Aboriginal Leadership Quotes

Africa is the ancestral home of black people; our arms are open, in love we welcome you. Africa is the ancestral home of white people; our hearts are open, in joy we welcome you. Africa is the ancestral home of Asian people; our minds are open, in peace we welcome you. Africa is the ancestral home of Middle Eastern people; our homes are open, in delight we welcome you. Africa is the ancestral home of Aboriginal people; our banks are open, in understanding we welcome you. Africa is the ancestral home of European people; our schools are open, in humility we welcome you. Africa is the ancestral home of American people; our markets are open, in friendship we welcome you. Africa is the ancestral home of all people; our countries are open, in appreciation we welcome you.

Unlike many of his contemporaries, Finney did not believe in American exceptionalism—or blind patriotism. “There can scarcely be conceived a more abominable and fiendish maxim,” he wrote, “than ‘our country right or wrong,’” a maxim that, he noted, had been adopted in the case of the 1846 war with Mexico. On a national day of fasting in 1841, he called for a “public confession of national sins,” identifying those he found particularly egregious. One of them was “the outrageous injustice with which this nation has treated the aborigines in this country.” (He was referring in particular to the expulsion of the Cherokees from Georgia in 1838–39.) Another was of course slavery. By 1846 he had confronted the argument that slavery was a lesser evil than the division of the Union. “A nation,” he exclaimed, “who have drawn the sword and bathed in blood in defense of the principle that all men have an inalienable right to liberty, that they are born free and equal. Such a nation… standing with its proud foot on the neck of three millions of crushed and prostrate slaves! Oh horrible! This is less an evil to the world than emancipation, or even than the dismemberment of our hypocritical union! Oh, shame, where is thy blush?” Finney, needless to say, supported war with the South when it came.

When Lillian (Holt) argues that leadership steals your spirit, she means that institutional pressures change you; they erode your courage, passion and humour and wear you down so that important things don't get named and get overtaken by the trivial. In the following excerpts from one interview I undertook with her, Lillian elaborates why Indigenous Australians find it hard to speak out. There is a systemic blockage. Something happens to Aboriginal people who work in hierarchies, whether bureaucracy or academic… a bit like my own story of climbing the ladder of success. You get to the top and find it bereft, bereft of passion, bereft of intuition, of emotion. 'For God's sake don't talk about emotion in a place like this!

A strategy is only good if the community sees tangible and sustainable results.

If your idea benefits people without harming the planet, you're already ahead.

Results speak louder than promises - community empowerment thrives on evidence.

Solutions that work are more valuable than brilliant theories.

We must prioritise effectiveness over elegance in community solutions.

What matters isn't how innovative an idea is, but how well it sustainably serves the community.

Effective action is always better than beautiful rhetoric.

Our communities deserve practical solutions, not just inspiring speeches.

Community development must focus on tangible impacts and results, rather than political interests or favouritism.

Favouritism doesn’t build communities; actions and genuine impacts do.

Community development isn’t about looking good; it’s about doing good.

Forget the politics... good community work is measured by real outcomes, not just talk.

Wisdom isn’t about knowing everything... it's knowing what matters to your community.

Sustainability isn't a trend - it's the cornerstone of our ancestors' teachings.

To move forward, we must respect the wisdom of those who walked before us.

The measure of success in community development is durability, not headlines.

Every sustainable decision today honours future generations.

Impact doesn't require loud voices, just purposeful ones.

A community's strength grows when we blend traditional wisdom with new ideas.

Real innovation is accessible - it benefits everyone, not just a privileged few.

The true test of innovation is whether it nurtures the community’s collective wellbeing.

Real impact comes from actions measured by lasting change, not temporary applause.

Actions delivering genuine outcomes sustainably are always better than ambitious inaction.

Real change happens when we prioritise community wellbeing above economic returns, and honour wisdom over convenience.

Sustainable transformation is driven by placing community needs above profit-driven motives, and wisdom above easy solutions.

Our economies aren't designed around profits or politics; they're centered around community.

First Nations community development focuses neither on capitalist profits nor communist controls, but on community outcomes.

Our entrepreneurship isn't capitalism or communism; it's practical results centred around community wellbeing and sustainable development.

First Nations entrepreneurship moves beyond capitalist profit motives and communist bureaucracy, embracing success defined by community wellbeing.

First Nations development challenges capitalist and communist structures made for elites, creating paths toward genuine community success.