"The vision and transformational leadership of our past leaders, their commitment to Indigenous cultural rights and identity; rights to education, health, employment and the dignity of the Indigenous spirit has brought us to a critical time in our development."

- Dr Hohaia Collier, WINU Chancellor (2022).

The Journey that established world Indigenous Nations University

Here we journey through a snapshot of the history of WINHEC & WINU, capturing some key milestones and honouring those that made it happen. 

1993

The University of Alaska held an international conference on Higher Education and Indigenous People - WIPCE.

A group of people resolved to call on UNESCO to establish a Working Party to examine the issues associated with higher education and indigenous peoples, including the maintenance of languages, spirituality and cultures and the establishment of a Higher Education Qualification Authority.

A UNESCO forum was convened giving life to the International Graduate Alliance.

ADDRESSING THE DISPARITIES IN FIRST NATIONS ENGAGEMENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION

The Mataatua Declaration on the Cultural and Intellectual Property Rights of Indigenous Peoples, 1993 and the Coolangatta Statement on Indigenous Rights in Education, 1996 preceded the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, 2007.

Many Indigenous scholars recognized the authority implicit in these documents that declared the sovereignty of Indigenous peoples and their right to have education on Indigenous terms.

The seeds of the idea of a world Indigenous education movement were laid.

Founding Elders

Founding EldersUncle Turoa Royal & Uncle Rongo Wetere

2002

The World Indigenous Nations Higher Education Consortium (WINHEC) was officially launched at Kananaskis – Canada, after the tabling of a draft concept paper that was produced forming an important part of the conversations at a global gathering of Indigenous higher education and Elder representatives in Calgary.

Elected Co-chairs - Dr Rongo Wetere Aotearoa, Dr Lionel Beadeuax Mainland USA, Dr Turoa Royal Aotearoa .

Signing WINHEC Foundational Agreement
Kananaskis - Canada 2002

2010

The WINHEC International Indigenous Research Standards officially launched

WINHEC Executive Board Meeting - Sami University College – Norway 2010

Launch of the WINHEC International Research Journal (WIRA&J)

2011 RECOGNISING THE INTELLECTUAL AND SCHOLARLY ENGAGEMENT OF ELDERS IN HIGH ELDERS IN HIGHER EDUCATION

The WINHEC members voted unanimously to establish a Global Indigenous Elders Alliance (GIEA).

WINHEC Executive Co-Chair signing off on the proposal to establish GIEA.

2012

WINHEC Advancing the birthing of a new era of First Peoples Engagement in Higher Education.

Dr Turoa Royal, WINHEC Chair progressed the proposal for an International
Indigenous University to be established at WINHEC meeting hosted by National Dong Hwa University – Taiwan.

 

First WINHEC Research Conference held in 2012. Hosted by the College of Indigenous Studies - National Dong Hwa University, Hualien, Taiwan. (Pictured - Delegates at conference)

2013

World Indigenous Nations University (WINU) launched at The Navaho University Crown Point, New Mexico.

PhDs awarded to the inaugural PhD graduates based on their collaborative thesis for that informed the WINU

WINU's Vision

The vision of WINHEC is to advance the engagement and progression of Indigenous Peoples in Higher Education, recognising and reaffirming Indigenous educational rights, united in the synergy of self-determination through the control of higher education and the commitment to building partnerships that  

restore and sustain Indigenous knowledges - spirituality, cultures and languages, homelands, social systems, economic systems, and self-determination.

The WINHEC is a world network for Indigenous higher education and an entity in its own right, founded upon, operating within, and, bound by the sovereignty of Indigenous peoples. It is aligned both philosophically and pragmatically to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

WINHEC has worked with entities like UNESCO to protect, preserve and promote Indigenous knowledge, values and cultural heritage as it pertains to the sovereign rights of their respective people.

WINHEC’s progression as a global movement of Indigenous leaders in education is underpinned by the development of a series of initiatives that were developed in accordance with the:

• UNDRIP;
• 2015 United Nations General Assembly Outcome Statement;
• Human Rights Council Resolution 9/7;
• and complimented by the:
• Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in its report on the first Session on October 1 - 3, 2008;
• Economic, and the Social and Cultural Rights;
• Convention on the Rights of the Child; Articles 29 & 30; and
• Articles 13 & 14 of the International Covenant Economic Social Council paper E/C.19/2010/14.

In line with the goals of WINHEC and in honouring the Articles of the UNDRIP action has been taken over the past 20 years to promote and progress the basic rights of First Nations people in education and aligned social endeavours and indicators; Such accomplishments can be evidenced by the succesful development and adoption of the following initiatives:

• WINHEC Indigenous Student Alliance
• WINHEC Accreditation Agency (WAA) & Board of Accreditation & Affirmation (BOAA)
• The WINHEC International Research Standards;
• The World Indigenous Research Alliance & Journal (WIRA&J)
• The Global Indigenous Elders Alliance and
• The World Indigenous Nations University.

All of WINHECs endeavours were designed to address systemic, perceptual and theoretical barriers to the limited number of Indigenous RHD students and research active academics via a number of objectives:

• To facilitate and provide structural support for the development mentoring relationships between emerging and established Indigenous researchers
• To develop a short and long term strategy to contribute to a national and global increase in the number of qualified Indigenous researchers the level of Indigenous RHD participation and completion
• To provide a resource for universities, Indigenous agencies and governments in the Alliance seeking culturally astute Indigenous researchers in collaborative projects
• To build upon and expand a network of Indigenous researcher across a number of professional fields including Indigenous policy, economic development, education, climatic monitoring and well-being.

The series of initiatives that have been established through WINHEC have been critical to protecting and promoting First Peoples knowledge in an education structure and institutions that has empowered Indigenous leadership and provided resources for Indigenous peoples across the world through their own Indigenous sovereignty and knowledge systems. Collectively and singularly, WINHEC, BOAA, WIRA&J, GIEA and WINU has helped to address the barriers and challenges faced by Indigenous peoples across the globe by providing access to a system of higher education that is culturally and professionally resilient and aligned to a commitment to advancing Indigenous development through education.

In its culmination WINHEC through WINU and its network, leadership of the accredited WINHEC member institutions and associated alliances has afforded Indigenous people with access to co-joint undergraduate and post graduate degrees and programs that incorporate both western and Indigenous cultural knowledge and facilitates dual accreditation and ethical consideration. About 4 cohorts of graduates have been conferred with co-badged degrees with aligned member Institutions.