Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER MAY 2018 6 NEWS Indigenizing workplaces part of reconciliation journey: Panel Time for Canadian organizations to take up a 'bundle' and establish relationships BY MARCEL VANDER WIER HUM AN resources leaders across the country need to trans- form their hiring processes and workplace policies if reconcilia- tion is truly to be achieved in the workplace, according to a panel of Indigenous experts. "ere has to be a culture shift in mainstream workplaces," said Tracey King, an Indigenous HR consultant at Ryerson University in Toronto. "ere's still far too few Indigenous people working in mainstream workplaces. And if Indigenous persons are to be acknowledged and recognized, we have to be able to understand and make positive steps." This means recognizing the equivalencies of diverse Indige- nous candidates who haven't had the same access to educational and employment opportunities, she said. "You need to come to the real- ization that we have other highly relevant and equally valuable work and lived experiences, and knowl- edges to bring to the workplace." HR leaders and employers need to look beyond narrow job classi- fication systems in order to trans- fer Indigenous experiences into organizations, in lieu of formal credentials, said King, a member of a four-person panel speaking at the 2018 Human Rights and Accommodation Conference in Toronto last month. "Let us not be part of the sys- temic barriers that are holding Indigenous leaders back," she said. "Let's bring them in and create spaces and places for them where they are part of the decision-mak- ing complement." Both outreach and education are vital to the process, according to King, who has implemented an Indigenous hiring strategy at Ryerson. "One of my key objectives was to teach — to bring Indigenous knowledge into the HR depart- ment first — because they are the gatekeepers for the university and they are the ones who are leading the candidates, and in particular Indigenous candidates who I'd be bringing in," she said. Fostering relationships is one of the "cornerstones" of work- ing with Indigenous peoples, said King. Moving towards respectful workplaces e road to equality and respect in the workplace has been a dif- ficult, lonely road for Indigenous people, according to Tina Ste- vens, an Ontario Public Service Employees Union employee in London, Ont. "Being able to talk about issues has been very difficult," she said. "You have to have a strong advo- cacy for your own self. You have to be able to bring up the issues, as well as bring forth those resolu- tions that can accommodate… the Indigenous perspectives." "Sometimes, being that lone Aboriginal worker, you have to advocate for yourself because there's nobody else who has the knowledge and the lived experi- ences, the cultures or traditions." e most appropriate path to a respectful workplace climate is allowing Indigenous viewpoints an equal seat in decision-making circles, and establishing a frame- work for employees to acquire knowledge or practise traditions such as smudging, said Stevens. "ose things are inherent," she said. "ose are the things that feed us our spirit… If we're not able to practise those types of tra- ditions in the workplace, we're not being able to practise what we've been taught and keep carrying on those ceremonies for the future generations to come." "If you want to create that re- spectful climate, let's start right from the basics." Building respectful workplace climates requires an organiza- tional commitment, said Mari- sha Roman, adjudicator for the Child and Family Services Review Board-Custody Review Board in Toronto. "Many people have never met, to their knowledge, or don't have relationships with First Nations people or Inuit people or Mé- tis people," she said. "In terms of building a respectful climate, it's about moving the culture from In- digenous issues and awareness — and valuing them — moving that from a nice-to-have to a need-to- have in your workplace." "Starting at the top: Does your organization have a reconciliation strategy? Does your organization have a workplace (policy) around bringing in diverse cultural ex- periences to enrich your organi- zation — including Indigenous values and norms? Who are the champions within your organiza- tion for driving that change?" Achieving true change comes as the result of measurable team ef- fort, rather than an individual In- digenous employee, said Roman. "at's kind of a lonely place to be and is a lot of pressure on one person to become that in-house expert, that in-house resource," she said. "You need to have people who are champions within your orga- nization to support that process. And you need to accept that cul- tural change will be a long and arduous, laborious process, but it is something that will reap re- wards — as many organizations have seen." Accommodating beliefs Human rights codes in Canada protect workers from discrimi- nation and harassment in many forms — including creed or "sin- cerely held beliefs," said Roman. "When we talk about Indig- enous spiritual practices, it's not like the Roman Catholic Church," she said. "ere's a lot of different practices according to the differ- ent nations. And then also within the nations, within communities, between communities of the same nation, there may be different practices. It's important that you keep this in mind." Beliefs and practices observed in the workplace could include smudging ceremonies to begin days or meetings, or allowing In- digenous employees to request leave from work to observe a tra- ditional ceremony, said Roman. "ose are requests that you may have from Indigenous STOP > pg. 7 A First Nations woman holds a smudge stick in Vancouver in 2015. Credit: REUTERS/Ben Nelms

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