A member of the Ihanktonwan Dakota and Chickasaw Nations, Hereditary Chief Phil Lane Jr. is an internationally recognized leader in human and community development. 

For more than 50 years, Brother Phil, as he prefers to be called, has worked with Indigenous peoples from North, Central and South America, Micronesia, South East Asia, India, Hawaii, and Africa. He served 16 years as an associate professor at the faculty of education at the University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. 

With elders from across North America, Phil co-founded the Four Worlds International Institute (FWII) in 1982. FWII became an independent institute in 1995. Phil is chairperson of the Four Directions International and First Nations Solar, Indigenous-owned companies that serve as Four World’s economic development arm.

With Phil’s guidance and applied experience, FWII 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 human and community development.