National Day for Truth and Reconciliation:
Taking Truth to Action
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On September 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation honours the children who never returned home and Survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities.
The theme of Truth and Reconciliation Week 2024, Taking Truth to Action, is a reminder that we all have to actively work, as allies, to foster respectful relations that lead to true reconciliation.
See below for employment supports and how to provide a culturally safe workplace for Indigenous workers.
As Canadian service providers and employers, we can begin by acknowledging that colonization, residential schools, and systemic racism greatly impact Indigenous job seekers and workers. We have a collective and individual responsibility to educate ourselves and to put learnings into practice to create workplaces inclusive of all Indigenous people.
The research report, Supporting the Gifts of First Nations Adults Living with Exceptionalities (First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba, 2023) outlines how colonization, residential schools, and systemic racism in health care resulted in generational trauma, catastrophic disruptions within communities, and large numbers of Canada’s First Nations Peoples living in poverty and at greater risk of disability. Unless otherwise cited, the information that follows is derived from this report.
“Indigenous people are largely in a period of healing. The process of healing from centuries of genocide, marginalization and injustice takes time, likely generations, and cannot be expedited to meet the timelines of any individual’s, organization’s or government’s vision of reconciliation.”
Jesse Wente, Ojibwe broadcaster and advocate
Source: Career Professionals of Canada. Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action for Career Development. June 12, 2020
Many Leave Home Communities for Supports and Work
Many Indigenous people experiencing disability must leave their home communities for larger centres where they can access a wider range of health care and support services and where they can find employment. In these cities, they often experience racism, discrimination due to disability, and isolation from their families, communities, and cultures.
Lack of Employment Opportunities and Supports
For Supporting the Gifts of First Nations Adults Living with Exceptionalities, 32 First Nations participants with disabilities in Manitoba were interviewed. All participants mentioned a lack of employment opportunities and supports, and most said this negatively impacted their finances and mental wellbeing. All participants expressed a desire to work but were unable to work without supports, which were unavailable in the workplace.
One participant said she could use a case manager/advocate to check in periodically and to help her work on her employment goals. Another participant took a month off for stress leave during the COVID pandemic and was dismissed from her job.
Employment Supports for Indigenous Workers
One of the recommendations in the report is to invest in employment supports, such as:
- community-driven mentoring and other early exposure programs
- funding for one-on-one supports to work and volunteer
- life-skills development and supports to build capacity for employment settings and daily living:
- acquiring a driver’s license
- goal setting, coping skills, and self-advocating
- cooking, budgeting, banking, and transit training
- independent living
- healthy relationships, and health and wellness
- technology and assistive devices
- preparation for employment
Most importantly, we can commit to respectful, active listening with Indigenous job seekers/workers.
- How does their community view disability? Most Indigenous communities focus on strengths rather than limitations and do not have a word for “disability.”
- What experiences have they had with employment and with disability?
- What do they need to succeed in their employment journey?
- What skills and lived experiences can be applied to a workplace?
How to Provide a Culturally Safe Workplace for Indigenous Workers
The following are general guidelines on building culturally safe workplaces for Indigenous workers in Canada.
- Increase understanding of Indigenous people in Canada in your organization. Some free online courses you and your staff can complete at your own pace include:
- Indigenous Awareness at BCIT (about 2 hours)
- Indigenous Canada at the University of Alberta (21 hours)
- Offer Indigenous cultural safety training for all staff. Choose training delivered by an Indigenous community or organization. Also consider training for leadership on how to create a trauma-informed workplace.
- Work with a local employment service provider. Many service providers work or are open to working with local Indigenous communities and organizations to identify how best to support Indigenous workers in the workplace. Some services may be at no cost to employers.
- Build relationships with local Indigenous organizations and communities. Get to know your local Indigenous communities and the issues impacting them, such as residential schools or employment needs. Work with Indigenous suppliers and contractors. Check whether local Indigenous organizations offer supports or training for Indigenous workers and employers.
- Ensure organizational policies and benefits are in place that accommodate traditional values. For example, can employees take time off for cultural practices and family/community obligations, like mourning, fishing/harvesting, or a social crisis? Do benefits include counselling or wellness supports? Could Indigenous healing methods be accommodated?
Additional Resources
For Employment Service Providers
For Employers
- Indigenous inclusion at work is more than just representation – it’s reconciliation (Globe and Mail article, September 2022)
- Indigenous Works (website)
Indigenous Works is an Indigenous national social enterprise with a mandate to improve the inclusion and engagement of Indigenous people in the Canadian economy.
- Check to see where your organization is on the Inclusion Continuum.
- Attend a webinar about Indigenous inclusion, Indigenous labour market, Indigenous career strategies and employment policy, and more (for a small cost).
- Attend their Inclusion Works ’24 conference in Nanaimo, BC, from October 8-10.
CASE Training for Service Providers and Employers
Employment service providers can learn more about supporting Indigenous job seekers/workers in the following CASE online training:
- Developing Intersectional Employment Services (about 2 hours – no cost)
- An Intersectional Approach to Supporting Career Development (certificate program – 6 weeks)
Employers can gain inclusive recruitment strategies in the following CASE online training:
- Inclusive Recruitment (about 2 hours – no cost)