Truth and Reconciliation, The Experience of Indigeneity in the Workplace

By Lisa Isaac HR Professional Services

2024-10-01

A few months ago, I partnered with the Canadian Council for Indigenous Business to host a webinar series called “I just want to know,” (view the recorded webinars for free on the CCIB’s website here). The idea grew out of a discussion about some of the differences between how the Human Resources (HR) function is handled in Indigenous organizations compared to non-Indigenous organizations. Ultimately, inclusive workplaces are better for all employees, not just Indigenous ones, and it makes good business sense. In this blog, I want to share with you my reflections on some of my experiences and observations as a professional working with both. This is my perspective and does not represent that of all Indigenous people, nor all HR professionals. I encourage you to spend some time learning about this topic from many different sources with an open mind.

Questions I ask myself about “Indigeneity”

A mentor of mine, Gene Jamieson, says “what’s good for the Indigenous employee, is good for all employees.” How could a workplace that recognizes cultural differences and build them into their policies be bad? Why is “Indigenizing the workplace” such a hot topic right now? Take a look at our blog post from 2023 for a bit more about what we mean by this. How does “pretendian” fit into our workplace lingo? Is posting a blog about Indigeneity on September 30th selling out and commercializing my identity? How do non-Indigenous employees authentically work on Indigenous projects and policies? How can organizations ensure they are providing resources and support without relying on emotional labour from their Indigenous employees?

My team and I talk about these questions every day. As a company that is 100% First Nation owned, this is often a topic for new and existing employees, but also for me as the owner. I honour and respect my First Nation, Irish, English, and French-Canadian roots. But the part of my culture that I most identify with and that has shone through my family is the Indigenous side.

My Struggle with Identity

So how does this translate to the business world? As a young person, I struggled as a “white-passing” First Nation student – “all the benefits without the blatant racism”. Because of this, I felt guilty taking part in the Indigenous programs that my community and corporations offered. It felt like a version of imposter syndrome, where I was an imposter just by existing.

Even though I was educated in French immersion, studied Mandarin for 4 years, interned with the Canadian Government, graduated with honours, AND “ticked the boxes” as an Indigenous woman, I still couldn’t find a job in Ottawa upon graduating. To be fair, it was in the midst of a global recession, so I felt like I had to seize all of the opportunities available to me to get in front of an interview panel – knowing that once I did, my merit and skills would carry me forward. I wasn’t wrong; every interview I’ve taken part in has resulted in a job offer. But the challenge is getting in front of that panel.

Interviews are usually limited to the top 4 or 5 candidates from a list of 20 pre-screened candidates, from a list of hundreds of qualified candidates. It’s tough to make that top 4 or 5 list, yet I struggled to “tick the box” of self-identification on job applications. Was I “Native enough” to do that? How did I even know? At this same time, the historical shame of being a First Nations person was starting to lift and my family further explored what our culture meant outside of the community – what did it mean to be our whole selves at home? Socially? At work?

I don’t know what came first – the internal struggle with my identity and the tie to post-secondary funding, or my passionate advocacy for inclusion, anti-racism, and building transparent policies and processes that include not just Indigenous peoples, but all equity-deserving groups. Every job I’ve ever had has ended up in that Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility “IDEA” advocacy space – as the chair of the Aboriginal Employee Resource Group for Alberta, running “Diversity and Inclusion Week” for the entire manufacturing site in my first major internship project, and leading a team that built objective and transparent evaluation systems for business awards programs. I do know that these experiences have made me who I am now, and it’s exactly where I should be.

My Identity as a Leader

As the founder and leader of the LIHR team, my values are the company values. The people who choose to work here must be aligned with the values of the workplace. And they are. As a result, we spend time talking about these topics. We coach and support our clients who talk about these topics. These ideas drive business strategy. That is why the concept of “Indigenizing” the workplace is so important. Many people are still trying to sort out their own individual identity, but also working to run a business or lead a team. These elements are not exclusive, they are so intimately intertwined. Because of that, we do what we do. At LIHR we offer unique, individualized support for anything people-related. We are passionate about reaching pay equity for Indigenous people when compared to non-Indigenous (currently an approximately 30% difference in Ontario salaries alone). We leverage the knowledge and allyship that the whole team has in working with organizations that require a more balanced, or braided, approach to operations and strategy. The values that an employer has have to be clear – not just in branding, strategic plans, and measuring and reporting IDEA targets, but also in how the work is carried out.

Next Steps

I’m hoping that some insight into my experiences encourages you to think about your own organization and what your role is in IDEA. Some things I wish I knew back then:

- IDEA in the workplace must involve leadership’s support and buy-in;

- Organizations cannot rely solely on employees who identify with any of the equity-deserving groups to enact change – there is plenty that can be done to get started now;

- Support grassroots IDEA passion, like an Employee Resource Group (ERG), but also encourage a senior leader as a champion – this shows commitment by providing resources (time, space to have a voice, and perhaps budget for initiatives);

- Engage with local equity-deserving communities outside of the workplace with an authentic desire to learn – participate in public cultural events, host a team meeting in the community, or build relationships through volunteerism;

- Approach IDEA strategy from an authentic perspective – it’s ok to allocate resources to it for business outcomes, so be transparent if that’s the case – implementation and the individual initiatives need to be developed authentically with the groups and people that it will impact – don’t just develop a commitment statement and drop it in your annual report and call it done.

Now that I’ve spent ‘some time’ - ahem a few years – in the workplace, I can honestly say that I am comfortable with my identity. I am “Native enough,” and all the other parts of me are “enough”. I believe that my unique experiences and journey of identity supports my employees, my community, my family, and my network. This shows up in the way that the team at LIHR supports our clients and community partners. We’re here to support you on your journey – there isn’t an overnight solution, so let us support you, wherever you are along the path.

Some resources to support your learning and education:

Business Reconciliation in Canada Guidebook, CCAB 2019

Decolonizing and Indigenizing, Queen’s University

National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, University of Manitoba

The Indian Act Explained, TVO Today, 2018 (video)

27 Tips on What to Say and Do When Working Effectively with Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Corporate Training, free e-book

Indigenous Canada Course, University of Alberta

Towards Braiding, Elwood Jimmy and Vanessa Andreotti with Sharon Stein

Trauma Informed and Culturally Appropriate Approaches in the Workplace, NWAC

Indigenous Teachings for Leaders, Workplace Strategies for Mental Health

What’s wrong with land acknowledgements and how to make them better, CBC

From the LIHR team and lead collaborator, Lisa Isaac,CHRL, CHRP, Owner & Sr. HR Consultant Lisa@LisaIsaacHR.com