This YouTube video (Feb 21, 2024) by Sandi L Boucher issues a direct challenge to employers who claim to support diversity, equity, and inclusion: prove it with balanced, measurable action for Indigenous and non‑Indigenous communities rather than performative gestures. Boucher — a Red Thunderbolt woman, Loon clan, member of Seine River First Nation — explains she runs two businesses (SandyBoucher.com and Reconciliation Works Canada) and uses a monthly "Impact report" (produced by her bookkeeper) to compare events and revenue between First Nation community work and mainstream/non‑Indigenous work. Her core message, framed as "balance the feather," asks organizations to track investments and revenue, train non‑Indigenous employers as well as Indigenous participants, and share measurable success stories.
Questions this video answers
February 21, 2024.
SandyBoucher.com and Reconciliation Works Canada.
Her bookkeeper produces the Impact report every month.
Chapters
Today's video is no doubt going to be a shorter one, but I believe it's a very important one. I am issuing a challenge to employers out there, all of those employers that consider themselves diversity employers that they consider themselves inclusive, especially if they consider themselves inclusive of Indigenous peoples. I have a challenge for you. So let's talk about it. Foreign. Hi, everybody. My name is Sandy Boucher. I'm Red Thunderbolt, woman of the Loon clan, a proud member of Seine River first nation in Treaty 3 territory in Northern Ontario, Canada. And like I said today, I have a challenge for all those employers out there that love to advertise that they're into diversity and inclusion and equity and they want the Brownie points. But I'm challenging you to prove that you actually do the work. So what I wanted to show you, not in any great detail, but you see this little spreadsheet here? We call this the Impact report. And my bookkeeper produces this for me every single month. And the reality is, you may not know this unless you see the very ending slide of my videos. I actually own two companies, so all of the work and two different websites to go with those corresponding companies. Hair in my lip gloss again. Gotta Love that. Sandy Boucher.com, my original website is really, really focused on First Nation perspective, empowering first nations people. That is also where my membership is. So if you want to learn through an Indigenous lens, highly recommended. And then I have Reconciliation Works Canada, which is focused on non Indigenous entities, helping them to learn the work on the other side of the feather. And that's my point. This impact report shows the events that I'm doing in First Nation communities and the events I'm doing with non Indigenous peoples. And what I love the most next is I'm looking at this, the difference between 283 and 345, say $2060. Ish. That is the difference between the revenue, the events I'm doing in first nations communities as compared to mainstream. A $60 difference. Can you say balancing the feather? So what I am saying is for your business, your entity, I need you to come up with some kind of report that shows you are balancing the feather. I am not saying that all of your focus has to be on the marginalized side of the feather. But if it's not balanced with your efforts on the non Indigenous, non marginalized side, then is it just performative? If the only thing you are doing for diversity and inclusion when it comes to Indigenous people is a land acknowledgement, let me say, don't bother doing a land acknowledgement because that's definitely performative. So what efforts? Whether it's the expense side or the revenue side. And by the way, so many people always think of the money they have to invest in diversity and inclusion. Inclusion. Why is there not a revenue stream as well? I put my effort into this work, but I received the revenue to run my business. There is nothing wrong with that balance. But my challenge to you is don't make it just performative. Don't just make it the committee that meets once a month and has a diddly for a budget. That's not getting us any closer. Did you watch yesterday's video? Are you having reconciliation conversations? If you don't know how that video explains it to you, it is super easy. And if you are working in cross cultural relationships with any other person, you should be having those conversations. But you should be tracking to make sure you're balancing the feather. I don't want all your focus to be on us. We are half of the feather. You should be. But that's my issue with employment and training. Like for how many? I used to be in employment and training for 20 years. How many years have we spent educating indigenous participants on how to work in mainstream with no corresponding training for non indigenous employers on how to support indigenous employees? No wonder it didn't work. It didn't fly. The feather only had half of a feather. You have to balance the feather. So you're gonna know how this applies to your company. I don't know your company. If you want to discuss this, feel free to send me an email. I'll happily give you suggestions. Zero cost. I'm here to help. But what is your method for balancing the feather? And are you is way too much time, money, effort going on one side and not the other? That's not going to work. That's not going to fly. Balance the feather. So there's my challenge. I would love to hear how you're doing. I would love to hear of whatever reports you use in your organization or business or corporation. How are you balancing the feather? Because reconciliation work isn't just on the indigenous. It's mainstream. That has to change how they've been doing things. Because oppressing us is no longer cool. It never was. But if you're not doing the changes, then how does anything change? I would love to hear your success stories. In fact, if you send me an email describing something absolutely epic, I might have to do a future video on it. You let me know if you want me to mention your company name. I have no problem doing a massive shout out to someone who's doing the work. I will not support performative efforts. Hope that made sense. If you have questions, send me an email. We got to do this. We got to balance this feather. It's time. It's 2024. It's time. I love you. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Bye. Bye.
