hearts and minds and<br>to build strong communities. Their personal stories and collective<br>knowledge will inspire further research and future generations.