Before this summer, I often encountered Indigenous rights through the language of international law: self-determination, sovereignty, consultation, and free, prior, and informed consent. Working with Indigenous Life pushed me to think more carefully about what those concepts mean outside of a classroom.

One of the most important lessons I took from my experience was that Indigenous rights cannot simply be about including Indigenous communities in decisions that have already been made. Self-determination requires something much deeper: recognizing Indigenous peoples as political actors with the authority to determine their own priorities, govern their territories, and decide what development should look like for their communities. Indigenous communities are continuously marginalized and left aside to resolve issues that concern them! 
This distinction confirmed the way I thought and approached indigenous rights advocacy. There is a significant difference between asking, “How can we help this community?” and asking, “What has this community identified as its priority, and how can outside organizations support it?” The second question requires listening before acting.

For me, this became one of the central lessons of my summer. Leadership does not always mean being the person proposing the solution. Sometimes, it means recognizing when your role is to create space for someone else to lead.