"This might be the first step for the university of the universe," said Lionel Bordeaux (right), pictured with Maori education leader, Mana "White Hat" Forbes.

“We acknowledge that your faces are all familiar. I have seen your eyes in the campfire years ago,” said Maori leader John (Hone) Tahu. Tahu spoke to his American Indian brothers and sisters at a historic meeting between indigenous higher education leaders from New Zealand (Aotearoa) and the United States. The W.K. Kellogg Foundation helped arrange the meeting, which was part of the World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education in Hilo, Hawaii, August 1-7.

The tribal college presidents and the representatives of the “wananga” (Maori post-secondary institutions) in New Zealand traded stories that revealed remarkable similarities in their goals and obstacles in the two countries. Rather than focusing upon merely trading information, however, the participants shared prayers and gifts, forging deeper and more enduring relationships.

“This event must have the quality of the creator or it would wither. This won’t be an academic exercise. It won’t be just a pile of words on the table. It will be precious like a newborn baby,” said Dr. Janine Pease-Pretty on Top (Crow Tribe), president of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) and of Little Big Horn College.

The Maori chief, John Tahu, sang his response in the Maori language, gripping his carved talking stick as he sang. “We have paddled a long way to meet you. You have traveled many miles across the deserts to meet us. There is a revolution taking place. We are progressing rapidly into the past. Without a past, there can be no future,” he said.

The two nation’s higher education leaders exchanged formal greetings in their own languages—Maori, Anishinabe, Dine, Lakota, Blackfeet, Blackfoot, Crow, Cheyenne, and Winnebago. The tribal college presidents shared their traditional names with their new friends, names that even their colleagues had never heard before: Medicine Wolf Woman, Lone Star, Winter Raiding Woman, One who Loves to Pray.

Sinte Gleska University President Lionel Bordeaux said that tribal elders had recruited him to lead the college more than 30 years ago. “They told me we have brothers and sisters in the four directions. Try to be involved with them because that is our calling,” he said. “This might be the first step for the university of the universe,” Bordeaux said.

Like the tribal colleges, the Maori wanangas provide education with a cultural foundation. “We’re into second chance learning and vocational learning. It’s an interesting road with many potholes. One of the potholes is the pot that is put in the mouth,” said Mana Forbes, campus manager of Te Wananga o Aotearoa in Hamilton.

“Past educational systems haven’t worked. They tried to strip us of our culture and everything that makes us unique. They left us as empty vessels,” said Puka Moeau, campus manager for Te Kuratini o Nga Waka. “At the wanangas, it is different,” he said. “We’re allowed to be Maori. We’re allowed to make mistakes and so we’re empowered to take our place in the international community. Most of our students have not had an ounce of our culture. When we feed them, that’s when they begin to thrive,” he said. Moeau is one of the wanangas’ success stories. After graduating from a wananga, Moeau earned his bachelor’s degree, became a lawyer, and is now working on his master’s.

Compared to the tribal colleges in the United States, many of which were established in the 1970s, the wanangas are relatively young. Although known around the world for their cultural immersion schools for younger students, the first two Maori post-secondary institutions were not established until 1981. There are three wanangas, compared with 31 tribal colleges and universities in the United States.

The 50 education leaders gathered in the tent in Hilo seemed determined to continue their relationship, despite living on opposite sides of the globe. Rongo Wetere Tumaki (chief executive officer of Te Kuratini o Nga Waka) said, “We have a saying, Hei Tangata, hei tangata (the people are the most important thing).”

Marjane Ambler is editor of the Tribal College Journal.