Overview
INST 470: Leadership of Indigenous Institutions and Organizations, is a three-credit, senior-level course that provides historical and contemporary discussions of the issues surrounding the development and exercise of leadership in Indigenous communities in Canada. The spectrum of activities in which leadership is exercised is also broad: from civic activism to corporate and executive responsibilities. It is important to remember that Indigenous leadership is exercised within organizational structures that are grounded in particular local contexts which influence every aspect of the organization’s operation.
The role of tradition, Elders, urban Aboriginals, and federal and provincial policy will also be considered. Students will connect the past injustices and their root causes to the contemporary tensions found in Aboriginal Canada.
Outline
INST 470: Leadership of Indigenous Institutions and Organizations is divided into the three sections and ten units listed below.
Part I: Indigenous Identity and Marginalization in Historical and Contemporary Contexts
- Unit 1: Cultural Survival in a Post-colonial Age
- Unit 2: Marginalization in Historical Perspective
- Unit 3: Contemporary Realities Revisited
Part II: Indigenous Rights and Related Issues
- Unit 4: Indigenous Rights in Canada
- Unit 5: Legal Developments in Context: Comparing the Models
- Unit 6: Trust and the Challenge of Indigenous Leadership
- Unit 7: Indigenous Environmental Planning
- Unit 8: Case Studies
Part III: External Perspectives
- Unit 9: Indian Country: The Contemporary Indigenous Peoples of the United States
- Unit 10: Globalization
Evaluation
Your final grade in INST 470 is based on the grades you achieve on three tutor-marked assignments, a journaling exercise and a final examination. To receive credit for the course, you must achieve a grade of D (50 percent) on the examination, and a minimum overall course grade of D (50 percent). The weighting of the course assignments is as follows:
| Activity | Weight |
| Assignment 1 | 15% |
| Assignment 2 | 20% |
| Assignment 3 | 10% |
| Journaling Exercise | 20% |
| Final Exam | 35% |
| Total | 100% |
The final examination for this course must be requested in advance and written under the supervision of an AU-approved exam invigilator. Invigilators include either ProctorU or an approved in-person invigilation centre that can accommodate online exams. Students are responsible for payment of any invigilation fees. Information on exam request deadlines, invigilators, and other exam-related questions, can be found at the Exams and grades section of the Calendar.
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University’s online Calendar.
Materials
Physical course materials
The following course materials are included in a course package that will be shipped to your home prior to your course’s start date:
Edwards, P. (2003). One dead Indian: The Premier, the police, and the Ipperwash crisis. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart.
Other materials
The course materials include a study guide, student manual, and a reading file.