Browsing by Author "Henderson, David"

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Reconciling leadership paradigms: Authenticity as practiced by American Indian school leaders
(2015-01) Henderson, David; Carjuzaa, Jioanna; Ruff, William G.
This phenomenological study examined the complexity American Indian K-12 school leaders face on reservations in Montana, USA The study described how these leaders have to reconcile their Westernized educational leadership training with their traditional ways of knowing, living, and leading. Three major themes emerged that enabled these leaders to address racism in their schools and create spaces that were more conducive to the practice of culturally responsive pedagogy. The study highlights how leaders reconcile cultural clashes and confront racism by using identity, relationality, and re-normed practices.
Redefining and decolonizing philanthropy in American Indian communities
(2016) Carjuzaa, Jioanna; Ruff, William G.; Henderson, David
This review article critically analyzed patterns of American Indian philanthropy that persist in Montana to determine the meaning of doing with people as opposed to doing to or doing for people. We contextualized successful and innovative educational philanthropic efforts in Montana, a rural state in northwestern United States, by describing both the challenges and successes when American Indians and non-Natives collaborate. The basis of this review comes from a content analysis of information distributed by philanthropic foundations and organizations that serve American Indian communities in Montana and is framed by existing literature on philanthropy which includes writings by American Indian educators and social justice activists as well as social science research. Regarding author positionality, we are non-Native academics who have more than 50 years combined experience working with and learning from American Indian community members. The review explored how American Indian and non-Native philanthropic organizations have worked with American Indian communities to support decolonizing projects that facilitate Indigenous nation-building. Our recommendations highlight an acceptance that Westernized definitions of philanthropy are not universal and cultural humility is essential to the success of projects that enhance American Indian sovereignty.
Social justice leadership for American Indian sovereignty: A model for principal preparation
(2015-12) Henderson, David; Ruff, William G.; Carjuzaa, Jioanna
The Indian Leadership Education and Development project (ILEAD) at Little Bighorn Tribal College and Montana State University did not begin with an intentional focus on social justice; this article tracks the evolution of the program to becoming a model for indigenously sensitive/culturally responsive preparation for K-12 school leaders. Beginning with a U.S. Department of Education grant in 2006 and after three iterations, the program has trained over 70 American Indian school administrators serving Montana, South Dakota, North Dakota and Wyoming. Despite the program's success in preparing school leaders for historically underserved reservations and other schools across Indian country, the program has not achieved success without significant transformation from a dominant society, western academy, typical educational leadership program to becoming a program sensitive to Indigenous ways of being/ knowing but actually honoring and recognizing how these American Indian ontologies/epistemologies made the program stronger for all students - Indian and non-Indian.