Story shared by Najah Al-Atassi

All organizations have an important role to play in advancing Truth and Reconciliation in Canada by incorporating Indigenous inclusion into their operational practices. This requires making meaningful changes to processes, policies, long-term strategies and behaviours. This is the work we support our clients with every day — helping folks understand how a cultural shift can honour ethical obligations while aligning with business goals, such as revenue growth and market expansion.

Over the years, we have partnered with many organizations across energy, finance, services, and other sectors to co-create Truth and Reconciliation Roadmaps. You might be wondering what a Roadmap is. A Roadmap is a strategic plan that envisions the goals, objectives, activities, indicators of positive impact and timeline for achievement. It helps everyone on the team understand the big picture, the destination, the assigned tasks, and progress. Therefore, a Roadmap is the organization’s strategic plan to respond to the foundational, guiding documents such as the Truth and Reconciliation of Canada calls to action and to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People measures. Creating a Roadmap starts by assessing current practices across multiple departments, identifying gaps, and charting a clear plan forward. They are internal documents, but they are also living frameworks meant to evolve with the organization as a result of ongoing engagement with Indigenous Peoples, communities and organizations that is taking place.

When we work with clients, we do our best not to impose solutions. Instead, we listen intentionally to team members across all levels and meet them where they are at. The best solutions come from the people who know their systems and realities best. Co-drafting a Roadmap usually takes 10-12 months; the process requires time, care, genuine listening, consideration and interest. As we work with clients to reflect on where they are now, we encourage them to learn from the resiliency of Indigenous Peoples and coach them about Indigenous ways of doing that are sustainable and grounded in seven generational thinking.

But…creating the Roadmap is only the first step.

Some clients tell us that while they can easily envision where they want to be, taking the day‑to‑day actions required for implementation can be more challenging. If you feel this way, you are not alone; implementation is often the hardest part. Below are four approaches we recommend to help you on your journey:

1. Center Indigenous Voices

Whenever you are unsure about the next steps, spend more time with intentional listening. Start with the Indigenous employees or businesses you work with. Reach out to an Elder and, with humility, share the opportunities and barriers you are encountering as you work toward the objectives that are outlined in the Roadmap. Listen to the stories they share, they often break down complex issues into small, achievable steps, and you will feel inspired and encouraged. 

2. Re-‑examine Internal Policies with Openness

For example, employees who self-identify as Indigenous consider the location of the candidates. Are they mostly in urban centres, or in rural and remote communities? Understanding this will shape your recruitment approach.

From there, closely examine your internal workplace policies: do policies support candidates’ interests, needs and obligations to their communities? If the candidates you are looking to attract live in remote areas, does your company support remote work? Ask your HR and business unit leaders: Can this work be done remotely? If not, why not? Can some of the work be done remotely? Do we truly need every employee to be in the office every day? What are the pros and cons of all employees working from the same physical space vs. working remotely? Often, a new flexible work policy needs to be created, or an existing policy can be updated — not only for Indigenous employees to thrive, but for everyone.

3. Pilot, Learn and Adjust

New solutions do not need to be permanent right away. Try piloting a new approach for six months or a year. See whether it helps you achieve your intended goal or impact. If not, be humble and share the learnings to date with those in the community with whom you are in relationships. Reconciliation as relationship. Seek guidance, brainstorm, and problem-solve together to identify gaps and where improvements can be made. Nothing about you, without you, is another core tenet we utilize at Rise; feedback and ongoing collaboration will guide the next iteration of your solution, and it will further increase a culture of trust and reciprocity. 

4. Remember That Progress is not Linear

One of the most important teachings we share with clients is that Indigenous ways of doing and being remind us that growth is not linear. Things take the time they need. You are unlikely to double your spend with Indigenous businesses in one year — or even in three or five. And that is not a failure; it is part of the journey. The late Richard Wagamese reminds us that “This is how you change the world, the smallest circles first. That humble energy, the kind that says, ‘I will do what I can do right now in my own small way,’ creates a ripple effect on the world.”

We describe this through the gift of the four directions. We all begin in the East, where new journeys start. Then we move South, where relationships and understanding deepen. Over time, we arrive in the West, where we start to see the results of listening, strategy and action. With patience and commitment, we move North — a place where we (and organizations) become genuine leaders with supporting Truth, Reconciliation and Indigenous inclusion, recognized not only by peers in corporate Canada but, more importantly, by Indigenous Peoples, communities and organizations. And that – that recognition of Roadmap implementation in a good way, is the highest compliment.