INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY Rekindling the Teachings of the Seventh FireIN INDIGENOUS LEADERSHIP, FEELINGS MATTER Inmy prior books—Look to the Mountain, Igniting the Sparkle, A People’s Ecology, Native Scienee;-and Spirit of the Gamé—I explore how Indigi nous epistemologies, science, art, food ways, Native science, and Native games can form a foundation for revitalizing contemporary Indigenous education. This chapter explores three facets of Indigenous leadership as a foundation for authentic community-based education. First, it explores the communal dimensions of Native leadership: traditional leadership ‘emerges from community. Second, the chaptér explores the role that “affective” teaching and learning have played inl forming the traditional Native leader. What role do feelings and affection have in Indigenous lead- ership, both in forming leaders and in making their leadership effective? And third, the chapter explores the design of contemporary leadership programs for Native communities. Leadership and developing commu- nity leaders are essential aims of a pedagogy of Indigenous community. Indigenous education cares about training people for leadership, because good leadership is a matter of survival—physical, social, cultural, and spiritual, Creating and maintaining group harmony has made the difference between Indigenous communities that have survived and those that have not. In those that have survived, the people have sus- tained each other. The deeply affective conscidusness of the leader or group of leaders—the feelings they express arld-inspire—makes such sustainability possible, Historically, the feelings that develop between a community and its leaders are key to the leadership dynamic. Affection and affiliation within the community influence Indigenous leadership and how leader- ship is expressed. ‘The community and the traditional Indigenous leaders have, therefore, been inextricably linked. They sustain each other in a reciprocal relationship and move together, ‘These community foundations of Indigenous leadership have given Native leaders vision and strength, even in thé face of unimaginable stresses, crises, and losses. Indigenous leaders—and, again, everyone is46 FOR THE GOOD OF THE PEOPLE both leader and follower in different capacities at different times—keep the community going in many ways. For example, Indigenous leadership transforms competition into cooperation, promotes group harmony, and upholds unity. Indigenous leaders understand community within a social, culturel, and spiritual framework of practices. From this aware- ness, leaders develop skills for working with diverse groups and individ- ual talents for sustaining community. All gifts are needed; all perspeo- tives point to realities that may affect community well-being; and all of us ‘move into the roles of leader and follower fiuidly as our knowledge and talents fit the need and circumstances. ‘What holds it all together is the “affective” context of relationships within the community, Feelings of mutaal respect, deep appreciation, Jove, gratitude, understanding, compassion, mutual dependence, and devotion bind a community together and guide the leaders. Along with these relationship-oriented feelings, emotions also tell us what we are experiencing es important. Sensing what is important to a community is critical to good leadership. In these and many other ways, the feel- ing context frames an Indigenous community's leadership process and informs the leaders day to day. ‘Stepping into the role of leader means being sensitive and responsive to the feelings that arise within our communities. Leadership does not flow from the head alone but takes its lead from the heart—from a deep awareness of what really matters to a People, Beyond the cognitive and attention skills of business and management, the feeling dimension must become an essential part of designing, developing, and implementing Indigenous-based leadership in communities today and into the fatare. INDIGENOUS LEADERSHIP GROWS FROM OUR COMMUNAL VALUES ‘Whereas emotions use our feelings to focus us on what is important, our values are how we then articulate what really matters to us. The ultimate quest of both Indigenous individuals and communities is “to find life” — to find “that place that Indigenous people talk about:” This is an overall guiding value. Through Indigenous ways of teaching and learning, indi- Viduals become intimately conditioned to know how to engage in “right- ful? hence successful relationship. We learn that, for the community to express itself completely, each individual and each role must have an integral place: the community needs and values each of us. We are all important to the life and success of the community. Every person counts, EERE ee Pereeer reer eres reer ees eee et mnnnnSS magFORTHE GOOD OF THE PEOPLE Indigenous communities have traditionally embodied this inclusive consciousness. From this foundation, we have developed extraordinary leadership. In Indigenous communities, individuals rise to positions of, leadership based on our service to the People. Indeed, every adult mem- ber of Indigenous societies aspires to be of service to our People. Cultivating leadership among a separate elite group or as a separate skill set is not the way of Indigenous education. Everyone has distinct responsibilities and roles that are important for maintaining the com- munity’ leadership. Leaders emerge from a communel context: we live {in communal relationships and strive toward becoming “a complete per- son” within the communal frame. Embedded in these experiences are values that good leadership requires: we learn what is important to our people and community. Tra- ditional learning has always been geared, for example, toward under standing and applying what is useful and beneficial. Indigenous com- ‘munity is based on the idea that all things can be useful: the qualities of being useful and being beneficial intertwine, The values of being useful and beneficial imply reciprocity: a mutuality of support, benefit, pur- pose, and vision, These values—combined with an ingrained love for our People and an orientation to act for the good of the people—form the foundation for Indigenous leadership. Indigenous values, which devel- oped within community, shape how our leaders develop and express leadership. In Indigenous communities, leadership is a role that must be earned, and the entire community shares the responsibility to lead and be Jed well, Whatever our responsibilities may be, the role of leader is earned by living a level of integrity that is irreproachable. We step more into the role of leader as we further align our being—our heart, head, and actions—with the good of the People. Becoming a leader means disci- plining ourselves not to advance our personel interests at our people’s expense, The more we embrace the role of leader, the more our personal interests and our people's interests function in harmony. ‘At the same time, Indigenous Peoples know we are human. We do the best we can, yet we also stumble and make mistakes. Indigenous communities observe a person's development over a lifetime. Our com- munities care less about the mistakes or missteps per se and more about how we respond to them, Do we acknowledge what happened, so we can learn from the experience? Do we respond with honesty and humility? Do we seck to put things right and in a good way? Do we use disruptions in relationships as opportunities to repair relations, so the community \a7FORTHE GOOD OF THE PEOPLE grows stronger as a result? These are qualities that Indigenous commu- nities look for in leaders as well. Ultimately, Indigenous leadershiip carries out a commitment to nur- turing a “healthy” community and enriching the cultural traditions of our People. Indigenous leadership serves and supports community val- ues and life: Our leaders care deeply and imagine richly for our People, Stepping into the leadership role requires that we listen to our own visions and the visions of our people. We must use our imagination and creativity, And we must listen to what our emotions and feelings are telling us, ‘This is how our Indigenous leaders have always gathered the people and moved us together to “find life” TRADITIONAL VERSUS MODERN MODELS OF LEADERSHIP Since leadership is so critical to addressing our problems and putting us on.a good, sustainable course, where do we as Indigenous people look to for guidance on leadership? Today, the question is more complicated then it was for our ancestors. Yet still, we know in our hearts that we can turn {0 traditional concepts of leadership for core insights. The wisdom of our People, evolved from millennia of experience with being human in com- munity, can show us how to evolve a leadership that can empower and transform Indigenous communities as well as organizations. Traditional concepts continue to have meaning and use for Indigenous leaders today, “To fully appreciate what they tell us, though, we need to understand the differences between Western approaches to leadership and Indige- nous orientations. Traditionally, for example, Indigenous leaders have been brought up to have a self-effacing mindset of sacrifice and service to community. This training in personal discipline has produced extraor- dinary levels of character and integrity. Again, in traditional contexts of community, leaders earn the right to lead by virtue oftheir demonstrated devotion to serving their communities, But Indigenous communities today are exposed to Western leader- ship models as well: colonization has impacted this area of Indigenous experience too. The shift away from the traditional model of Indigenous leadership has had many causes. Not the least of these has been the indi- vidualistic orientation, which infuses contemporary education as well as ‘modern social, economic, and political life, The focus is less on serving a community or people and more on building a career—on gaining cre~ dentials, rising above others, arid proving one's ability to compete and ‘win as an individual. The values that go with this orientation often lureFOR THE GOOD OF THE PEOPLE leaders into choosing self-interests over community interests, Indeed, such behavior is largely expected and rewarded on a Western leadership model. ‘Another cause for the shift in leadership orientation has been the widely promoted business-corporate model, which places greatest value ‘on product and profits. People become a means to organizational ends. In extreme expressions of corporate and organizational thinking, people are reduced to statistical objects: employees are listed as part of the com- pany’sinyentory, Feelings do not matter, and the most rewarded leaders, at least financially, are often those who are able to shut down their feel- ings for those they are responsible for leading—employees or constitu- ents, for example. Putting self-interest over community interest brings financial rewards. Indigenous leaders have not been immune to these influences. In a quest to validate thiemselves according to mainstream standards, some contemporary Indigenous leaders have moved away from the traditional ‘wisdom of Indigenous leadership. Some have lost sight of the philosoph- ical and spiritual roots of traditional leadership and have adopted instead bottom-line thinking, political expediency, and business and corporate styles of leadership. But those who have gone this route pay a price: much of what they accomplish has left them feeling empty, unfulfilled, incom- plete, and frustrated, ‘As Indigenous leaders increasingly conform to mainstream leader- ship models, we must reflect on the nature of these styles of leadership and assess their real and imagined benefits for our Peoples. For example, ‘we must consider the following: -+ What have been the advantages? «+ What have been the drawbacks? + What effect do mainstream leadership models have on our leaders over time? What kind of people do they/we become? + What kind of consciousness does such leadership promote and serve? + What character do our communities take on when they increasingly reflect a business-corporate model of leader- ship, given the yalues and consciousness that go with it? How is the whole community affected and “infected” by this consciousness? + Are these approaches to leadership capable of moving our ‘communities to,greater sustainability, health, and wholeness? 149150 FOR THE GOOD OF THE PEOPLE . + What leadership style can withstand the cuerent mainstream pressures and work toward a vision that goes to the “heart” ofa situation, an organization, a community, and a People? + Most fundamentally, what kind of leadership can facilitate a People’s journey toward wholeness? As challenging as these questions are in today’s world, our collective histories of Indigenous leadership provide us with insight and princi- ples to guide us as we search for answers. In many ways, contemporary Indigenous leaders must “move forward to basics? to borrow a phrase from education circles, For Indigenous leadership, these basics stand on timeless principles, Indigenous principles of leadership explain what makes human communities not only survive but also thrive in good rela- tions with the larger life-context of natural communities—the natural world. Globally, people are increasingly recognizing that this knowledge is 2 matter of survival. After all, this is how and why these principles developed in the first place. INDIGENOUS “INDIVIDUATION” WITH COMMUNITY Before I discuss these principles, I want to take up the issue of being an individual, since the Western notion of individuality has so often under- mined our practice of community and leadership. What does it mean (o be an individual, and how do we become one? How do, we develop who we are and the distinctness of our gifts, so that we can put them at the service of our families and communities? Even how we phrase the question is laden with orientation. For example, the second phrasing is Indigenous in perspective, while a Westen phrasing might be: How can I separate or differentiate myself from others, so that I can develop myself to my full potential? Too often, the Western version means “income earning” or “wealth accumulating” potential, For all humans, our potential for learning unfolds through out life cycle, justas our journey toward wholeness evolves through the meaning ‘we gain through life experiences, Learning and becoming whole are, at every level of expression, intimately intertwined, Indigenous communi- ties have provided a fertile and supportive environment for what Jung- Jan psychology terms “indivicuation’—becoming individually whole and. complete. Yet how Jung and Western psychology describe the process and how Indigenous Peoples understand the process of becoming whole as a person are not the same.FORTHE GOOD OF THE PEOPLE ‘The difference between Indigenous “individuation” and individua- tion in the Jungian sense is one of orientation. Indigenous thought and philosophy orients individuals to the community and to the sacred as a particular Indigenous People culturally define and understand it. Indige- nous individuation continually weaves the individual into community and the wider contexts of the natural world, cosmos, end creator as the frame for meaning, ‘The journey arises from how the individual explores what it means to be in relation with others. Knowing how to be in good. relations—to be a good relative to all that is—is central to Indigenous individuation, since each individual must learn how to do this. We develop this underétanding of what it means to be an individual only by being in community—we grow into who we are communally. By contrast, Jungian individuation orients us to vatious stages of expe- riencing ourselves as separate beings—from persona to ego to shadow to self—and to negotiating how our separate personalities function in mass ‘modern society. Jungian individuation charts'a joutney ofttiscovering “I am this and not that” ‘The goal is a whole and fully integrated Self. The journey is personal, not communal. Different as these two orientations are, they have something in com- ‘mon: the concept of a journey. Indigenous wisdom has much to say about the journey through life and how humans have walked it—well oz not 0 well. So, too, Jungian psychology articulates many insights into the journey. Both these sources can be helpful to the contemporary study of Indigenous leadership and the kind of education it requires. Being an Indigenous leader is about being ona journey of meaning and transforma- tion with our community, Both Indigenous and Jungian teachings make it clear that such journeys are demanding: they challenge us to the limit. In chapter 2, for example, I quoted Jungian psychoanalyst John A, Sanford’s description of individuation as ‘a work, a life opus, 2 task that calls upon us not to avoid life's difficulties and dangers, but to perceive the meaning in the patterns and events that form out lives” He went on. to say that individuation is “a search for and the discovery of meaning, not the meaning that we consciously devise, but the meaning embedded in life itself. It will confront us with many demands, for the unconscious, as Jung wrote, ‘always tries to produce an impossible situation in order to force the individual to bring out his very best.”* T come back to Sanford’s description of the individuation. process because, as he explains, there is no sure road to individuation: it isa path, riddled with doubt and uncertainty. Seeking true wholeness takes cour age, perseverance, and unmitigated faith in one’s center; 15h152, FOR THE GOOD OF THEPEOPLE Becoming whole does not mean being perfect, but being completed. It does not necessarily mean happiness, but growth... It is not getting out of life what we think we want, but the development and purification af the soul... . [To] be healthy, then, has nothing to do with serenity, and less to do ‘with adjustment; to be healthy is to become whole. We can, perhaps, say that the truly healthy person is the person who is involved with a lifelong process of individuation? ‘Traditional Indigenous education fully understands and accommo- dates the lifelong process of individuation that Jung and Jungians have described, Being an Indigenous leader takes the concepta step further: we move along the journey both individually and communally. In deep ways, the two are inseparable. Meaning and the quest for wholeness underlie both personal and communal processes. Leaders are those who feel the pulse of the journey at work both in ourselves and in our communities, Because learning about meaning and one's own self is key to under- standing the individuating process, this has always been integral to the training of traditional leaders. In Indigenous approaches, inner peace is not directly sought, as I explained earlier, since the traditional view is that to overtly seek inner peace is, paradoxically, to ensure that one would never find it. Rather, inner peace and wholeness are experienced through ceremony, ritual, and living everyday life in community. Within Indigenous community, individuation comes of its own as we live com- munally, yet{t must also be worked for. The journey that brings together individuals and the community must be authentically engaged. Indige- nous Peoples have developed many paths for individuating and for main- taining health and wholeness among our members. Our oral traditions are filled with stories that teach us about this. In organic ways, then, traditional leadership is woven into the Indig- enous educational process. Becoming who we are in community is the same process that cultivates our skills and sensitivities as leaders ‘Through the journey of communal individuation, traditional Indigenous education has produced some of the most elegant expressions of integ- rity among ouir leaders, It has done so precisely because traditional lead- ership places the utmost importance on community and the People. Individuating within a community does not mean, as'Western thinl- ‘ers might assume, that traditional Indigenous leaders have lacked devel- ‘opment as individtials. Quite the opposite: Indigenous leaders have tra- ditionally modeled high levels of personel discipline, self-mastery, andFOR THE GOOD OF THE PEOPLE character development. The responsibilities that go with serving the People have required this. Indeed, the “impossible situations” that our Peoples have faced have often forced community members to step Up as leaders aiid to respond to challenges in ways that “brought out thelr very best” PRINCIPLES THAT TRADITIONAL LEADERS HAVE MODELED In Indigenous societies, our leaders personify the values of the group in all its dimensions—personal, social, and spiritual. High among these values is that traditional leaders must be the servants of our People: leaders are the first to give and the last to receive. Another value is that traditional leaders teach the people by example. Our leaders are able to do this because of life experiences and the education we have received in our family and community. Leaders must also have developed self- knowledge and self-awareness. Raised in a communal environment, leaders have come to appreciate who they/we are. As a community of leaders in the fullest expression of this, we—as individuals and asa com- ‘munity—know ourselves, and we have self-confidence and self-esteem. ‘We believe the best about others, our people, and ourselves. From an inclusive communal consciousness, we have been instilled with an abid- ing love for our People, our land, and our wey of life. ‘However, not all of us have experienced this communal training in eadership, because colonization has so disrupted our traditional ways. Asaresult, many Indigenous communities now face a crisis in leadership that affects all arcas of our lives. How can we find our way back? "True to the Indigenous pedagogy, we can learn from the examples of others. If we study the life stories of historic and some contempo- rary Indigenous leaders, we find many of the traditional characteristics of leaders and leadership principles expressed. The following princi- ples characterize how Indigenous leaders have led.? Again, in articulat- ing these principles, I use “we” and “our” to underscore the inclusive ‘understanding of traditional leadership: good leadership is traditionally a whole-community responsibility. + Personal vision plays an important role’in forming the character and'shaping the personal purpose of traditional leaders «+ Traditional leaders teach the people through the virtues and integrity of our own personal vision. 153154 FOR THE GOOD OF THE PEOPLE « ‘Traditional Jeaders motivate and hold influence by express- ing the virtues of respect and cate for the well-being of owt people and community. The community in turn, usually femonstrates respect to our leaders in a reciprocal fashion, «Traditional leaders hold ourselves accountable to the highest standatds of personal ethics. « Traditional leaders attempt to instill self-reliance, self- confidence, responsibility, inspiration, and service to the community that we co-lead. ‘Traditional leaders relay the story ofa community vision pack to our people and give guidance for how to pursue that vision. ‘Traditional leaders help our people “remember who we are, where we come from, and where we can go” |. ‘Traditional leaders speak to our face (identity of the People), our heart (deep desires of the People), and to our foundation (vocation and community). “These qualities must once again be cultivated among us, so that we each can step into our role as Indigenous leaders when the occasion requires. These principles show how we can carry forward the commui= nal vision of our Peoples. Rooting ourselves in these principles is what “moving forward to Indigenous basies of leadership” means. CREATING INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP THEORY Theorizing for Community Well-Being ond Survival Because Indigenous leadership is so important for our communities— present and future—-it makes sense to explore.a theory of Indigenous leadership. A sound theory will help us understand how we can develop the kind of Indigenous leadership that our communities need. “Theory” has been described as a plausible set of principles offered to explain obsorved factor reality, In Western thought, a theory is often understood as a concise and coherent set of principles, concepts, claims, vor laws that can be used precisely and accurately to explain and predict natural or social phenomena. “Though Indigenous Peoples articulate principles, concepts, and pat tems differently from mainstream science and academia, Indigenous Peoples have traditionally observed reality to discern underlying pat- terns of how things work, particulatly in relation to other patterns orFOR THE GOOD OF THE PEOPLE events.“ Indigenous Peoples have then metaphorically represented these observed patterns of relationships through stories. We have developed such knowledge, because it has been essential for our survival. From an Indigenous perspective, observing the natural world, secing patterns, understanding relationships, and making connections in how we understand and experience reality form the essence of the theoriz~ ing process. ‘Theorizing lays the foundation for knowledge, which our Peoples have gained from lived experiences that have been transferred from generation to generation. In Indigenous societies, theory, research, ‘and practice are tied to the purpose of sustaining our Peoples and the well-being of our communities. Feelings Count in Indigenous Theorizing Ina Western context, “objective” theory becomes the basis for policy, practice, procedure, and education, That is the “theory” of Western soci- ety, at least. The counterevidence, of course, is that objective scientific evidence has yet to form U.S. policy and practice in regard to climate change. ‘Ihis disconnect jeopardizes our species’ survival. Indigenous thought and philosophy weigh knowledge and act on it differently, ‘The “affective” dimension of thought plays a critical role, Feelings are not dismissed but guide how we think and actin relationship with reality. Again, the affective or emotion-based-consciousness con- ‘yoys to us what is important, For example, do survival interests outweigh profit-making interests? The feelings of a parent or grandparent say yes. Feelings attune us to the larger context of relationships that operate as awhole. We may not be able to articulate all these relationships, but if ‘we have lived mindful of them as much as we can and have been cultur- ally supported in doing so, then we are sure to “feel” them, And if our culture and community include feelings as an important factor in our decision-making, then we will listen to them and act on them. Sensing the holistic dimension, the affective experience tells.us that how we do things is as important as what we do. For example, are our actions based on respect and concern for relationships? Do we feel a responsibility toward what we are doing, who we ate doing it for, where wwe are doing it; and why we ate doing it? By giving weight not only to cour cognitive and attention faculties but also fo our emotions/feclings, Indigenous theorizing: connects us to ethics and core values. ‘These, in ‘turn, are based on the intent to serve people and community. From this perspective, “theory” is not just a noun; it becomes a verb—a way of acting in the world iss156 FOR THE GOOD OF THE PEOPLE Building on the Experiences of Indigenous Leaders and Community A key question to ask at this point is: Can there be such a thing as a theory of Indigenous leadership? ‘The answer to this question is, YES! It is possible to develop a theory of Indigenous leadership. We have the knowledge base and experiences from which to do so. We have the research of historical as well as contemporary expressions of Indigenous leadership. We can distill the core values and principles that have guided Indigenous leadership. And we can develop theories about how these values and prinetples can be carried out in a modern context of Indige- nous leadership. Becauise the base for theorizing is distinctly Indigenous, an Indige- nous leadership theory looks different from Western models of leader- ship. An Indigenous theory will reflect a different constellation of values, aims, goals, and objectives. Its purposes and modes of application will be different from Western models of leadership. ‘Atthe same time, though, a theory of Indigenous leadership will likely parallel and incorporate the best thinking in Western leadership theory. Such a theory must be culturally grounded and community based. Its foundations must be firmly rooted in Indigenous ways of knowing. A theory of Indigenous leadership must be adaptable enough to address ttibally specific needs. Its guiding principles must emerge from piausible {ideas based on observations of Indigenous social, cultural or community life, Its analogies must be culturally specific, and they must have meaning within the specific Indigenous contexts from which they were derived, Finally, a theory of Indigenous leadership must purposefully incorporate actitical understanding of the insidious nature of colonization and glo- balization. It must stand by the evidence: these frameworks for thought and action have proven consistently destructive for Indigenous Peoples. ‘The process of theorizing in the verb-driven world of Indigenous Peoples is as important as the actual theory. The process brings to light implicit understandings held within the collective knowledge of the com- ‘munity. These communal understandings affect all aspects of Indigenous leadership. We can deseribe the process of theorizing in Indigenous con- texts in many ways. For example, the process takes what we already know and experience as a basis and means for exploring what we want to know. Indigenous knowledge is embedded knowledge: it is always positioned within the sphere of how we as Indigenous Peoples understand ourselves All ofthis underscores the reality that Indigenous leadership is highly contextual, and so a theory of Indigenous leadership must be highly con-FORTHE GOOD OF THE PEOPLE IST textual as well. How Indigenous leaders express their leadership depends on the unique interplay of many personal and community factors within the life and experience of each leader in relation with his or her people. Joseph Marshall, Sicangu Lakota, in his book The Power of Four: Lead: ership Lessons of Crazy Horse, uses a narrative form to outline the char acteristics of a culturally based theory of Indigenous leadership. Mar- shall communicates a perspective of leadership based on the life of Crazy Horse, the great warrior chief of the Oglala, In his exploration of Crazy Horse asa leader, Marshall presents principles, concepts, and core values that can be said to apply to the leadership evident in many Indigenous cultures. For Marshall, the development of a deep and well-integrated character forms the essential core of a great leader:® Marshall relates that, in general, leaders should internalize and express the qualities of selflessness, morality, experience, honesty, and responsibil- ity, These are the qualities that reflect the character of every good leader. With these qualities, good leaders must also express compassion, humility, spirituality, and a deep and abiding love for onc’s People and land, Inaddition, Marshall brings forward four kinds of personal knowledge that Crazy Horse demonstrated in his evolution as a leader. ‘These com- plexes of knowledge include knowledge of oneself, knowledge of one’s friends, nowledge of one’s enemies, and a willingness to take the lead. Crazy horse was one of the people. ... Lakota society was always there to remind him that being a leader was a position of responsibility and not privilege, ... Crazy Horse consis- tently exhibited the most effective methods of leadership. He ‘was certain of his skills and abilities and understood the risks of execeding them, especially when the safety and welfare of the people hung in the balance, ... He picked his friends carefully and knew their skills and abilities and strengths and weaknesses as well as he knew his own. .. . Likewise, Crazy Horse knew his enemies as well as he could... {H] also knew there were enemies that did not carry lances or guns but were equally dangerous~-those weapons included selfishness, arrogance, jealousy, hunger, apathy, loneliness, duplicity, indifference, and so forth. Most significantly, Crazy Horse knew that one of those enemies was inaction; so he consistently took the lead by setting the right example. [HJe did it all with humility. His own welfare, reputation, andFOR THE GOOD OF THE PEOPLE standing—his image, if you will was always secondary to the wishes and the welfare of the people. We should expect no less of ourselves in positions of leadership, or from the leaders who serve us today.” : "To explore a pedagogy that fits Indigenous community, we need to ook at not only how Indigenous leaders have been formed historically but also how they have evolved. We need, leaders not only in politics but also in economics, culture, and education—all areas of life. Indigenous teachers are-very important leaders in our communities. Serving in their diverse fields of practice, they bear a significant responsibility for nurtur- ing new generations of our Peoples. “The following chapter explores one kind of curriculum for develop- ing Indigenous leaders. Culturally based, this curriculum creatively inte- grates Western academic curriculum research and design methodology wwith Indigenous thought, values, process, and content,