Ancestors-in-Training as Indigenous Leaders in Higher Education: Honoring Our Legacy

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Book Review Details

Robin Zape-tah-hol-ah Minthorn, Tiffany D. Smith, and Theresa J. Ambo (eds.)

Abingdon / New York: Routledge (2026) 246pp., hardback £47.99

ISBN 9781041040101

Book Review Authors

Mari-Ana Jones, mari.a.jones@ntnu.no

Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway

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Ancestors-in-Training as Indigenous Leaders in Higher Education: Honoring Our Legacy offers a timely and hopeful contribution to growing conversations about Indigenous leadership in higher education. Bringing together contributions from Indigenous scholars, leaders and practitioners, the volume explores how Indigenous leadership is shaped through relationships, responsibility, cultural knowledge and commitments to future generations. At a time when universities across many countries are engaging with questions of reconciliation, decolonisation and Indigenous inclusion, the book provides valuable insights into how Indigenous perspectives can challenge and enrich dominant understandings of educational leadership.

The volume is organised into three thematic sections, each exploring Indigenous leadership from a different vantage point. An introductory chapter situates the collection within contemporary conversations about Indigenous leadership in higher education.

The first section, Administration and Governance, focuses on Indigenous leadership within institutional structures and decision-making processes. Contributors explore topics including Indigenous women's leadership in academia, collaborative approaches to higher education grounded in Diné perspectives, Kanaka ʻŌiwi understandings of leadership, and the cultivation of future Indigenous leaders. Across these chapters, leadership is presented as deeply relational and connected to community, responsibility, reciprocity and cultural continuity. The section also includes reflections on campus-building, representation and navigating leadership roles within institutions that have historically marginalised Indigenous peoples.

The second section, Indigenous Leadership Academic Programs, shifts attention towards educational programmes and institutional initiatives designed to foster Indigenous leadership. Chapters examine Native leadership programmes, leadership preparation in higher education, holistic and community-centred leadership models, Indigenous student success centres, family engagement initiatives and partnerships with Tribal Colleges. Collectively, these contributions provide practical examples of how universities and colleges can create structures that support Indigenous students, staff and communities while advancing Indigenous priorities within higher education.

The final section, Indigenous Student Leadership and Activism, focuses on the experiences and contributions of Indigenous students as leaders, advocates and agents of change. Contributors discuss mentorship, Indigenous methodologies, activism, student movements, STEM leadership programmes, leadership development organisations and international mobility opportunities. The chapters highlight the importance of community, identity and collective action, demonstrating how Indigenous students are contributing to institutional transformation while developing leadership capacities grounded in cultural values and responsibilities.

Rather than presenting a single theoretical framework, the chapters offer diverse accounts of leadership journeys, institutional transformation and community engagement. A particular strength of the book lies in its emphasis on leadership as relational and collective rather than individualistic. Throughout the volume, leadership is portrayed as grounded in accountability to communities, ancestors and future generations, offering an important alternative to managerial and hierarchical approaches that have often characterised leadership discourse in higher education.

The richness of the collection stems from the diversity of voices represented. Contributors draw on their experiences as Indigenous leaders, educators and scholars to illustrate both the opportunities and challenges of working within institutions that have historically marginalised Indigenous peoples and knowledge systems. These accounts bring humanity and authenticity to the discussion, demonstrating how Indigenous leadership is lived and enacted in practice rather than merely theorised.

The book is also notable for its practical orientation. Many chapters provide concrete examples of initiatives, programmes and leadership practices aimed at supporting Indigenous students, strengthening community partnerships and creating more culturally responsive institutions. For readers working in higher education, these examples offer both inspiration and useful points for reflection regarding how Indigenous leadership can be supported within their own contexts.

At the same time, the collection raises questions that suggest directions for future scholarship. While the volume provides important insights from predominantly North American contexts, readers may wish to see a broader range of Indigenous perspectives from other regions, including the Nordic countries, Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, Latin America and Africa. Such perspectives could further illuminate both common themes and context-specific dimensions of Indigenous leadership across different educational and political settings.

A further area for development concerns the synthesis of the diverse perspectives presented. The strength of the volume lies in the richness and variety of individual contributions; however, the collection offers relatively limited critical engagement across chapters. Greater attention to identifying shared themes, tensions and conceptual implications could have strengthened the book's contribution to the emerging field of Indigenous higher education leadership and supported dialogue across different Indigenous contexts.

These observations do not detract from the significance of the volume. Rather, they reflect the promise of a field that continues to grow in both scope and importance. Ancestors-in-Training succeeds in foregrounding Indigenous voices and leadership perspectives that have too often been absent from higher education literature. The book provides a compelling reminder that leadership is not only about institutional effectiveness, but also about relationships, responsibility, cultural continuity and collective futures.

Overall, this is a thoughtful and engaging collection that will be of interest to scholars, educational leaders and policymakers concerned with Indigenous education, higher education leadership and institutional transformation. Its emphasis on relationality, community and Indigenous ways of knowing makes it a valuable contribution to contemporary discussions about the purposes and possibilities of higher education.

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