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Honouring the footprints of the Original Peoples of Canada

How do we honour the footprints of the Original Peoples of Canada in our workplaces?

by
December 7, 2022
Filed to: Guest Columns
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The land we interact with every single moment carries the footprints of all those who came before us. The Original Peoples of this land left stories in these footprints.

So, how do we honour the footprints of the Original Peoples of Canada (Indigenous Peoples) in our everyday lives, and specifically, in our workplaces?

Be curious

Be curious about where you live! Here are some explorations to get you started:

  • What do you know about where you live and its Indigenous histories? Whose footprints live on these lands? What stories are waiting to be told and shared?
  • Who lives on these lands today?
  • What are the Indigenous languages that were and are spoken where you live? Can you learn the basic greetings in each of the languages? How can you incorporate these languages into your workplace?
  • Consider incorporating ancestral acknowledgements in your workplace. At what moments can you offer recognition of the ancestral lands and its people in meaningful ways?

Learn and share about truth and reconciliation

Learn as much as you can about Canada’s complex histories and the truths of the impacts of colonization. As you sit in the truths, share what you learn. A good place to start is 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act by Bob Joseph and Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future: Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

Make personal connections to the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action. What can you do individually and within the workplace collectively? Call to Action #92 calls on the corporate sector in Canada to take action. How is your workplace implementing this Call to Action and what can you do to contribute?

Be wildly inclusive and critical about how decisions are made

Take a critical look at who comprises your workplace. Are Indigenous Peoples part of the workplace in meaningful ways? Who makes the decisions, especially when it comes to Indigenous matters? One of the most significant things that can happen in a workplace is to put decision-making abilities in the hands of leaders who represent the who/what the decisions are being made about.

Create meaningful connections

Everything happens on the land! It is part of us. We are part of an interconnected whole. As we connect to the land, we connect to the Original Peoples and to the history we are part of. Get to know Indigenous Peoples where you live, get involved with community events, and volunteer! This is how we create meaningful and lasting connections. It is also reconciliation in action. At its heart, reconciliation is about establishing and creating meaningful relationships.

We have the opportunity to be curious about the footprints we walk in and the stories they contain. We also get to carry these stories forward, weaving them into the paths we create with our footprints. This is how we are part of creating a shared path forward that is inclusive of all of us and grounded in the rich history and diversity of the Original Peoples of these lands.

From Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action

Business and Reconciliation

92. We call upon the corporate sector in Canada to adopt the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a reconciliation framework and to apply its principles, norms, and standards to corporate policy and core operational activities involving Indigenous peoples and their lands and resources. This would include, but not be limited to, the following:

i. Commit to meaningful consultation, building respectful relationships, and obtaining the free,

prior, and informed consent of Indigenous peoples before proceeding with economic development projects.

ii. Ensure that Aboriginal peoples have equitable access to jobs, training, and education opportunities in the corporate sector, and that Aboriginal communities gain long-term sustainable benefits from economic development projects. iii. Provide education for management and staff on the history of Aboriginal peoples, including the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal–Crown relations. This will require skills based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and anti-racism.

About the Author

Lorelei Higgins, a Metis woman, smiles at the camera. Her hair is past her shoulders, dark, and straight. She is wearing a black v-neck top and colourful beaded earrings.

Lorelei Higgins is a Métis Canadian Cultural Mediator who has spent the majority of her life exploring the importance of culture and the impacts of connecting and re-connecting to one’s cultural roots. Her Indigenous roots stem from the Red River in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She has a background in political science and an MBA, with a specialization in leadership. She currently lives in Calgary with her family.