Ambassadors

The Current Class

The 2008/09 Ambassadors Class

In January 2008, AIO recruited seventeen emerging leaders to be the tenth class of the Ambassadors Program. The 2008/09 Class represents seventeen (17) Native American leaders, representing eighteen (18) different tribes and twelve (12) states. These Native leaders include community organizers, fundraisers, graphic designers, library technicians, policy analysts, tribal government officials, and anthropologists.

AIO conducted the first gathering April 6-13, 2008 in New Mexico.

Gathering Two was September 7-14, 2008 in Washington, D.C. and New York City.

Gathering Three will be September 20 - October 3, 2009 in Aotearoa (New Zealand).

The first time AIO travelled to New Zealand was in 2002 for the International Gathering of the 2001/02 class. The group of Maori, the Indigenous Peoples of New Zealand, who hosted them, were so impressed by the Ambassadors Program that they formed the Advancement of Maori Opportunity (AMO), and started a Maori Ambassadors Program. To date, there are over 100 Maori Ambassadors, many of whom work in their tribal and national governments, in community organizing, education, language revitalization, and as attorneys.

The 2008/09 Class will engage in a week long International Indigenous exchange, beginning in September. All of the seventeen Ambassadors, who are also working to implement a community initiative in their own tribe/community, will observe the successful practices of the Maori language program and the Maori run tribal college.