How I Lead in a Native American Ward | An Interview with Ian Nishimoto

Ian Nishimoto’s mother and father were born and raised in Hawaii.
His father served in the US Army for 30 years, giving Ian the
opportunity to live in many areas and hence his place of birth is
Staten Island, New York. Ian completed his master’s degree at the
University of Wisconsin–Stout in Training and Development. He began
his law enforcement career at the Outagamie County Sheriff’s
Department as a deputy sheriff, then worked part-time for the U.S.
Marshal Service and other municipalities as a patrol officer. He
recently retired from 24 years of teaching at Northeast Wisconsin
Technical College as a full-time instructor for the Criminal
Justice Department. Ian has served as branch president and bishop
of the Oneida Ward, on the high council and as a patriarch, and is
now considered a non-functioning patriarch as he serves as first
counselor in the Green Bay Wisconsin Stake. He and his wife have
been married for 41 years. They have two daughters, two sons, and
five grandchildren, and reside in Oneida, Wisconsin. Highlights
02:00 Introduction to Ian Nishimoto 09:00 On being branch president
and then bishop of the Oneida Branch. Ian explains why the branch
kept opening and closing. 12:30 In 1994 they wanted to open the
Oneida Branch once again and were met with a lot of backlash and
hurt feelings from when the branch was closed previously. 15:00 The
opposition that Ian faced being called to be the branch president
of the newly formed reservation branch. His counselors wouldn’t
even do it. 18:00 Creating momentum starting the new branch 23:50
The discouraging times and the slow progress of re-creating the
branch. Helping people reactivate in the church. 25:10 Dealing with
cultural and racial issues in the branch 32:20 Ian’s tips to a
bishop or branch president of a reservation branch or ward 33:30
Going about loving people. Ian would look at what they valued as a
culture and related it to the Savior. He got to know them, their
culture, and past stories of their tribe. 36:00 Ian talks about his
father, Arthur K. Nishimoto. He was called to preside over the
Japan Fukuoka mission and then at the temple in Tokyo. He also set
up the Church office in Japan. 40:30 Story of couple missionaries
serving in the Oneida branch and how they learned to love the
people there. They had to learn to understand the culture. 43:00
Ian talks about being a patriarch 47:00 Transitioning into the
calling of patriarch 52:00 Final thoughts and Ian’s personal
testimony of leadership and becoming like Christ Links Read the
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