Grounded in the Anishinaabe Niizh Aaswi kachwaha kinoomaadziwin (Seven Grandfather Teachings) 

The ACPA27 Team understands learning as a relational, collective, and lifelong process, rooted not only in knowledge acquisition but in how we live, listen, and care for one another. Guided by the Anishinaabe Seven Grandfather Teachings — Nibwaakaawin (wisdom), Zaagi’idiwin (Love); Gwekwaadiziwin (honesty); Debwewin (truth); Dabasendiziwin (humility); Manaaji’idiwin (respect); Zoongide’ewin (Bravery or Courage) — this experience invites participants to engage in learning as an act of responsibility to self, community, and future generations. For additional information, please visit 7generation.org, ojibwe.net, and sagchip.org.

The Seven Grandfather Teachings: Origins and Overview 

The Seven Grandfather Teachings (sometimes called the Seven Sacred Teachings) come from the Anishinaabeg peoples, including Ojibwe, Odawa, Potawatomi, and related nations across the Great Lakes region of what is now Canada and the United States. The Seven Grandfather Teachings are foundational Anishinaabe values, shared across generations, that offer guidance for living a balanced, respectful life rooted in harmony and peaceful relationships.

In Anishinaabe teachings, the Creator entrusted seven spirits known as the Grandfathers to care for and guide the people. These Grandfathers sent a Messenger to Earth to find someone who could carry forward these values. After traveling in every direction, the Messenger chose a baby. The Grandfathers instructed that child to journey across the world for seven years, learning the ways of living as Anishinaabe. When the child returned, now grown, the Grandfathers shared seven core teachings to be passed on to the people: love, respect, bravery, truth, honesty, humility, and wisdom. Each of these teachings is expressed in Anishinaabemowin, with meanings that can be further understood through the language itself.

Because the teachings are conveyed through oral tradition, there is no single fixed version. Different Anishinaabe communities may emphasize different language, stories, animals, or metaphors. What remains consistent is the understanding that the teachings are interconnected and meant to be practiced together, not as isolated values or measurable outcomes. Each teaching or gift is connected to animals that embody these traits, serving as guides for interacting with the world, community, and environment. For more insight on how animals are connected to these teachings or gifts, please visit the Uniting Three Fires Against Violence website. 

The Teachings or Gifts 

• Love (Zaagidwin [ZAH‑gih‑dwin] / Zaagi’idiwin [ZAH‑gee‑ih‑DEE‑win] Love is unconditional care for self, others, and all of Creation. It is often described as the foundation for peace and balance and is understood as relational rather than possessive.

• Respect (Manaaji’idiwin [Mah‑NAH‑jee‑ih‑DEE‑win])
  Respect means honoring the dignity and worth of all beings—human and non‑human—and recognizing that all life is interconnected. Respect is practiced through listening, reciprocity, and care for the land and community.

• Bravery (Aakode’ewin [AH‑koh‑DAY‑eh‑win])
  Bravery is the courage to do what is right, even when it is difficult. It includes standing up for others, facing fear, and making ethical choices grounded in responsibility to the collective.

• Truth (Debwewin [DEH‑beh‑win])
  Truth is living and speaking in alignment with what one knows through experience. In Anishinaabe teachings, truth is tied to self‑knowledge and accountability—knowing who you are and acting accordingly.

• Honesty (Gwekwaadziwin [GWAY‑kwah‑JEE‑win])
  Honesty is being genuine in thought, word, and action. It requires integrity, transparency, and the courage to live without deception—both with others and with oneself.

• Humility (Dabaadendiziwin [DAH‑bah‑den‑DEH‑zee‑win])
  Humility reminds us that we are not above others or Creation. It emphasizes learning from community, Elders, and experience, and recognizing one’s role within a larger whole rather than at the center.

• Wisdom (Nibwaakaawin [NIB‑wah‑KAH‑win])
  Wisdom is knowledge lived and applied with care for others and future generations. It grows through experience, reflection, and learning from those who came before—and is always guided by the other six teachings.

A Note on Use and Responsibility for these Teachings/Gifts 

The Seven Grandfather Teachings are not simply values to be adopted or outcomes to be assessed. They are living teachings and a way of being that belong to Anishinaabe peoples and are best learned in relationship, with humility and respect for Indigenous sovereignty, knowledge keepers, and communities. When used in educational spaces, they should be approached as guidance for how to be together, not as performance metrics. 

As a Convention Steering and Planning Team, we believe that learning connected with ACPA27 happens in stories shared (dibajimowinan), questions held, moments of reflection, and relationships built—not solely in sessions attended, experiences had and skills gained. This convention (and the experiences before and after) is not a destination, but part of a larger journey of becoming, one that honors multiple ways of knowing, being, and belonging across cultures, roles, and identities.

ACPA27 Learning Outcomes 

This convention is rooted in creating spaces for becoming rather than performance, connection rather than competition, and shared responsibility rather than individual gain. We gather with intention—grounded in wiisokotaatiwin—and through this, we engage in dibajimowinan, sharing stories with one another to strengthen our field and our collective commitments. Here, learning is not defined solely by outcomes, but by the ways participants leave more deeply connected—to themselves, to each other, and to the broader purpose of student affairs and higher education as spaces of care, justice, and possibility.

As you engage in this space, I invite you not to “take on” Indigenous ways of being, but to reflect more deeply on how you show up in relationship with people, with knowledge, and with the world around you. Indigenous ways of being are rooted in generations of teachings, relationships, and responsibilities, and they are not something to adopt or replicate. What you can do, however, is slow down and center connection: take time to build genuine relationships before moving into agendas, listen to stories without seeking to extract from them, and recognize that not all knowledge is meant for you. Consider how you might return to yourself by unlearning patterns that disconnect you from community and accountability, and instead move with intention, respect, and reciprocity. Remember that gathering is purposeful – we are here not just to exchange ideas, but to honor one another’s presence. In doing so, you contribute to a space grounded in care, relationality, and a deeper sense of belonging for all.

Below, each teaching or gift includes 2–3 learning outcomes explicitly grounded in Indigenous Ways of Knowing, specifically relationality, balance, accountability, reciprocity, and responsibility. These outcomes can help guide convention planning and also provide a guide for what attendees may experience connected with ACPA27. 

Love (Zaagidwin) 

To know love is to know peace; love centers care, joy, belonging, and relational responsibility. 

By the end of the convention experience, participants will: 

• Be able to articulate where joy, care, and connection show up in their professional, organizational, and personal lives—and how these sustain their ability to support students and colleagues.

• Be able to describe how creativity, creative expression, and identity are sources of connection and love, both for themselves and within learning communities. 

• Be able to reflect on moments of belonging experienced at convention, naming how love is practiced through community care, affirmation, and mutual support. 

• Be able to shape the future of the profession by mentoring emerging leaders, contributing to scholarship or thought leadership, and leveraging national or international networks to influence standards, practice, and public discourse in higher education and student affairs.

Respect (Manaaji’idiwin) 

Respect is recognizing the inherent worth of all beings and honoring diverse ways of knowing. 

By the end of the convention experience, participants will: 

• Be able to learn with and from students, faculty, and practitioners across countries and cultures, demonstrating respect for different educational contexts and lived experiences. 

• Be able to describe inclusive and accessible (universal design) practices that honor dignity and participation in meetings, events, experiences, leadership and organizational change. 

• Be able to identify practices that foster belonging within ACPA, recognizing respect as foundational to this professional home and the communities within. 

Bravery (Aakode’ewin) 

Bravery is facing difficulty with integrity, vulnerability, and commitment to the collective good. 

By the end of the convention experience, participants will: 

• Be able to describe how showing up authentically in public and professional spaces requires courage, particularly within systems shaped by colonization and dominance. 

• Be able to name moments at convention where they practiced courage—such as engaging in difficult dialogue, unlearning norms, or imagining alternative futures for higher education. 

• Be able to identify at least one decolonizing practice they are prepared to carry back to their home organizations, even when change feels uncomfortable or risky.

• Be able to lead and model equity-centered, ethical decision-making by translating scholarship and best practices into institutional policies, cross-divisional initiatives, and advocacy efforts that improve outcomes for students, staff, and faculty. 

Truth (Gwayakwaadiziwin) 

Truth is living in alignment with what we know to be right, spoken and enacted with responsibility. 

By the end of the convention experience, participants will: 

• Be able to describe their truths about the future of higher education, grounded in the realities facing students, staff, and institutions. 

• Be able to distinguish between dominant narratives of success and their lived realities, recognizing tensions between institutional expectations and human needs. 

• Be able to synthesize contemporary research, theory, and innovative practices from multiple functional areas and articulate how these insights inform strategic decision-making and evidence-based practice within their institutional context. 

Honesty (Gwekwaadziwin) 

Honesty is being truthful with oneself and others, recognizing limits, contradictions, and growth edges. 

By the end of the convention experience, participants will: 

• Be able to articulate the value of their convention experience with honesty, naming both what affirmed them and what challenged them. 

• Be able to name how reality and joy coexist in their work, acknowledging both exhaustion and fulfillment without minimizing either. 

• Be able to critically evaluate their leadership approaches and apply equity-minded, inclusive frameworks to advance organizational effectiveness, staff development, and student success, particularly in complex or resource-constrained environments.

Humility (Dabaadendiziwin) 

Humility reminds us we are not the center; we are learners within a larger web of relations.

By the end of the convention experience, participants will: 

• Be able to describe the importance of intergenerational learning, including mentoring, wisdom sharing, and learning from students and elders, and everyone in between. 

• Be able to identify their professional home as something they grow into through relationship, rather than status, title, or individual achievement. 

• Be able to recognize limitations in their own knowledge, naming where listening, learning, and partnership are required.

Wisdom (Nibwaakaawin) 

Wisdom is lived knowledge—carried, shared, and applied with care across time. 

By the end of the convention experience, participants will: 

• Be able to distinguish between knowledge and wisdom, describing how information is acquired and how wisdom is passed through story, experience, and relationship. 

• Be able to describe how principles of student success were lived and witnessed at convention, recognizing wisdom in collective practice, not just outcomes or metrics. 

• Be able to leverage professional networks developed at the convention to collaborate across institutions, translate conference learning into actionable initiatives, and share knowledge through presentations, publications, or campus-based professional development. 

• Be able to evaluate emerging trends, research, and policy developments in higher education and apply them to enterprise-level strategy, including organizational design, resource allocation, and long-term planning to advance institutional mission and sustainability.

In Indigenous ways of being, knowledge is not something separate from life—it is lived and embodied through everyday experience. It emerges through doing, observing, listening, and engaging with the world, and is carried forward through story, practice, and relational teachings. This knowledge is not validated by abstract measures alone, but through community, through the passage of time, and through the strength and integrity of relationships that hold and share it.