Decolinzing Workplace Practices
During the many years that I have been working with organizations to support reconciliation, DEIB, and Economic Reconciliation, I have witnessed how discussions of colonialism can bring up strong and sometimes intense feelings for settler Canadians. Words such as “settler”, “genocide”, “this country known as Canada”, and many others can be emotionally triggering. When we speak the truth about Canada's true history with the First Peoples of this land, many can feel it physically somewhere in their body, reacting with their emotions.
I approach these topics with love and light, kindness and respect, intending to cultivate a safe space, bringing people into the space, and providing them with some basic practical strategies and tools to move forward with reconciliation, decolonization and hopefully Indigenization in their own lives and workplaces.
On June 12, 2024, in National Indigenous History Month, Pierre facilitated a webinar with Inclusivity CEO Wyle Baoween on “Decolonizing Workplace Practices.” Here we gratefully share five topics from this discussion, with thanks to Pierre for creating conditions for strong, heartfelt dialogue on essential issues. Throughout the webinar, Pierre encouraged participants to take the long view. “Colonialism in Canada was incredibly strategic, intensely intentional, and over a very long period of time,” he said. “So our work in decolonization needs to be equally strategic, and over a long period of time.”
The recording of the full hour-long webinar is available by clicking on this link. Here are some topics that are covered in this recorded session:
What is decolonization?
There is no universal definition of decolonization. Further, it is important to note that many Indigenous peoples do not like the term, which centres Eurocentric views. Overall, Pierre described decolonization as dismantling and disrupting the barriers that suppress Indigenous peoples. Decolonization is a framework, rather than an objective or outcome. It will be imperfect. The idea of perfection is in itself colonial, and Indigenous worldviews foreground balance instead, and aim for systemic change over the long term.
Myself and my co-author, Lily Raphael share this about Indigenization, Decolonization and Reconciliation in Canada in our publication, Step into the River: A Framework for Economic Reconciliation
Our journey in creating this framework has also involved an exploration of what is meant by Reconciliation and how it relates to other processes such as Indigenization and Decolonization. These terms are sometimes used interchangeably, but they are distinct yet interconnected processes. As will be discussed throughout this work, there is a common practice of tokenizing reconciliation when one is claiming to be engaging in it without committing to and enabling the processes of decolonization and Indigenization. These three are interconnected, and they are all necessary to facilitate the others. Before getting further into this document, it is important to understand more fully what these processes are and how they are interconnected. Readers can think about these processes not as having fixed universal definitions but as being specific to the context in which they are showing up. In this case, our particular context relates to the sphere of land use and community economic development in the region of British Columbia. These understandings are important, especially in working towards systems transformation in the Canadian economy.
Decolonization requires questioning and dismantling the Western worldview in places where it has asserted dominance in structures, processes and knowledge systems over those of Indigenous peoples. It is a process of naming and shifting imbalances in power for the purpose of valuing and balancing many worldviews. For the economic sector in particular, it involves examining and dismantling the institutions and structures in place that favour settler society with regards to land use, business ownership and entrepreneurship, financing and community development. For individuals of settler identity, decolonization involves examining in what ways settler colonialism has afforded you privileges in our current economic system. It also calls for reflections on how you and your ancestors came to arrive on the land you are on, and who you are in relation to the Indigenous peoples in the community where you live. Decolonization invites you to develop an awareness of worldviews that are different from your own.
Indigenization is also a process that works to find balance between different worldviews by embedding Indigenous knowledge, values and ways of being into systems and practices. These ways of knowing can serve to transform systems, places, and hearts where desired.7 Two-eyed seeing is important here because Indigenization is not about merely replacing Western knowledge and practices with those of Indigenous people, but rather bringing Indigenous and Western knowledge systems into conversation with one another, recognizing that both can be harnessed for the well-being of all.
While Indigenization and Decolonization are oriented towards finding balance in worldviews and respecting and allowing for multiple ways of being and knowing to guide us, Reconciliation in this context refers to the process of healing relationships built on abuse, exploitation, oppression and violence. This relationship has led to ongoing trauma, mistrust, inequality and continued privilege of one group over another. With reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Canada, this harmful relationship spans multiple groups of people and many generations over hundreds of years.8 While there is a common assumption that reconciliation is primarily the work of Indigenous people, the onus is in fact on settler individuals and society to ameliorate the harm done, and requires a great deal of emotional work and reckoning for all those involved.
Braiding the three processes together…
Reconciliation is certainly an important and necessary beginning: the start of recognizing, knowing and understanding of the history and impacts of ongoing settler colonialism on Indigenous peoples. Because these are deep wounds in need of healing, the process of reconciliation is ongoing. Decolonization can be viewed as the ‘undoing’ of colonial origins, and Indigenization is the resurgence of Indigenous knowing and being. Indigenization moves beyond tokenistic gestures of acknowledgment or basic inclusion done in a colonial way to a shift in practices, structures, institutions, systems, and so forth.9 In short, all processes work towards honouring sovereignty of Indigenous Peoples and Nations, whilst recognizing and allowing for their unique ways of knowing to be respected, practiced and learned in the ways that other ways of knowing and doing have been. Instead of looking for an endpoint where all of these processes lead to, we invite you to take a step along the journey and see where it takes you. As you dig deeper with each step you take, recognize that mistakes will be made along the way. Patience and an openness to change is absolutely required along this learning path, and opportunities for growth will present themselves.
What can individuals do to support decolonization personally?
Pierre identified five personal practices for decolonization:
Learn, learn some more, and consider unlearning some things along the way;
Support land back;
Invest in Indigenous endeavours;
Build a relationship with your local First Nation(s) and Learn about the laws, protocols, and practices of the land you are on;
Protect Mother Earth; and
Mobilize environmental and social justice.
For example, under the idea of “Land Back,” he suggested that participants could raise the idea within social spheres of influence and explore the idea of paying rent to the Nations on whose territories they live and work.
I also offer this, this is a journey, not a destination, and check boxing is not the solution. This work requires transforming systems, including Indigenous worldviews, upending everything we think we know and redesigning our understanding of wealth and creating a foundation of “Well-Being”, which includes all living things, not just human beings. We have to be values-based, set out intentions from a place of love and light, do some self-reflection, deep listening, critical thinking, and build on our relationships. More is said on this in the Step into the River Framework document.
What can employees do to advance decolonization in their organizations?
People need to think critically across scales, in ways specific to their contexts. Pierre suggests looking at opportunities for decolonization across the “4 Ps”: professional practice, places, processes, and policies. For example, for “professional practice,” he suggests that employees learn the laws of the territories they are on and find ways to encourage peers on their learning journeys. He also described intention setting (during presentations) as a relevant professional practice.
The Cultivating Safe Spaces framework, founded by Elaine Alec, teaches us that every one of our systems is embedded in a colonial-centred approach, and requires us to decolonize all of our spaces. At its core, Cultivating Safe Spaces is a set of tools that promotes pluralistic governance through individual wellbeing by fostering safety, connection and belonging. It does so by reminding people that the world is relational and can be conceived of as a set of nested systems wherein the individual is embedded within their family, which is embedded in the community, which is embedded in the Land. To decolonize, Cultivating Safe Spaces says, people should ask: How can we build all of the above from a place of love, trust and faith? This requires reflection: Am I doing my work from a place of fear and control? Can I do this work from a place of love and faith? To work from love, trust and faith, people must have internal self-confidence, which comes from a sense of purpose that cannot be shaken by pressures to fit into pre-conceived roles or categories. People must check in with themselves and ask: Do I trust myself and what I know? Do I trust my instincts and experience? They must do so because, as Cultivating Safe Spaces explains, people know when they are being controlled. When they lose their sense of control, they can start to be triggered and dysregulated and move to the lower part of their brain, where tunnel vision, distraction, and dulled senses take over. Siyam Consulting offers an Introduction to Cultivating Safe Spaces training to learn more about the intention of putting this into your spaces. Please inquire with us for more information and details on booking a training session.
Intention setting
At the start of presentations, meetings, and conversations, intention setting can be an important cultural safety and decolonization protocol. After you acknowledge the Indigenous territory on which you work, you can share your intentions to be transparent about how you enter the space, especially if you are planning to discuss sensitive subjects.
I have shared about intention setting in our Step into the River Framework publication, my stories, some of my resources, and when I do a welcome and grounding in every space. I wrote about Intentionality in my story in April 2024 to take a deeper look at this topic. Feel free to read that story to get more insights into my thoughts.
What can employees do if leadership is not on board?
Facilitators recommended taking action within your own sphere of influence, connecting with like-minded peers for strength, and keeping in mind that one day you may have the opportunity to be a leader and enact decolonization practices at the highest levels.
I will share that being brave and courageous through allyship, sharing your voice in the face of racism, discrimination, bias, and overall negative behaviour by others is paramount, as well as being a champion, even when it is hard and challenging, allowing others to witness and rise and up to do the same is brilliant. I know this may lead to calling out, being pegged as a rebel rouser, etc., but without this, then nothing changes. I share this post from Jen Newsted on LinkedIn, which highlights her article, Calling All White Women! Activating the Steps to Anti-Racism, both of which are amazing, quick reads to amplify your ability to step up, be brave and take a courageous leap to becoming an accomplice for Indigenous Peoples in Canada.
What do you say to people who are concerned that equity distracts from reconciliation or vice versa?
A zero-sum approach is very limiting, according to the facilitators. It creates a false idea of competition when, in fact, equity and justice are shared aims. Pierre cautions against black-and-white thinking:
“When we think in this or that, and we think in black and white, that is very colonial thinking. Why do we not have both? Social equity, women's rights, 2SLGBTQIA+, people with diverse abilities, indigeneity, reconciliation, cultural safety, decolonization...I am over this idea of why things have to be one or the other. We are very smart people, we are very smart organizations, we can walk and chew bubble gum at the same time. We should have all of these things at the same time. When we create this kind of priority or 'us vs them' narrative, it really doesn't help anybody. I always try to move away from 'which one should it be' towards finding a balance, and again, why not both?”.
- Len Pierre, CEO, Len Pierre Consulting
I would also add that humanity needs to be at the core of being. My husband likes to share the teachings of “All My Relations” to settler Canadians when he is facilitating spaces on Reconciliation. He shares that “All My Relations” is not just applicable to First Nations Peoples, it applies to all of us, as we are all human beings and our blood is all the same. Therefore, we begin all of our work with this intention. I also approach every space with love and light in my heart and mind. This creates energy for only good things in the space. Because when you put this energy out into the universe, it shall provide.
I share Len Pierre’s work because he and his team, from Len Pierre Consulting, are amazing in this space, and he offers great insight into all of the topics he covers in the work he does. Rather than rewrite what he already has seemed pointless because he already made some great points. I also added my 2 cents’ worth where needed, to hopefully add additional value to this story. Plus, it wouldn’t be my story if I didn’t!
