ABSTRACT

I see layers of transformation in Higher Education. The fi rst layer is occupied by the righteous. These folks, Native and non-Native, open doors. But it is only a start. And this delicate beginning often fades in the face of shifting political positions. In the next layer, there is a retreat-pulling back to refl ect and reexamine. There is time to breath. The warriors rest their arms of words and positions. The administrators lay to rest the moral outrage, their earnestness. Then in the third layer, the deeper, and hopefully, more sustainable work begins. Folks encounter each other, often one-on-one, eyeball-to-eyeball, with deep listening and compassion, to weave the fabric of transformation and change through committed relationships. People in these relationships must negotiate hegemonies-their values and beliefs-to work with true mutuality in a spirit of love and respect to make something new .