Amanda Carlow and Randilynn Boucher-Giago have returned home from Aotearoa/New Zealand after attending the World Indigenous Peoples’ Conference on Education (WIPCE 2025) an international gathering that brought together more than 4,000 Indigenous people from across the globe. The week-long event, widely regarded as the most important educational summit for Indigenous nations, became a powerful platform for sharing knowledge, strengthening connections, and reaffirming cultural purpose.
A highlight of the conference was the keynote address from renowned Māori scholar Linda Tuhiwai Smith, who spoke on Indigenous excellence and the power of looking inward for solutions. “The answers come from our own communities,” Smith emphasized a message that resonated deeply with Carlow and Boucher-Giago.
Presenting Lakota Work on the World Stage
Together with SDSU professor Dr. Erin Griffin, Carlow and Boucher-Giago presented their work: Wóuŋhdakapi Un Uŋkíčičagapi: Establishing and Aligning K–18 Language Medium Pedagogy. Their session focused on building a coherent, continuous Lakota language pathway from kindergarten through university, an effort grounded in community leadership, teacher empowerment, and daily language practice.
“Standing in front of educators from around the world reaffirmed that our work is not isolated,” said Boucher-Giago. “It’s part of a global movement to bring Indigenous languages back into the center of everyday life.”
Learning from Māori and Hawaiian Educators
Before and after the conference, the pair spent time visiting Māori learning spaces and connecting with Hawaiian educators who were also in attendance. They described watching students who were living Maori every day, a model of language immersion that extended far beyond lesson plans.
A major theme from their visit was the leadership of teachers referred to in Hawaiian as kumu, a term meaning “source” or “foundation.” They noted that Māori and Hawaiian schools placed significant responsibility on their kumu teachers described as the foundation of language revival. “Kumu were willing to step into new places and pick the work up,” said Keiki. “Work was led by kumu. They guided the language, protected it, and modeled it with courage.”
The two noted that this teacher-driven model is essential for growth at home. “There is no growth when you are comfortable,” they learned. Boucher added. “What we saw in New Zealand was courageous teaching, kumu stepping forward, modeling fluency, making mistakes, and learning in front of their students.”
Building Generational Strength
As with their earlier reflections, both women returned home holding close the understanding that this work cannot fall on individuals alone. “My strength is not of one person,” Carlow said. “It is the strength of all the people.”
They were especially moved by the intergenerational fluency they witnessed in Māori communities, “generations of PhDs,” as they described them. Knowledge passed down not through institutions but through families, land, and community.
This intergenerational learning model where the community educates together serves as a powerful reminder of what their own people are working toward.
Bringing the Work Home
Their journey to Aotearoa and participation in WIPCE 2025 strengthened their belief that language revitalization must be lived daily, carried by teachers, and rooted in the land and people it belongs to.
“When a child speaks their language and stands from their own land, then they will be ready to lead,” said a Maori scholar.”
Carlow and Boucher-Giago returned home carrying more than inspiration. They returned with a renewed roadmap: speak the language daily, live the values openly, empower teachers, and teach students to stand firmly from their own land.