Living Indigenous Leadership: Native Narratives on Building Strong Communities

by Carolyn Kenny (Editor)

Indigenous scholars strive to produce accessible research grounded in the daily lives of Native peoples, research that will improve their communities in meaningful and sustained ways. They also recognize that long-lasting change depends on effective leadership.

Living Indigenous Leadership showcases innovative research and leadership practices from diverse nations and tribes in Canada, the United States, and New Zealand. The contributors use vibrant stories and personal narratives to offer insights into the unique nature of Indigenous leadership. These dynamic case studies reveal that Native leaders, whether formal or informal, ground their work in embodied concepts such as land, story, ancestors, and elders, concepts rarely mentioned in mainstream studies of leadership. Indigenous leadership, they show, finds its most powerful expression in collaboration, in the teaching and example of Elders, and in community projects to promote higher education, language revitalization, health care, and the preservation of Indigenous arts.

This collection not only adds Indigenous methods to studies on leadership, it also gives a voice to the wives, mothers, and grandmothers who are using their knowledge to mend hearts and minds and to build strong communities. Their personal stories and collective knowledge will inspire further research and future generations.

Genres: Nonfiction, Leadership

256 pages, Paperback

First published October 5, 2012

Reviews

[Melanie]

I will read this over and over and over again.

[Carrie]

Interconnectedness, community, relationships, clear intentions- strength comes up from the collective, not down from the top.

[Shawn Bird]

Female aboriginal scholars discuss considerations of leadership. Readable and accessible.