James Mills: An ongoing journey to find great tribal leadership

I learned the art of outstanding leadership from the great examples of people like Homer Mandoka from Huron Potawatomi, my dear friend Eli Hunt from Leech Lake who passed away last year, leaving an enormous vacuum in his wake. With tribal enrollment, I learned from the greats like Tina Notah from Gila River, and Nancy Garcia from Tohono O’odham and so many others who have inspired me to be at my best. And to all of them I am forever grateful.

When you work as a leadership trainer, and the people you work with go away with a better understanding of their roles as tribal leaders, the rewards are many. Seeing someone go back to their tribe and make the kind of changes that actually makes a difference in people’s work and lives, that is the greatest reward of all.

When you work with Tribal Enrollment, you are bound to make a lot of friends, and perhaps a few enemies along the way. You can never please everyone. But I have always tried to do the right thing and I believe overall it shows in the wake of my work. Many enrollment departments that were dysfunctional are operating well today. Many now have sound and practical policies and procedures to follow and are moving into the unknown future with confidence and the courage required to make the changes that in the long run, will benefit all tribal members. All of these people, are indeed great tribal leaders and I salute them all. And my search for great leaders continues…