Indigenous Leadership and Community

I think it is important for me to position myself as someone providing thoughtful reflection on working with community members as a leader. I have been invited to write on this topic through an Indigenous lens. When I share what I have learned, it comes from teachings that I have been gifted from people across this land. My teachings come from ancestors, relatives, knowledge holders, and elders from the Métis, Cree, Saulteaux, Dakota, Lakota, Nakota, and Dënesuliné nations of this land. 

Lead – Indigenous Education Initiatives. There is a great deal to unpack when one accepts the responsibilities of that position. I accept those responsibilities and take time to reflect on the journey of how community supports the work of Indigenization, decolonization, and reconciliation. As a Métis citizen, community is vital to the work and fostering right relations creates active and respectful partnerships with Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.

As a leader, I adopt thoughtful, respectful, engagement with community to support relationship building. Adopting a disposition of reciprocity to grow the knowledge community, I explore how to invite elders and knowledge holders into the circle of learning. When building relationships with them, their life lessons provide us with the chance to recognize our gifts in leadership. We can then use this gifted knowledge to foster leadership in those around us and create successful teams.

Leadership can look to community for lessons on communication. The elders and knowledge holders share that we are gifted with two ears and one mouth, so we listen more often than we speak. Opening our hearts and minds to the voices of those around us paints a picture of the group think and can guide decision making. Our leaders can make decisions based on the needs of the community if we provide them with the opportunity for voices to be heard.

Leadership benefits from a reflective disposition. A leadership journey that involves careful reflection acknowledges challenges and successes. I find that the elders and knowledge holders invite us to look back while looking forward to enhancing teaching and learning with the fundamentals found in the principles of Indigenization, decolonization, and reconciliation. The Indigenous community is instrumental in the ethical weaving of Indigenous knowledge into teaching and learning.

Leadership is about authentic partnership. Reaching out to actively engage with Indigenous community can help leaders achieve accomplice status. I share this term having been gifted teachings from a respected knowledge holder. We often hear the term ally used to describe those walking alongside Indigenous change makers. The knowledge holder challenges us to shift the narrative to accomplice and have those that will walk with us accept the risk that Indigenous leaders assume. The accomplice’s support is true and absent of performance. They will focus their efforts on the tangible actions that affect change.

I think I have illustrated the complexity of the work and offered avenues for solution. An invitation is extended to anyone wanting to walk this path and work to affect change with Indigenization, decolonization, and reconciliation in teaching and learning.

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^{Photo credit: Darryl Isbister | Moose Lake Loop at Maligne Lake, Jasper National Park, AB, Canada}

This resource is shared by the Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching and Learning (GMCTL), University of Saskatchewan, under a CC BY-NC-SA license.