Partnerships with Indigenous peoples are crucial
Canada must find a way to reconcile the relationship, says Trent Fequet.
This is shaping up to be an incredibly impactful month for Indigenous people in Canada — between the federal election on Sept. 20 and National Truth and Reconciliation Day on Sept. 30, there is much at stake for Indigenous people.
Canada's relationship with Indigenous Peoples was fractured long before the Indian Act. The discovery of unmarked graves at former residential schools across the country — graves marking the final resting place of so many Indigenous children who never made it home from these institutions — amplifies this damaged history and highlights the need for structural change that can only be driven by Canada's political leadership. We need to find a way to once and for all repair this relationship; we need to search and define a way forward.
For Indigenous Peoples, it was imperative that the truths held in these gravesites were brought to light, and continue to be, for the entire country to face and understand. These discoveries were shocking, horrifying, heartbreaking and dark. All these terms were bandied about in the days that followed the discovery made by the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc
First Nation at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School and applied to further discoveries made in the weeks and months after, including the discoveries made at the Marieval Indian Residential School in Cowessess First Nation. This discovery hit especially close to home for me, my family, and our entire organization, as my wife and son are both citizens of the Cowessess First Nation.
These discoveries are horrifying. They are heartbreaking. They are dark. And we need to continue to bring these truths to light, no matter how painful and difficult they may be to face. We need to address them in our search for a way forward, together.
Last week, I was asked by a colleague to explain what Truth and Reconciliation means to me, as an Indigenous business owner with a focus on uplifting and amplifying Indigenous Nations and groups through education, employment and establishing relationships between Indigenous Nations and groups with industry partners.
My answer to this question is as simple as it is dizzyingly complex — before we can even consider reconciliation, we must bring all truths to the table, because there isn't just one truth to be addressed.
The truth and experiences of a Métis in Buffalo Lake, Alta., will be different than an Iroquois from Six Nations in Ontario, and both experiences will be different than an Innu person who grew up in the region of Pakuashipi, Que. We need to listen to all Indigenous Nations and groups, from the Coast Salish in British Columbia to the Mi'kmaq of Newfoundland and to Inuit peoples in Nunavut, to understand where they have come from to get us to this point — their histories, their cultures and customs, their motivations, their ways of life.
In my work with Indigenous Nations and groups within an industry context, I have found listening intently is crucial for any partnership to be truly successful. However, too often industry moves partnerships with Indigenous Nations and groups forward too eagerly and aggressively for the comfort of the community, causing the relationship to fall into disrepair. Industry must listen to the community and advance the relationship at the pace and in a way deemed comfortable by the Indigenous Nations and groups. The search for a way forward needs to be led through an Indigenous lens, where Canadian culture is reinstated as Indigenous culture.
When industry gets this right — engaging with Indigenous Nations and groups at the speed of trust, truly understanding the cultural and social vision of the people — the results are amazing. This type of partnership between Indigenous Nations, groups and industry is a way forward for all of us. As a country, we need to engage with Indigenous Nations and groups from a position of listening and learning, not prescribing and placating.
As the country heads to the polls for the upcoming federal election, I hope that Canadians consider how vital it is that the next government understands the importance of its relationship with Indigenous Peoples. Together, we can work through these dark truths, defining, designing and building toward a future where reconciliation is finally possible. By listening to and working alongside Indigenous Nations and groups at the pace of trust, there is a way forward.
Trent Fequet is the founder and CEO of Steel River Group, an Indigenous-owned diversified management, development and construction consortium. A proud Inuit from the Pakuashipi region in Quebec, Trent is committed to elevating Indigenous communities through education and employment initiatives. Steel River Group aligns Indigenous Nations and groups with industry partners to create positive, meaningful and lasting impacts for Indigenous people and their communities.