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Jeanette Armstrong – Leadership Qualities

Biographical Timeline| Leadership Qualities | Renaming Mt. Rainier | References

Venerable

One way to determine whether or not someone is a leader is by looking at how their community views them. In Jeannette Armstrong’s case, it is clear to see that her community considers her to be venerable; someone who is greatly respected due to her wisdom and strong character. Over the years, Armstrong has spent her time working with not only in the Okanagan community, but working internationally with other Indigenous peoples to raise them up and find solutions to their problems. This can be seen through a multitude of ways: her first novel, Slash, came about due to a request for curriculum in schools that would educate students on contemporary issues that Indigenous people face. She was appointed as a judge for the First Nations Court of International Justice, in order to give a decision on whether or not the Government of Canada had violated laws against Indigenous peoples. Additionally, while she serves as the Executive Director for the En’owkin Center in Canada, she is also a consultant for the Center of Ecoliteracy in California, where she has shared the Okanagan philosophy of En’owkin. These examples, along with her many awards, recognize Armstrong for being someone that many people turn to when they struggle with questions. Armstrong is recognized not only amongst her community, but across nations and continents for being fair, trustworthy, and wise.

Preserver

Armstrong at a University of British Columbia graduation

The Syilx oral language, known locally as nsyilxcən, is the traditional language of the Indigenous Syilx/Okanagan Peoples. Due to the decades of assimilation practices, Nsyilxcən is considered an endangered language. The En’owkin Centre, a Syilx education institution, is dedicated to implementing Indigenous knowledge and systems, by providing access to Nsyilxcən learners of all ages and skill-levels. Jeanette Armstrong, the Executive Director, is committed to rejuvenating the traditional understandings of the Syilx histories, cultural frameworks and values, and skill-based knowledge stored within the oral traditions of Nsyilxcən. For the youngest students, bilingual children’s books–such as Armstrong’s “How Food Was Given/How Names Were Given”– reintroduces the traditional oral narratives of Indigenous people’s connection to the land and water of their homelands. For older students, they continue to reestablish their ties to the Nsyilxcən language and the Syilx traditional land and waterway ties. For these students, the En’owkin Centre also functions as a hub, where Syilx members can access academic planning for public post-secondary schooling, financial planning, and a cultural awareness program that facilitates connections to larger Indigenous movements. In a 2009 interview between Armstrong and the Center for Ecoliteracy, she underlines the importance of En’owkin, which in Nsyilxcən translates to a foundation for sustainable living. Thus, Armstrong’s core ambition for the En’owkin Centre is to reestablish community and traditional sustainability practices through education. By sharing her insight and knowledge, which have been passed down generationally to her, Armstrong hopes to reject the effects of colonialism in the Okanagan communities and to restore the once perfect unison between the Syilx people, the land, and the water.

Community-based

Armstrong for the Columbia River Treaty

Jeannette Armstong has created community organizations and programs for Okanagan people to improve their traditional language or cultural knowledge. Because of this, Okanagan/Syilx people have a stronger ability to connect to their history and fight for their rights. Born into the Penticton Indian Band of the Syilx Nation, Armstrong has fought for legal justice for her people and the Canadian government. In her novels, such as Slash or Whispering Shadow, Armstrong brings assimilation and Indigenous culture  to the mainstream community. Despite the challenges of the federal court and government, she continued to fight for the preservation of her culture and community. While she taught at the University of British Columbia Okanagan (UBCO), she used her knowledge to teach Sylix reading and writing courses, and the legal framework for Okanagan people to regain their rights. She also established the En’owkin Writing Centre for Okanagan people to refind their traditional language. Armstrong encouraged the combination of Syilx and English teachings to remember their culture. She has been participating in the Okanagan Nation Alliance since its founding as a council member. For example, she worked with Okanagan Nation members to discuss the water and food shortage in 2010. Sustainability continues to be their main issue of discussion. 

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Ely S. Parker/ Do-ne-ha-go-wa (Seneca)- Biographical Timeline

Biographical Timeline | Leadership Qualities | Maori Land Ownership | References

 

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Whina Cooper – Leadership Qualities

Biographical Timeline | Leadership Qualities | N.Z. Foreshore and Seabed | References

Diplomatic 

Whina Cooper exemplifies diplomacy because she was an active leader in Maori politics and also a community leader for established groups in New Zealand. Her work can be seen throughout the timeline of her life. In the 1930’s Cooper was considered a community leader in the Northern Hokianga region because of her involvement in community activities and her community church. From 1946 to 1952, Whina was secretary and trustee of the Panguru Tribal Executive Committee. She defied gender norms by being elected the first woman elected president of the Rugby Union Branch in April 1947. One of the biggest diplomatic positions Whina held in her life was being elected foundation president of the Maori Women’s Welfare League in Wellington. Through that position, Whina’s first initiative involved to survey the living conditions of Maori Housing in Auckland which showed the harsh living conditions of the Maori people. The dwellings appeared to be crowded and unsanitary. The main reason we chose Whina as diplomatic was because she used her title as President of the Maori Women’s Welfare League to help her Native Maori peoples out. She used her power to benefit her people’s well-being.

Educated 

From the age of 7, Cooper received an education that most do not have the opportunity to receive. She attended the Whakarapa Native School and then with the financial help of a Native minster, she went to St Joseph’s Maori Girls’ College for a secondary education. Upon completing her education, her father requested she marry a widowed man but she declined the offer. Instead, she chose to work in a store. Two years later she was appointed a trainee teacher at the Pawarenga Native school. Educated can be seen as a leadership trait because he value Cooper had in education and following her own goals represents the idea that she knew she did not need to get married. We chose this trait because her education also allowed her to be able to create a voice for herself and stay connected to her church. This would later help her become an active community leader in her church and her education allowed her to become an activist with the knowledge she gained and immersed herself in.

Determined

We chose to describe Whina as determined beacuse despite her old age, Whina agreed to lead a coalition of groups formed Te Ropu o te Matakite  in a march to combat further alienation of Maori Land.  More than 5,000 marchers arrived at the New Zealand parliament where Whina presented a petition signed by 60,000 people. Her activism shined through her frail body and her determination for her peoples land rights was witnessed by many that day. And to this day, the one who stood out the most at the 1975 March was the older Whina.

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Neville Bonner – Mauna Kea

Biographical Timeline | Leadership Qualities | Mauna Kea | References

Courtesy of Travel Shack Summit Tours

Mauna Kea is a dormant shield volcano located in Hawaii, with the tallest summit in the region at almost 14,000 feet above sea-level. Mauna Kea is considered a sacred place for the native people of Hawaii, because of it’s many sites of natural and cultural significance such as traditional cultural properties, buildings and trail systems. The land is rich with objects of cultural significance that maintain the cultural identity of the Hawaiian community.

In addition to Mauna Kea’s cultural significance to Native Hawaiians, the land is also known for being the optimal spot for astronomers to stargaze and conduct research due to its high elevation, unblemished air, and distance from any cities. In addition to objects and sites of cultural significance, Mauna Kea is also home to many observatories and telescopes owned and operated by eleven different countries.

University of Hawaii, Institute for Astronomy

In 2014, there was a proposal for a new telescope to be constructed on the summit of Mauna Kea, the $1.4 billion Thirty Meter Telescope. When/if built, this telescope would be the most powerful and advanced optical telescope on the planet. However, the plan has been received with much opposition from Native Hawaiians who refer to Mauna Kea as the core of their culture. At 18 stories tall 1.4 acres wide, the Thirty Meter Telescope would be another tarnish to a sacred, ancient landscape which holds cultural significance dating back hundreds of years. To the Native Hawaiians, the construction of the telescope represents the recurring issue of indigenous land rights and whether these scientists have a right to build this telescope on their sacred land in the first place. After Hawaii was annexed to the United States, there was a boom of development on Hawaiian land, which contributes to the lack of credibility in the U.S. government’s promise to preserve and protect Hawaiian land currently.

Aaron Yoshino, Honolulu Magazine

On the proposed first day of construction, peaceful protest ensued on Mauna Kea’s summit and has persisted ever since. As of today, the telescope has not been built, but scientists are lobbying for its completion. However, some scientists are divisive about the issue as well, stating that although the telescope would be extremely critical in advancing astronomical research, they themselves do not have the right to develop on the sacred mountain. Protesters currently are hoping the court case opposing the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope reaches the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, the developers claim to be on track to completion by 2024.

Regarding this event, Neville Bonner would support the Native Hawaiian’s peaceful protest against the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope in Mauna Kea. During his time, Bonner was supportive of Aboriginal activists when they utilized their right to express themselves and speak against the injustices Aboriginal peoples faced. However, Bonner would believe that utilizing political methods would be far more effective than a peaceful protest. Instead of directing his attention onto the scientists, Bonner would face the white government who has the final say on constructing the Thirty Meter Telescope to show that indigenous peoples are capable of doing more than protests. He believed that the best way to bring change to the Aboriginal community was to reform the oppressive political system. Bonner would show the U.S. government that indigenous peoples’ rights are to be honored and given the proper political support. To the non-indigenous politicians who do not understand indigenous cultures, Bonner would speak for the spiritual relationship indigenous peoples had with their lands. Only in the government would he have the opportunity to push the issue and force the non-indigenous politicians to listen to the problem involving Mauna Kea, because it is they who wield the power in constructing the Thirty Meter Telescope.

During his life, Neville Bonner was an advocate for indigenous rights, especially land rights. As the chair of the Select Committee on Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, he recommended better protection of Aboriginal sacred lands, as well as the exclusive use of certain lands for Aboriginal communities. Therefore, he would recommend the same to the United States government. Mauna Kea is a sacred land of cultural significance and importance to the Native Hawaiians. Therefore, Bonner would uphold the belief that the United States has a duty to protect these lands, rather than destroy them by building the Thirty Meter Telescope. Bonner would also advocate that Mauna Kea originally belonged to the Native Hawaiians, and therefore the Native Hawaiians currently retain ownership of such lands. Even though Hawaii was annexed by the United States, Bonner would avidly oppose the theft and destruction of sacred Native Hawaiian lands.

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Louis Riel (Métis) – Biographical Timeline

Biographical Timeline | Leadership Qualities | Sixties Scoop Settlement | References

 

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Katie John (Athabaskan)- Biographical Timeline

Biographical Timeline | Leadership Qualities | Atlantic Salmon | References

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Chief Leschi – Biographical Timeline

Biographical Timeline | Leadership Qualities | Schaghticoke Nation Lawsuit | References

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Chief Leschi – Leadership Qualities

Biographical Timeline | Leadership Qualities | Schaghticoke Nation Lawsuit | References

Chief Leschi was not simply selected to be a leader, the Nisqually people believed that the stars aligned on the day of his birth and he was predestined to lead his people someday. Chief Leschi was a leader who was held in the highest esteem.

Leschi had pacifist tendencies, which made him a graceful and level-headed leader. He did not believe that fighting would resolve any of the issues that his tribe was facing. Regardless of the mistreatment of Native people by Americans, he strongly discouraged his people from killing Americans.  He believed that reasoning with other tribes and the government was more progressive than combat. He even offered to cut off his right hand to show he would not fight the Americans in exchange for peace for his people. Even when the American government was threatening imprisonment, he decided to flee instead of fighting back because he so strongly stuck by his moral values of avoiding combat.

Chief Leschi was known for being a loyal leader. He prioritized the wellbeing of his people over his own. When the government asked him to sign the Medicine Creek Treaty which would relocate the Nisqually people as well as other bands who spoke Chinook Jargon, he refused because he felt as though the new land would result in a deterioration of his people. There were not means for sustenance at the new location– it was lacking a river and a place for horses to graze. Leschi fought against the signing of this treaty, even though he knew that it would potentially put himself in great danger. His persistence allowed for better treaty terms to be negotiated after the end of Puget Sound War. He eventually, gracefully, accepted his resulting death knowing that he was able to give his people land that they could sustain themselves on.

Not only was Leschi loyal to his people, but he was also persistent. When the Americans first settled, Leschi constantly monitored the foreigners to decipher their intention with his land. As the governor moved from tribe to tribe to evaluate more land, Leschi followed and observed the interactions and how the local tribes treated the outsiders. Leschi even made a trip to Olympia to negotiate with the American government for peace. After fighting between natives and foreigners broke out, Leschi was persistent in his pacifist efforts to obtain peace. Leschi attempted to bargain with an American that he had befriended for peace, but nothing was achieved even though his American friend John Swan visited the native lands. Leschi’s love for his land brought him back to the Nisqually Plains, and once again he made a plea with an American colonel for peace. Even when Leschi was on trial for a murder he did not commit, he fought for justice and the truth for his people. Although Leschi was hanged, his persistence lives on today through his people who now use his name in their fight for education for their children.

 

 

 

 

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Winona LaDuke (Ojibwe) – Biographical Timeline

| Biographical Timeline | Leadership Qualities | Whanganui Water Rights | References

 

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Billy Frank Jr. – Leadership Qualities

Biographical Timeline | Leadership Qualities | Fishing Rights in Alaska |  References

Passionate

Billy Frank Jr. devoted all his energy into a career of protecting fishing rights of the Nisqually tribe because he was passionate about preserving the traditions of his people. He chaired the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission (NWIFC) for the majority of the final 30 years of his life. NWIFC, formed to aid the tribes in fisheries management responsibilities, served 20 Western Washington treaty tribes with a central office in Olympia and satellite offices in Mt. Vernon and Forks, Washington. Its staff included fishery and shellfish biologists, biometricians, habitat analysts and managers, fishery geneticists, and much more. It covered all of Puget Sound as well as coastal locations.

Billy Frank Jr. was involved in the Nisqually Tribe’s work to restore the Nisqually River Delta. Because the federal government is responsible for managing the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, the tribe had to work in conjunction with the federal government to remove the dike system that held back seawater. With the help of Billy Frank Jr.’s passionate leadership, the tribe successfully restored 140 acres of its own land.  This 140 acres combined with more than 700 acres of land in the federal wildlife refuge, from which dikes were removed in 2009. Because of the dike removal, the wildlife refuge became a prime habitat for endangered salmon.

Bill Frank was often the voice of the commission to the public. Newspapers quoted him repeatedly in articles on fisheries issues in the Northwest. He wrote editorials about treaty shellfish rights, water rights, and a myriad other issues. He served on the leadership council of the Puget Sound Partnership from its inception in 2005. He spared no effort to his decades-long fight for justice and environmental preservation, proving him to be a very passionate leader.

Resilient

No matter how hard it is to preserve the fishing rights of his tribe, Billy Frank never gave up. He was arrested in December 1945, when he was just 14. He had set a net on the Nisqually

Billy Frank Jr. (1931-2014) getting arrested, Olympia

River the night before his arrest to snare fish from the late chum run headed for the Muck Creek freshet. This location burst forth with fish around December every year. He hid his canoe under a fallen maple and arose early the next morning, while it was still dark, to claim and clean his catch. But while doing so, there came a shout, “You’re under arrest!” This arrest for “illegal” fishing on his beloved Nisqually River, spurred Bill Frank to become a leader of a civil disobedience movement that insisted on treaty rights. He was fighting for the right to fish in “usual and accustomed places” which was guaranteed to Washington tribes more than a century before. More than 50 arrests would follow over the years, for Billy Frank and for many other tribe members. However, Billy Frank Jr. continued to fish, and he continued to get arrested.

Billy’s life is turbulent, but Billy is not. He was resilient to all the arrests because he believed it was of the utmost importance to preserve the traditions of his people. He had been taught as a member of the Nisqually tribe that his people had fished for millenniums in the waters that flow from the foot of Mount Rainier into Puget Sound in Washington. He was determined to protect his rights and never wavered.

Inspiring

Bill Frank is an incredible, influential and inspirational leader by his courage, kindness, and dedication. He supported hundreds of Indians’ families and their traditions.  One man shared his memories of the life and work of Billy Frank, “he didn’t mince words, they came from the heart and he said it like it was. His spirit will live on in memories and the heart.” Another person wrote that, “his lifetime of work demonstrates to that we are no longer faced with a question of whether or not to take on the fight. Rather, how do we continue the fight? How do we continue to move forward to advance treaty rights, to protect our resources, our culture, our way of life and ultimately our people?”

Billy Frank Jr. (1931-2014) at Treaty Tree

Bill Frank once said that “I don’t believe in magic. I believe in the sun and the stars, the water, the tides, the floods, the owls, the hawks flying, the river running, the wind talking. They’re measurements. They tell us how healthy things are. How healthy we are. Because we and they are the same. That’s what I believe in.” His heart and his presence had a way of attracting people young and old, from all walks of life and inspiring them to continue the fight of preserving their rights as indigenous people.