Dan Barker: Cultivating Leadership through Indigenous Heritage

Bio:
Dan Barker is an award-winning leadership expert and Senior HR Business Partner with 20 years of experience, specializing in MBTI, Gallup Strengths, and Change Management. He founded IDA Leadership Lab to drive organizational growth through workshops and chairs the Bonneville Youth Development Coalition, focusing on youth and community development. A member of the Bad River Band of the Ojibwe, Dan advocates for indigenous rights and cultural preservation, enriching his work as a leadership consultant and speaker.

Links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-barker-mhrm-79719340/
Website: https://idaleadershiplab.com/

Quote: "True empathy comes from that ability to put yourself in someone's shoes, not for me to just be able to tell you I understand what it's like."

Episode Highlights:
Dan shares his unique journey from growing up in Northern Wisconsin and dealing with cultural transitions to becoming a leading figure in leadership development and community advocacy. He highlights the importance of preserving his Native American roots as a member of the Bad River Band of the Ojibwe and integrating those values into his leadership practices. His focus on empathy, progression, and blending diverse cultures and heritages offers invaluable insights for fostering inclusive environments.

Childhood Incidents:
Dan, a naturally aggressive child, joined football in seventh grade but quit due to the sport's physical demands. His dad encouraged him to view the challenge as a chance for growth. As an adult, Dan recalls the difficulty of moving from Idaho Falls to Boise during junior high, transitioning from a close-knit community to a larger, unfamiliar school, which left him feeling isolated during a critical period.

Influential Groups:
Having grown up in Idaho, the religious-based culture influenced Dan’s view of culture and drew him closer to his indigenous culture. It also opened him up to realizing there's an outsider factor.

Cultural Influence:
Dan reflects on his family’s heritage, emphasizing the importance of both the Kadat and Balange lines. His great-grandmother grew up near the Bad River Reservation on Lake Superior, maintaining a strong Indigenous connection. Dan’s mother humorously notes that her grandmother, fluent in Ojibwe, didn’t pass it down, possibly due to using it for private conversations among her siblings.

Dan married someone from a different culture, and blending their backgrounds was initially challenging. Over time, they successfully merged their cultures, creating unique family traditions and identities.

Temperament and Personality:
Dan believes that over the years, his empathy and compassion have evolved. He believes that when he was young, he lacked the social awareness to help him develop these two qualities.

Cultural Epiphanies:
Dan remembers joining Cub Scouts, which was organized by the LDS Church. Meetings were held at homes or churches, often including prayers. At one event, his father noticed Dan folding his arms during prayer, an LDS practice, and corrected him, explaining their family prayed differently. As a child, Dan saw this as a division between "us and them," but as an adult, he understands it reflected cultural differences—his family attended church, just not the LDS Church.

Soapbox Moment:
Dan’s principle is always to leave a place better than you found it. He believes if we do that, it sits well with our environmental factors and how we orient ourselves in the various work that we do and also with our families. He also encourages us to give back to our communities.

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