The James Love Churchill Fellowship to research and apply best practice on Indigenous governance and leadership models

First Nations peoples across Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States (CANZUS countries) are connected in many ways. Through shared histories, historical policies and systemic discrimination, issues of leadership and self-governance have been at the heart of research for decades.

Michelle Deshong’s Churchill study entailed undertaking visits to First Nations communities and institutions focusing on models of leadership and governance. Comparatively, there are varying degrees of self-government, sovereignty and development and this project provided insight in how some of these research outcomes and best practice models could be implemented in an Australian context. Of particular note were concepts of nation building, cultural governance, sovereignty and identity. The report examines these issues in more detail.

Michelle implemented elements of the Fellowship finding into her role at the Australian Indigenous Governance Institute, reconnecting with many people through an International conference held in 2019.