What if... you could bring in a speaker that would completely transform the way your people saw service - seeing it as fulfillment, not a burden? What if they saw leadership not as a hassle but as an honor? What if you could bring in a diverse speaker that shared a message and stories so powerful that your people would never forget them - or forget to use them - and had a new sense of purpose and passion in all they did? Well... you can.

The Messenger... D.J. Eagle Bear Vanas is redefining the warrior concept through the lens of Native American tradition and showing people how they can fulfull that role in business and life. D.J., a tribally-enrolled member of the Odawa Nation and a former U.S. Air Force officer, understands the power of the warrior spirit and how we can use it to serve others with enthusiasm, lead with courage and win life's battles - and shares these ideas to "strengthen the tribe" for organizations such as IBM, Walt Disney, NASA, the Secret Service, the American Cancer Society and hundreds of tribal communities. He has also been invited to The White House to share his message - twice.

D.J.'s distinctive, diverse, one-of-a-kind message is unlike any your organization has ever experienced! Empowering and entertaining. Current and timeless. Practical and inspiring. Profound and humorous.

For the past decade, D.J. has used his dynamic programs to build warriors in 49 states and internationally to over 3,000 audiences at organizations such as IBM, NASA and hundreds of tribal communities, governments and schools - and he's ready to deliver his high-energy message to you!

Growing Up
Born into desperate poverty with teenage parents, D.J. has come far by any measure and truly "walks his talk" when it comes to achievement—and shares these proven methods with his audiences. D.J. was born in Muskegon, Michigan, and is the son of an Odawa Indian father and a mother of Dutch descent. He learned the value of service, dedication, and education from his hard-working parents. His father served 22 years in the Air Force and his mother has been a nurse for 20 years. Being raised in a military family, D.J. grew up in South and North Dakota, and spent most of his life in Biloxi, Mississippi. Showing motivation at an early age, he starting flying airplanes at 13 and attained a pilot's license at 17.

Education
D.J.'s own education and personal development has been in the classrooms of the country's top institutions and in the sacred circle of the Lakota Sun Dance ceremony. His formal education took place at the United States Air Force Academy where he earned a B.S. in Management, and at the University of Southern California, earning an M.S. in Systems Management. His earned titles include both the rank of Captain in the United States Air Force and the name Mato Wambli (Eagle Bear) in traditional ceremony.

Career
As a Captain in the United States Air Force, D.J. served his country and gained priceless leadership training and experience. For several years, he worked in the Air Force Space Program, as part of an international launch team on a multi-billion dollar satellite program. He also lived in the Australian outback for six months while working on this program and led an international team of engineers on the project.

D.J. was then selected as the Chief of Minority Enrollment at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado - he was the youngest officer ever to achieve this position. During this time, he selected, trained, and led four separate teams over as many years to break records for diversity in the student body.

A motivated entrepreneur, author and professional speaker, he started Native Discovery Inc. in May of 1999 to "build the warriors of tomorrow...today." D.J. uses traditional warrior concepts and colorful wisdom found in Native American culture to inspire others to achieve their best in life and career. D.J.'s celebrated book The Tiny Warrior: A Path to Personal Discovery & Achievement was first self-published in January 2002. Since then, it has been published by Andrews McMeel and has also been published in Canada, Japan, China, Korea and the UK.

D.J. has achieved success in two worlds. He is a member of the Odawa Nation and has served as a leader in Indian Country for over two decades, been a role model to youth, is a veteran of traditional ceremonies and has been honored with the name Eagle Bear in traditional ceremony. On the other hand, he's a decorated former military officer, an internationally-acclaimed speaker, celebrated author and successful business owner.

Personal
D.J. was selected to be a distinguished German Marshall Fellow (one of only 38 Americans) and traveled to Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Italy & Romania to improve relations between the U.S. and the European Union. Representing the U.S. and Native America, D.J. served proudly and has a new perspective on global dynamics. He is also a professional member of the National Speaker's Association, the International Federation for Professional Speakers, and the American Indian Science & Engineering Society where he is a Sequoyah Fellow. D.J. was inducted into the American Indian Graduate Center's Council of 100, which is composed of scholars, leaders and traditionalists across Indian Country. D.J. was selected for this honor for his "contribution as a leader in the Indian community." In 2006, D.J. was selected as co-chair of this esteemed organization. In 2007, D.J. was awarded Educator of the Year by the Native American Resource Group and the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.

He is also the writer of the award-winning monthly newsletter Firelight (Ryan Editorial Award) and continues to write a monthly column in the national newspaper News from Indian Country.

D.J.'s Programs
(All of these programs can be done as a keynote or half-day seminar; other programs may be available upon request.)

• The Warrior Within: A Path to Personal Discovery and Achievement - Based on concepts from D.J.'s celebrated book, The Tiny Warrior: A Path to Personal Discovery & Achievement, this program will inspire you and your people to bring out your best. Using wisdom discovered in traditional Native American ceremonies, you'll learn the true purpose of a warrior - not what we see on TV or in movies. Warriors spent their lives developing their talent and abilities to become assets to the village they served. Today that village can be your family, company, community, or clients - anyone you serve... In this session, D.J. will motivate you to use the power of your visions, attitude, and show you how to create an environment that will enable you to open doors to greater success in life and career! You can reach explosive levels of performance when you learn the truth about yourself - there's a warrior within!
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• Tip of the Spear: Leading Your People to Victory - Whether we're supervisors, employees or parents in the community trying to make a difference and influence others to action, leadership skills are critical to our success. This program is a dynamic blend of humor, practical examples and powerful tools for current and emerging leaders in any arena. D.J. uses traditional Native American wisdom and leadership concepts to create leaders who are visionary, action-oriented and resilient. Explore the 6 roles of Tip of the Spear leadership: Chief, Warrior, Hunter, Prophet, Scout and Medicine Person - understand the critical need for self-leadership - how to create a high-performance environment - employ stress to boost achievement - learn powerful ways to build trust, commitment and motivation among your people. Prepare to learn, laugh, and lead your people to victory!
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• Keeping the Fires Lit - This powerful program is for service providers in any arena and will renew your sense of purpose, passion and performance as you provide outstanding service to others. In Native American traditions, warriors spent their lives developing their talent and abilities to become assets to the village they served. Today that village can be your family, community, clients – anyone you serve and in order to create success within the village, we must first be able to take excellent care of ourselves and keep our fires lit. In this session, D.J. will show you effective strategies to keep yourself inspired, motivated and focused, lower your stress and keep your spirit strong as you continue to serve others. Get ready to laugh, learn and look at your life in a whole new light!
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• Natural Wisdom for a Digital World - This program draws poignant lessons and practical examples from the world around us. Native elders have always said that nature was our best teacher and the outdoors were our greatest classrooms - in an era of fast-paced change and information overload in a digitally-driven world, this perspective is more powerful than ever to clarify our efforts, work in alignment with natural rhythms and allow us to achieve our very best even in chaos. Whether it's the example of persistence of water, how true growth is taught by plants or why we should develop strong support structures around us like coral reefs, these lessons will resonate and inspire at a deep level for each audience member. Your people will come away with new visions and tools to perform at their best by using timeless teachings and natural knowledge.
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• Tribal Tune-Up (for tribal governments/employees) - We all start our position with a desire to serve and to fight to make a difference in our tribe or organization - we all start off with that warrior spirit. Over time, we get into a rhythm that can become routine - and then a rut. Suddenly, we're no longer fighting to make a difference, but only fighting to make it to the weekend! This 3-hr mega-session is a wealth of ideas designed to inspire you to regain that warrior spirit, improve your service, leadership skills, manage your stress and remind you how much impact you can have in your tribe. This is an all-hands call that will be empowering and entertaining. You'll go from being tuned out to tuned up!
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• Success...It's in Our Blood (For native communities and youth) - We as Native people have endured every challenge that any group of people on the planet have endured - and we're still here! We aren't new to success - we were designed for it! In this dynamic and entertaining program, D.J. will inspire the audience with a new sense of purpose and passion in who we are and what we can do as Native people. Born into poverty to teenage parents, D.J. has used the power of his culture, education and determined drive to become a highly successful business owner and internationally-acclaimed speaker and renowned author who recently spoke at The White House. He'll show you how the simple choices we make each day can create a massive positive impact for us and those around us. You'll leave this session feeling supercharged towards your potential and how to use it to build a life of excitement, adventure - and success. After all, it's in our blood!
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