Sandi L Boucher (Red Thunderbolt, Seine River First Nation) explains when organizations should and should not hire Indigenous people. She advises that Indigenous trainers must be Indigenous, but corporations should not hire a single Indigenous person to represent non-Indigenous organizations in communities because it is inauthentic, risks burnout for the individual, and can misdirect community trust. She emphasizes that non-Indigenous organizations must first create safe, anti-racist workplaces and do preparatory reconciliation work before inviting Indigenous staff or representatives.
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Our journey continues. Yesterday we talked about how to avoid hiring a pretendian. Well today we better talk about when it's a great idea to hire Indigenous and when it isn't. Let's talk about it. 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. And as I said in the opening that I'm here today to talk about when it's a great idea to hire indigenous and when it's not. And this is definitely position specific. Now I'm not touching on pretend Ians today. That was yesterday's video. If you missed it, go check it out. But let's talk about when you should and shouldn't hire indigenous. And this really depends and I'm talking about an Indigenous representative or a trainer and it really depends on the audience. If you are looking to hire an Indigenous person to train you and your team on how to engage with Indigenous communities, well then that person has to be Indigenous. That's not even a choice. Hiring anyone else makes zero sense and is going to be a waste of your time and money and probably frustrate the daylights out of your team. So if your intent, your goal is to learn how to better engage with Indigenous people, then yes, you have to hire indigenous. But if what you're planning on doing is hiring an Indigenous person to represent you in the communities, no. The answer is no. And it comes down to the whole Indian in the cupboard kind of thing. So what keeps happening in corporations and this is what you need to avoid, they hire that one Indigenous person that they want to send out into the communities so you can tell the communities what a great corporation this is. One, the corporation is non Indigenous, so sending an Indigenous person to represent them doesn't even come across as authentic. Two, what that's going to do is the community, if they respond positively, if they are going to build a relationship with the Indigenous person you sent, not with your corporation, which means if that person chooses to leave, you're taking 20 steps back. Do you really want to invest that time and money to see that happen? I'm thinking not the worst part for me, and of course I'm looking at this through my Indigenous lens. What so often happens to the person you hired, that Indigenous person to represent you, they go out into the communities, they connect with the community members, of course they're Indigenous, the communities are Indigenous, it's going to happen. But quickly they realize they are not part of the decision making power of the corporation. And there's a really good chance at some point the corporation is going to make a decision that is contrary to our values and needs and beliefs. And that indigenous person is going to be the one that is challenged by the community because that's who the community built a relationship with. You represent them. Why don't you tell them not to do this? The burnout rate for the indigenous person in that position is incredibly high. You're asking them to be your voice without any power and that just burns people out. Their spirit cannot handle it and they will end up leaving and you will end up paying the price. What you need instead, if you're a non indigenous corporation, you should be sending a non indigenous representative, but not the one driven by ego. You need someone humble, someone who understands that he is not an expert in indigenous communities. Someone willing and open to ask the questions and learning and share. Hearing about his corporation when he's asked his her corporation. I'm not saying it has to be a guy. That is not the point. But they should represent who the corporation is. We know we can work with indigenous people. We're just not sure we can work with your corporation. So that's definitely something you have to keep in mind another time. That you should definitely not hire indigenous people. If you have not done the work as a corporation, business entity, nonprofit, don't care what your structure is. If you have not done the work to make sure that that space is safe for indigenous people, then as I say all the time, you have no right to invite indigenous people into that space. We have suffered enough. So if you want to hire indigenous, and many companies do, they're desperate for staff. Do your work first. Prepare that environment. We're not going to come in there and just endure. And why? If you're entering into a new relationship, why are we the only ones that have to make adjustments? How is that reconciliation? It isn't. Last but not least, and this is just me being Red Lightning Bolt. Red Thunderbolt. I got my own name wrong. Red Thunderbolt. Woman blunts lightning. If racism is the norm, if those jokes that aren't funny are constantly being told in your lunchroom, outside, when you're having a smoke break, wherever, and that's not getting called out, you should not be hiring indigenous for the exact same reason as the point I made before we. I don't care how big that paycheck is, it is not worth enduring racism. And if you don't understand that, that's probably because you've never experienced rac. It's a gut punch on a regular basis. It is soul destroying and no one should have to go through that just for a paycheck. So there you have it. If you are hiring indigenous to train you, or you've done your work and it's a safe environment, then you go right ahead. But if you need someone to represent you in the communities and you're not an indigenous entity, don't hire indigenous. And if you haven't done the work to create a safe space and racism is still the norm, please don't you do your homework first, then we'll talk about working together. Don't forget my community, don't forget my membership, don't forget to subscribe and like, and all that fun stuff. And don't forget to comment, because I can't wait to hear what you think of this video. Until tomorrow. I love you. Take care. Bye Bye.
