Flipping the paradigm

According to a 2021 report from Catalyst Canada, 52 per cent of Indigenous People feel “on guard” in the workplace. This is because they work in contested spaces, and contend with historic and contemporary biases and beliefs about race, ethnicity, and gender. The challenge of increasing Indigenous employment, indigenizing contested spaces, and affirming the experience and value of an authentic First Nation, Métis, or Inuit identity in an era of change, incivility, and conflict remains high. Socially sanctioned employment continues to be touted as the way to a better life for Indigenous Peoples, but by whose definition? Canadian society has linked working in mainstream industries and corporations to “getting to more,” but I don’t believe we have convinced the Indigenous mind that the sole pursuit of money and individual gain is important to well-being, a sense of humanity, or environmental health. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples contain principles that express a commitment to ensuring Indigenous Peoples are treated equal to that of any other Canadian. Yet, there is little acknowledgement of the value of Indigenous experience, knowledge, or life ways. We must remember TRUTH is keeping Indigenous Peoples at a disadvantage, and non-Indigenous staff and administrators may feel animosity when they do not have the facts behind the pursuit of reconciliation, and are only told they must participate in and co-operate with change. The “why” of this is important and often not understood, or sometimes even shared. The recent pandemic embedded uncertainty and triggered a sense of loss, confusion, and unresolved incivility. Consequently, there has been an acceleration of programming designed to bring people together under equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) training, being trauma informed, reconciliation- and culturally intelligent planning. However, barriers to integration in most workplaces continues to be high belying EDI approaches as a foundation for engagement because the approach to conflict resolution is imbalanced. The answer to WHY must be about acknowledging and understanding the legacy effects of hatred, oppression, and discrimination. The intent to exploit, intimidate, eliminate, and cause the destruction of Indigenous Peoples still living on the land comes directly from interests who mock land-based ways of knowing as inconsequential to economics. The large gap in cultural knowledge persists because a significant number of non-Indigenous people have not taken or been given time to embrace change. The other side of an Indigenous employment gap is non-Indigenous resistance, and any expectation Indigenous Peoples will carry the day and do the work needs to end. It is an Indigenous tenet to move towards harmony, but to leave the development of workplace collegiality out of the equation is untenable. The paradigm must be flipped to appreciate that training and mental health supports offered to those who resist change and refuse to learn might better resolve impasses, and leave the willing to an inclusive work environment. According to a 2022 article by Jim Dickinson, associate editor at the U.K. higher education platform Wonkhe, terms such as “rapid collegiality” may seem an oxymoron, but to his mind this is “because” we equate collegiality with committee processes, training, and program choices. Dickinson notes, “the trick is not to equate collegiality with committee-based discussions about rules and policies, but rather with wide community engagement on objectives and planning. The point of rapid collegiality is not to have a lot of palaver when disaster approaches; instead, leaders should understand community values and preferences at a deep enough level that things can move quickly in ways everyone knows will command community support.” However, is it possible to “re-invigorate the spirit of collegiality through inclusive planning and engagement” in the middle of an increasingly rancorous climate in so many industries, corporations, and governments? Contested spaces are steeped in European values, and firmly set in colonial foundations. Indigenizing corporate spaces, and embedding Indigenous thinking and worldviews into strategic and corporate planning is slowly happening. The challenge has been humanizing approaches to relationship building that make a place of employment welcoming and trusted. When Indigenous Peoples see a highlighting of Canada’s First Nation, Inuit and Metis history, our heroes, our knowledges, and our desire for equity and balance, we have hope. The goal behind these demands for change is the need to lift Indigenous Peoples, and appreciate what they have been trying to tell Canada since contact: they have some very powerful knowledges to share, positive ways of being, and they carry forward endless hope for our mutual futures. They are the water walkers, the whistleblowers on destructive mining and environmental issues, and peacekeepers on the world stage. Dr. Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux was appointed in 2016 as the first Indigenous chair for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada for Lakehead University in Orillia, Ont., and is a TRC honorary witness and chair of the NCTR Governing Circle. She is a member and resident of the Chippewa of Georgina Island First Nation in Ontario, and has dedicated her life to building bridges of understanding between peoples. The Hill Times