CSA Project Managers Iva Vasileski and Melanie Pinatton, with support from Director Michael Leering, were given the opportunity to work on a research project entitled ‘Relationship and Responsibility: A Partnership Model for Indigenous Community Engagement’ in partnership with British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT). This project sponsored by CSA research program is a recommendation originating from the first project on Canada’s North (available here: https://www.csagroup.org/article/canadas-north/ ). The objective was to better understand how to proceed in building an authentic relationship through true engagement with Indigenous communities and stakeholders involved in standard developments projects for CSA.
First, the CSA project team received required training as part of the educational phase of the research project. The below listed courses represented an introduction to the dynamic forces which enhance effective communication between persons from various cultural backgrounds with an emphasis on Indigenous perspectives, histories, and reconciliation. The educational phase was an essential part of the learning process, which contributed to a better awareness and understanding of engagement among the team members that could be applied in their current work on other CSA projects. Iva and Melanie followed the education programs listed below:
- Intercultural course including modules on Indigenous culture (BCIT). This course engaged the project managers for 12 weeks (about 3 hours a week) with a final exam.
- Open Education course “Reconciliation through Education” (UBC). This 8 weeks course includes various forms of communication, to better understand the Reconciliation process and Indigenous History.
- K. Wilson’s First Peoples: A Guide for Newcomers book: This guide was particularly helpful, easily readable and available for everyone.
- In-person training with local Indigenous Education expert. Andrew judge, from the BCIT, developed a training for CSA's team, to help better understand Indigenous Perspectives, Histories, and Reconciliation.
Next, the team identified specific subject matter experts (e.g. Elders, community leaders, educators) - in this case, key personnel at BCIT and Yukon College - to work with CSA Group on potential pilot projects in the North, including:
- Tosh Southwick, Yukon College Director of First Nations Initiatives
- Karen Barnes, Yukon College President
- Bronwyn Hancock, Associate VP, Research Development
- Kory Wilson, BCIT, Executive Director of Indigenous Initiatives & Partnerships
- Shannon Kelly, BCIT, Program Head at Communications Department
In February the teams met in Whitehorse and listened to the perspectives of key stakeholders. This was an essential part of the project to better understand as to what are the process steps Yukon College takes when reaching out to Indigenous communities. The steps that are unique to Indigenous views and overall living in the North.
As a result the culturally appropriate project criteria was defined as follows:
- Potential to recognize/ incorporate Traditional Knowledge
- Potential to provide direct benefits to the community
- Community outreach and engagement opportunities during project
- Channels for ongoing relationship/ communication/ follow-up with community
- Technical feasibility
Recommendations for a better engagement of Indigenous Perspectives
- Provide a baseline of Indigenous education to your project teams, before beginning any project. It is important to research and seek recommendations on potential courses and workshops that could be useful for particular project.
- Think, “relationship first”, before thinking about project tasks. It is important to listen and develop relationship before moving forward with the technical piece of a project. A specific community may not be interested in a specific project, but without listening, there is no easy way to know and understand it.
- Look at best practices of other organizations in addressing Reconciliation, including the local context of your specific project
Note: Resources are available online to better understand and address "Reconciliation". See http://www.trc.ca/websites/reconciliation/index.php?p=312
- Last, but not least - Proceed with patience and respect. It takes time to build relationship and it is an essential piece of the process.
The research team is still working on the recommendations, utilizing the various experts' knowledge and continuous learning process.
Finally, to help sharing the project's progress, Sam Loggia helped prepare a presentation presented by Kory Wilson at the 2018 CSA AGM.