Indigenous education and the development of indigenous community leaders

Abstract

The community context of education, affiliation, and affection influenced the development of American Indian leaders. In this essay, the role affection for family, community affiliation, and tribal culture is explored from a perspective of transformational teaching and learning in the context of community. Indigenous forms of education provided foundations for dynamic and multi-contextual processes of the development of community leaders. By exploring historical and communal tribal traditions through which American Indian community leaders were formed, we can gain insight into how to guide the development of contemporary and future leaders. Such an exploration may also lead to the creation of new paradigms that can move us collectively and creatively beyond current paradigms of individualistic leadership to more communal and culturally relevant forms of Indigenous leadership.1