Derek Bruno, author, mentor, facilitator and entrepreneur, gave insight to the economic barriers faced by Indigenous families and communities and what companies and organizations can do to support economic reconciliation at an event in Maskwacis on Oct. 27.
The Reconciliation and Industry in the Indigenous Workforce presentation was held at the Jim Omeasoo Cultural Center in Maskwacis.
Elder Rick Lightning spoke on cultural reconciliation in today’s business world, and Bruno talked about economic reconciliation.
There has been a rising paradigm shift in the Canadian economy when it comes to Indigenous relations, and Bruno said rather than being an ally, start to think of yourself as an accomplice and “jump in and row.”
Bruno said figuring out how to work together could be “our generation’s greatest accomplishment.”
With two terms as a councillor, Bruno’s had first-hand experience with Indigenous relations and also holds a masters in business administration.
Bruno started off by telling the audience of about 45 attendees a bit about his experiences growing up.
Attending school in Ponoka, he spent a lot of time with non-Indigenous farming families and he wondered why things were so different at home.
As he got older, he realized more and more the difference between the narrative off reserve about Indigenous people, and the reality of life on reserve.
He was inspired to become a politician to address some of the unfair laws restricting Indigenous people and spent 15 years in politics.
Bruno explained due to the Indian Act, banks aren’t permitted to use any assets on reserve as collateral for bank loans, and therefore, without start up capital, Indigenous people have a much harder time starting businesses.
Bruno said his mission became to help parents find work and let kids be kids.
He has launched nine companies and is the co-author on a university textbook on Indigenous business in Canada.
Bruno said Canadians’ curiosity about Indigenous people “increased exponentially” in the last five years, and he can pretty much pinpoint it to the discovery of the 215 unmarked graves in Kamloops, B.C.
He added he’s received more calls than ever before since that happened. While he doesn’t blame Canadians for not knowing the history of residential schools, he does blame the federal government for misleading Canadians, he said.
“We are in an era of healing in this country.”
Bruno was in Ottawa Oct. 26, consulting for the head of the foreign policy institute, with European Union delegates, MPS and Senators present, but he said addressing the crowd in Maskwacis was more important to him.
“For me to see each and every one of you in here in my own community … it’s a real pleasure. More important than sitting with the European Union folks. This is more important to me because it’s in my backyard,” said Bruno.
“Each and every one of you, probably feel you decided you wanted to be here, but actually, it was the Creator that chose you to be here, because maybe there is something in what everyone here is saying that you need to hear … what’s more, you bring real power.”
Economic benefits all around
One of the points Bruno emphasized was Indigenous people aren’t against development, they just want development done in a balanced way in relation to the land.
In order to aid their people, they need revenue, which means they need business and Industry, Bruno explained.
What they are against is “shitty deals.”
He said Indigenous people use regulations and the legal system the same way another other business would, and they use their own language in agreements because they have certainty of what it means.
Bruno explained research has shown that when the economy of an Indigenous community is invested in and improves, it benefits all the surrounding communities as well.
According to Bruno, the Four Nations of Maskwacis invest $60 million per year in the economy in Leduc, Wetaskiwin and Ponoka, as they “don’t have much of their own economy to invest in.”
“My gain is not your loss,” he said, adding the dollar value return is “exponential.”
“We want a rising tide that lifts all boats.”
When Indigenous people work off reserve, they pay taxes, and the benefit to the economy is “massive,” said Bruno.
Obstacles to employment
Bruno offered insight into the barriers to Indigenous people finding employment, the economic and social realities faced by Indigenous people on and off reserve, and how companies can improve what they offer in order to attract and retain the Indigenous workforce — a largely untapped resource.
The reality for some many in Maskwacis is four to families living in one household, with no internet, with not everyone having a valid driver’s licence , and a lot of single parents under the age of 30.
Transportation is a major obstacle to employment. He gave the example of 200 workers in Samson Cree Nation who were no longer able to work after the Nation wasn’t able to pay for the transportation any longer to a company in Red Deer.
Just getting a driver’s licence is a challenge because you have to travel out of the community to a registry office, Bruno explained. And there’s often no person they know with a vehicle, with a clear windshield, is able to teach them how to drive. There is also the issue of how to pay for it.
Indigenous people working in cities can face issues such as not having a bank account, and feeling too intimidated to walk in by themselves to apply.
When there are as many as 50 to 70 per cent unemployment rate in the community, Indigenous people don’t like opening bank accounts because of the monthly fees.
That leaves them using a pay day lender or a pawnshop to be able to cash their paycheques, and they take an “exorbitant fee,” said Bruno.
Another issue can be having no experience using public transportation.
“We really need to become innovative in how we support all Canadians who are struggling.”
True engagement
Bruno presented on engagement with Indigenous communities, and engagement with Indigenous owned-businesses.
Bruno said when engaging with Indigenous communities, to “educate yourself first,” and “engage early and often.”
If a band office is not returning your calls, the onus is on you to learn and understand why, he said.
Be really clear about your reasons why and work to foster relationships, not tokenism, Bruno said.
“We operate at a speed of trust.”
One thing he said everyone can do is when they do a land acknowledgment, to make it meaningful to them.
Part of the work Bruno does is surveying and researching barriers to employment so he can coach companies how to overcome them.
Employers need to consider a family unit approach to meet the needs of Indigenous employees, including wrap-around supports such as childcare and transportation.
He explained when Indigenous people leave home, the people they work with become their de facto family.
Workplaces providing access to an elder and making job postings more approachable were other suggestions he made.
Bruno said one strategy he implemented with a company included hiring three Indigenous people at once, so they could mentor and support each other, and that approach was successful.
He said Maskwacis has one day care with regular daytime hours, but if an employer wants people available for shift work, they have to consider that.
He said one of the greatest needs of every First Nation person is to forgive and to love themself. They need to be able to “stand on their own feet and know their identity” and culture is the key to retaining Indigenous employees.
“How do you help bring them back to themselves?” said Bruno. “Are you inviting someone into a space that doesn’t reflect them?”
He expressed frustration about the perception that people just need to “pull themselves up by their bootstraps” and shared some of the statistics about social obstacles and “persistent crises” Indigenous people face while in the workforce.
Bruno said you don’t need to try to solve all our challenges, but through providing a job, you create meaning, and through meaning, a passion, and then a career.
Bruno said he’s seen lives change because the hope and optimism the idea of a job creates.
Companies that are only interested in an employee-employer relationship shouldn’t bother engaging, he said.
If companies want to “tap that massive resource, they have to run the gauntlet” and over time, that spring will produce, however, if they are only engaging to tick a box, “they will fail every time.”
“How do we even begin to really understand this idea of Reconciliation, which means getting so that we have the same social-economic statistics as the rest of Canda?” Bruno asked.
“Are you ready to walk down that path? Because Indigenous people have been doing it this whole time.”