Chinese Dragons and Indigenous Tricksters: Lessons for Leadership through an Intersection of People, Culture, Thought, and Practice

摘要

During the course of recent research, this author has discovered similarities between aspects of classical Chinese philosophies and practices of those of traditional Canadian First Nations (Indigenous) peoples. Included in this has been a discovery that aspects of traditional leadership skills from both cultures intersect and are applicable to the work happening in a modern Canadian university. The author has also personally observed an overlap in the culture and lives of Chinese and First Nations people in modern British Columbia, continuing a 150-year tradition in this part of Canada. This paper—tying aspects of these two cultural and historic threads together—will consider the questions: What fascinating observations can be made and what personal, philosophical, and leadership lessons can be contrasted and compared, learned and shared through this historic intersection of peoples, cultures, thoughts, and practices? And can these over-lapping examples assist in solving larger problems of identity in the modern world?