Phil Lane, Jr. - A Brief Resume

Phil Lane Jr. is a member of the Yankton Dakota and Chickasaw First Nations and is an internationally recognized leader in human and community development. He was born at the Haskell Indian Residential School where his mother and father met and attended school.

During the past 36 years, he has worked with Indigenous peoples in North, Central and South America, Micronesia, Thailand, India, Hawaii and Africa. He served 16 years as Associate Professor and Founder and Coordinator of the Four Worlds International Institute at the University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. Four Worlds became an independent Institute in 1995. As well, Phil is President of Four Directions International, an Aboriginal company, which was incorporated in 1996 as Four Worlds’ Economic Development Arm.

With Phil’s guidance and applied experience, Four Worlds has become an internationally recognized leader in human, community and organizational development because of the Institute’s unique focus on the importance of culture and spirituality in all elements of development. Four Directions International is dedicated to the development of sustainable economic enterprises that support holistic, political, social, cultural, environmental, spiritual and educational development.

In 1977, Phil was named a Modern Indian Sports Great by the National Indian Magazine, Wassaja, for his record-breaking accomplishments in Track and Wrestling. He has extensive experience in his own cultural traditions, is an award winning author and film producer and holds Master’s Degrees in Education and Public Administration. His film credits include the National Public Television series “Images of Indians” with the late Will Sampson, “Walking With Grandfather”, “The Honor of All: The Story of Alkali Lake” and “Healing the Hurts”.

In August, 1992, Phil was the first Indigenous person to win the prestigious Windstar Award, presented annually by the late John Denver and the Windstar Foundation to a global citizen whose personal and professional life exemplifies commitment to a global perspective, operates with awareness of the spiritual dimension of human existence and demonstrates concrete actions of the benefit for humans and all living systems of the Earth. At this International event, in recognition of his lineage and long time service to Indigenous peoples and the human family, Indigenous Elders from across North America recognized Phil as a Hereditary Chief through a Sacred Headdress Ceremony. Other Windstar winners include: Oceanologist Jacques-Yves Cousteau, David Brower, Founder of the Earth Island Institute, Yevgeni Velikhov, Vice President of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize Winner and founder of Kenya’s Greenbelt Movement; Akio Matsumura, Executive Director of The Global Forum, and Lester Brown, President of the World Watch Institute.

On November 11, 2000, Phil received the Year 2000 award from the Foundation for Freedom and Human Rights in Berne, Switzerland. Phil is the first North or South American person to receive the award, and he joins a select international group: the Dalai Lama of Tibet, Dr. Boutro Boutros Ghali, former Secretary General of the United Nations, and British Lord Yehudi Menuhin, musician and philosopher, have, also, received the award. The foundation says the award is in recognition of Phil's "unique contributions to improve the lives and future hopes of native populations. It is primarily based on his most special merits of promoting freedom and justice for indigenous people by building human and spiritual capacity rather than opposing oppression directly and also on his international visionary initiatives among Native populations by healing the root causes of hopelessness and despair."

On December 10, 2005, the Board of Directors of the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation (UIATF) unanimously appointed Phil as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). His vast national and international experience in human and community development was an excellent fit with the goals of United Indians Board of Directors. Phil has created a series of initiatives since arriving at United Indians that have been unanimously approved by the UIATF Board of Directors – The Daybreak Star College, Head Start Governance Policy, Internal Collaborative Management Plan, Rapid Assessment of United Indians of All Tribes and Daybreak Star Revitalization Plan.