Carrying the Torch Forward: Indigenous Academics Building Capacity through an International Collaborative Model

Abstract

This article describes an ongoing international collaboration regarding Indigenouslanguage and culture education that engages post-secondary institutions in Hawai'i,Arizona, Alaska, New Zealand, and Canada. Formed in 2005 under the leadershipof the late William Demmert, Jr., this community presently brings a critical mass ofprominent Indigenous and non-lndigenous scholars together with emerging Indige­nous faculty and students using hybrid delivery—virtual and face-to-face interac­tion—for internationally conducted coursework. Topics on Indigenous epistemology,language, culture, knowledge, traditions, and identity are the focus of two rotatingIndigenous education course themes: Indigenous culture-based education and In­digenous well-being through education. Through networking and collaboration, theseminar has created "free spaces for authentic voices " (Gilmore, 2010), and mentor­ship of emerging Indigenous faculty and scholars to step into the role of leadershipin academic arenas, a process we refer to as “carrying the torch forward. ” Througha reflective review that included input from site instructors and student voices, theco-authors, who are Indigenous faculty, scholars, as well as former students, discussthe impacts of engaging the academy with Indigenous knowledges, peoples, and com­munities in meaningful ways. In this paper, we reflect on and highlight the potentialthat such collaborations provide, to access academic power while supporting the re­sponsibility that Indigenous students assume in navigating the pathway of highereducation toward Indigenous self-determination, broadly. More importantly, the in­ternational seminar space allows for advancement of this endeavour, grounded inthe Indigenous values of responsibility, respect, relevance, reciprocity, relationships,and resiliency.