Sioux
Leaders: A History of Courage
Over 100 years ago, Sitting Bull had the courage
to face up to the fact that his people were facing
annihilation. Sitting Bull studied his people, had the
honesty to face up to their weaknesses and help them
overcome those. As a result, he organized not only his
tribe but others. Throughout this workshop, we learn from
the lessons of our traditional leaders how to succeed as
employees, as managers and business owners.
Click here for an introduction to our project and the
leadership lessons of Sitting Bull.
Crazy
Horse, another esteemed Sioux leader, was noted for
sometimes dismounting before shooting.
He was said to be the only Indian who did that often,
because he wanted to be sure he hit what he aimed at. He
didn't want to start a battle without having planned out in
his head all the details of how he was going to win.
After
the Battle of Little Big Horn, the federal investigators
concluded that the defeat was partially due to Custer's
underestimation of the Sioux warriors who "... were the
best fighters the sun ever shone on".
There are many, many initiatives to develop Native American
businesses, but none of those are going to do us any good
if 99 out of 100 businesses fail. Did you know that less
than 1% of companies in North Dakota are minority-owned?
It is time to apply the lessons from our traditional
leaders and succeed. Less than two years after our company
began, headquartered on the Spirit Lake Nation, we had over
one million dollars in signed contracts. I know we can
succeed as employees, as managers, as business owners
because I believe we still have the courage to be warriors.
Dr. Erich Longie, Enrolled Member, Spirit Lake Dakota Sioux
President, Spirit Lake Consulting, Inc.
Please click here to read more about Sioux
traditions in management