Indigenous Perspectives on Leadership: A Communal Reflection

Abstract

The authors who contributed the interviews that follow did so with the understanding that their individual interviews, when considered collectively, could help readers gain a preliminary understanding of some of the fundamental values associated with indigenous leadership. Consistent with this intent, readers are urged to read all five interviews before engaging in discussions related to this material. Readers should resist the temptation to focus on traditional, western models of leadership as exemplars, and refrain as much as possible, from relying on their taken-for-granted assumptions about education, schooling, community involvement, and decision-making. Instead, readers are encouraged to be open to the ways in which their own leadership knowledge and practice could be transformed by these indigenous leaders.