Amplifying Indigenous Voices in Business

Priscilla Omulo

Description

I've utilized self-help/DIY books throughout my life and well structured and to do lists make me happy. I would enjoy writing something to encourage people who are feeling ready to take the next steps and want a book to help guide a path forward.
I am very interested in sharing some of my knowledge and research with you. There are two areas that come to mind when you shared previous concepts:
1. Very much along the lines of what business can do to work with Indigenous people and to decolonize. That is much of my work right now with facilitating and presenting to post secondary decolonizing classrooms and institutions.
2. A how to for Indigenous would definitely also be of interest for me but not only resources/ how to business forms, grants, loans, organize yourself but also a front end to it talking about working within the colonized system itself... navigating something that may feel foreign as it can feel so far from Indigenous pedagogy.
Truth and Reconciliation has been complete since 2015, which has led individuals, small business, large business, institutions and government to then begin the work of implementing the calls to action.
Adequate support to these calls are being rolled out as we learn to navigate the systems and come across barriers, challenges and systemic walls of Indigenous pedagogy and colonial ways of working.
This book is written in hopes to support these individuals, businesses and institutions in navigating the system from an Indigenous lens. How and when to implement Indigenization strategies? How and when to hire Indigenous employees? Creating a culturally appropriate safe space that will lead to recruitment of talent and retention of Indigenous people.
Also, addressing as an Indigenous person what it looks like to start your own business in the times of Reconciliation, what resources financially, educationally and mentorship supports are there to help set you up for success, and what barriers to look out for with regards to systemic colonial racism.
Preface xvii
Introduction xxi
1 Why Indigenize? Some Background Information 1
1. The Oppression Tree 1
1.1 Roots 2
1.2 Supporting structure 2
1.3 Branches and leaves 2
2. Racial Profiling 2
3. The Indian Act 3
4. Residential Schools 4
5. Indian Day Schools 4
6. Indian Hospitals 5
7. Empathy versus Sympathy 5
8. Truth and Reconciliation 7
9. United Nations Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) 7
10. Clean Drinking Water 8
11. Indigenous Consultation and Legal Matters 8
12. Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls 9
13. Indigenous Children and Youth in Care 10
14. Tying All This Together 10
15. What Next? 11
2 Strategy Consi derations 13
1. Indigenization Strategy 13
2. The Medicine Wheel 14
2.1 Mission 15
2.2 Objectives 16
2.3 Strategy 18
2.4 Actions 20
3. Best Practices and Protocols 21
3.1 Obtain informed consent 24
3.2 Equitable access for Aboriginal peoples 32
3.3 Systemic barriers impacting wellness 44
3.4 Unions as they pertain to businesses and
these types of plans 47
3.5 An eight-hour work day and a six-day work week 50
3.6 Minimum living wage 51
4. Education on Indigenous History 52
4.1 Residential schools 52
4.2 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and the
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples Act (DRIPA) 57
3 Intercultural Competency 61
1. Food as Exploration of Cultures 61
2. Culture-Specific Knowledge 66
3. Sociolinguistic Awareness 67
4. Global Issues and Social Climate 69
5. Conflict Resolution 70
5.1 Communication 71
5.2 Different values 71
5.3 Differing interests 71
5.4 Personality clashes 71
5.5 Racism 71
5.6 Anti-racism 72
4 C Creating Your Indigenization Plan 73
1. Items to Include 73
1.1 Acknowledgement of traditional territory 73
1.2 Terminology 74
1.3 Respectful use of traditional knowledge and/
or Indigenous intellectual property 74
1.4 Building community 75
5 E Esp ecially for Indigenous Entrepreneurs 81
1. Questions for Indigenous Entrepreneurs 81
1.1 Should you quit? 82
1.2 Take a break 82
1.3 Mental Health 83
1.4 Physical health, addiction, sobriety 83
1.5 Self-care 86
1.6 Dress for the job you want 86
1.7 Emotions and trauma in business 87
1.8 Spiritual wellness for Indigenous businesspeople 89
2. Barriers Indigenous Businesspeople Face 90
3. SWOT Analysis for Indigenous Entrepreneurs 90
4. The Five Ws 93
4.1 Why? 93
4.2 Who? 94
4.3 What? 94
4.4 When and where (and how)? 95
5. Beyond the Five Ws 95
6. Indigenous-Started Business Plan 97
6.1 Executive summary 97
6.2 Objective and mission statement 97
6.3 Background information/description
of your business 99
6.4 Organization, management, legal entity, location,
hours of operation, etc. 99
6.5 Products or service line, and suppliers/
manufacturers 101
6.6 Market analysis 102
6.7 Competitive analysis 102
6.8 Marketing strategy and plans 103
6.9 Distribution 104
6.10 Promotional strategy 105
6.11 Financials 105
7. Dress to Impress 106
8. Treat Everyone with Dignity and Respect 106
9. Being Powerful without Too Much Pow 106
10. Hold the Door Open 114
11. Don’t Be Afraid to Fail 115
12. Work Hard 115
13. Don’t Forget Your Roots 115
Download kit 121
Questionnaires
1 Self-Reflection Part 1 6
2 Self-Reflection Part 2 12
3 SWOT Analysis 22
4 Questions for Indigenous Entrepreneurs 91
5 Beyond the Five Ws 96
6 Your Indigenous Business 116
Samples
1 Job Posting 34
2 Indigenization Plan Example 77
3 Indigenous-Started Business Plan Template 107
Table
1 1900–2000 Timeline 4

Sujets

• Indigenous Studies
• Workplace Culture
• Social Science
• Sociologie, société et politique
• Entrepreneurship
• Social sciences

Informations

• Publié par: Self-Counsel Press
• Date de parution: 15 février 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781770405325
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Amplifying Indigenous Voices in Business
Indigenization, Reconciliation, and Entrepreneurship
Priscilla Omulo
Self-Counsel Press (a division of) International Self-Counsel Press Ltd. USA Canada

Copyright © 2022

International Self-Counsel Press All rights reserved.
Contents

Cover

Title Page

Opening Prayer

Preface

Introduction

CHAPTER 1: Why Indigenize? Some Background Information

1. The Oppression Tree

2. Racial Profiling

The Indian Act

4. Residential Schools

5. Indian Day Schools

6. Indian Hospitals

Questionnaire 1: Self-Reflection Part 1

7. Empathy versus Sympathy

8. Truth and Reconciliation

9. United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)

10. Clean Drinking Water

11. Indigenous Consultation and Legal Matters

12. Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls

13. Indigenous Children and Youth in Care

14. Tying All This Together

Questionnaire 1: Self-Reflection Part 2

15. What Next?

CHAPTER 2: Strategy Considerations

1. Indigenization Strategy

Questionnaire 3: SWOT Analysis

2. The Medicine Wheel

3. Best Practices and Protocols

Sample 1: Job Posting

4. Education on Indigenous History

CHAPTER 3: Intercultural Competency

1. Food as Exploration of Cultures

2. Culture-Specific Knowledge

3. Sociolinguistic Awareness

4. Global Issues and Social Climate

5. Conflict Resolution

CHAPTER 4: Creating Your Indigenization Plan

1. Items to Include

Sample 2: Indigenization Plan Example

CHAPTER 5: Especially for Indigenous Entrepreneurs

1. Questions for Indigenous Entrepreneurs

Questionnaire 4: Questions for Indigenous Entrepreneurs

2. Barriers Indigenous Businesspeople Face

3. SWOT Analysis for Indigenous Entrepreneurs

4. The Five Ws

5. Beyond the Five Ws

Questionnaire 5: Beyond the Five Ws

6. Indigenous-Started Business Plan

7. Dress to Impress

8. Treat Everyone with Dignity ;and Respect

9. Being Powerful without Too Much Pow

10. Hold the Door Open

11. Don’t Be Afraid to Fail

12. Work Hard

13. Don’t Forget Your Roots

Questionnaire 6: Indigenous Business

Sample 3: Indigenous-Started Business Plan Template

Download Kit

Dedication

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Notice to Readers

Self-Counsel Press thanks you for purchasing this ebook.
Opening Prayer

Creator, grandmothers, grandfathers:
I would like to thank you for my health, my family, and my son.
Thank you for the water, air, animals, and fire.
I thank you for the medicines: sage, cedar, sweetgrass, and tobacco.
Please guide us in a good way to heal those hurting, find justice for those without, remind those who are lost they can come home.
Give us the strength and courage to find Truth and Reconciliation.
Huy ch q’u Siem.
Preface

My name is Priscilla Omulo and I am a Tsartlip First Nations woman. I am a facilitator and consultant sharing about Indigneous culture, decolonization, Indigenization, allyship, reconciliation, anti-racism, and justice. My business is ZINC̸O SȽÁNI which means Thunderbird Woman in SENĆOŦEN of the W̱SÁNEĆ people.
We are Straits Salish People, also known as the “saltwater people,” because we lived from the bounty of the ocean and the land. Our name, W̱SÁNEĆ, was anglicized to “Saanich” when the white people arrived in our territory. Today the W̱SÁNEĆ live on four small reserves at the location of our winter village site, my mother’s family being West Saanich/Tsartlip.
I remember my mother telling me a story about how they used to call my grandmother “Thunderbird Woman” because she would get these headaches when thunder was coming. Although having not met my mother’s mother I have always felt connected through the teachings my mother passed down to me. Since I was a small child I have suffered with migraines and this had me wondering whether I am connected to my grandmother in this way as well. When I was searching for a name for this new path in my life I came across a 2018 quote from the curator of Indigenous and contemporary art at the Winnipeg Art Gallery: “The Thunderbird Woman represents a figure of transformation, half-woman and half-bird. It is an icon, a symbolic message of hope and matriarchal strength.” Jaimie Isaac’s words spoke to me and I thought why not honour my matriarch through name and story. (“Daphne Odjig’s Thunderbird Woman recreated at UWinnipeg,” The University of Winnipeg News , October 10, 2018.)
I have dedicated more than ten years of my life to working with Indigenous children, youth, women, and families. My work has spanned from addressing domestic violence, group homes, Ministry of Children and Family Development supports, and postsecondary, to facilitating programs, coordinating provincial councils, writing reports, and research.
My work in consulting started organically as I facilitated many workshops and events and then was asked to do this for a variety of other institutions, organizations, and businesses. It was part time and casual until the beginning of 2020 when I started full time. After losing my husband I made a promise to myself to only do things that fill my cup. This included contracts I accepted, friends, volunteer work, and hobbies.
During the pandemic I started to paint as an outlet for my feelings towards the state of the world. I was feeling defeated, angry, sad, worried; and overwhelmed with white supremacy, colonization, anti-Indigenous racism, and the impacts of these on myself and those I love.
When the opportunity came to write this book I decided to push that energy into action. ReconciliACTION! I needed to have faith that those who are picking up this book are doing so with the best of intentions, and why not offer them my experience, knowledge, feelings, and thoughts?
This is not just for me or for you. This is but one step towards reconciliation and it is written in hopes to have positive impacts for the next seven generations.
My goal is to seek justice in this world. As I type I see my now two-year-old son playing with his toy piano, wearing a shirt that says “love is love.” My hope is that his world will be that much better than mine was, than his grandmothers’ was.
Reconciliation is not only acknowledgement of past wrongdoing, justice for the genocide, rectification of lost language, culture, and identity, it is about creating a future where all children matter.
One of the greatest points I cannot emphasize enough is that reconciliation, decolonization, equity, and justice work is emotional labour for many Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) folks. This is not something that is like any other report or task that we can pick up and put down, hand off, or on which we can do the bare minimum. This is work that will impact the very safety, happiness, and wellness of ourselves, our family, friends, and generations to come. This is a responsibility we do not take lightly.
There were many moments that I broke down crying as I wrote. Although this is a how-to book and not my personal story, it is in essence still my personal story. This is the culmination of years of learning who I am, what I stand for, and handling personal experiences of racism and oppression that led me to the space I am today to be able to share this knowledge with you.
My existence is resistance — resistance to genocide. My existence is political because who I am is what I stand for, it is how I walk in this world is political. The fact that I sat at tables that felt uncomfortable with me and what I had to say, ignored me, and pushed me out yet I still stand here believing in what I say and do is resilience in itself. I am grounded in my teachings, protocols, and I held close to my heart my mother’s words.
I wish I had my late husband here through this journey. I would replay his words in my head about how I have a voice and knowledge and I am worthy. What I know, what I have experienced, who I am is something. This is what I have to offer to you in this book. My learning and unlearning of the colonial system.
My goals are that you follow this journey with me and do what you can to build a better just world. Commit to Truth and Reconciliation with not only the best of intentions but with utilization of all the power and privilege you hold. We are all more powerful than we can imagine, especially when it comes to justice. There are so many times that the work is left to BIPOC folks and that needs to stop now.
Take responsibility, hold yourself and others accountable, be transparent, do the heavy lifting. It is only when we all work together in places and spaces we can that we are going to dismantle the systems of oppression.
There is this misconception that the world will be destroyed with the dismantling of the capitalist and colonial systems. I believe that COVID-19 has shown us that there is more to what we are than employees in cubicles. There is a world without capitalist, white supremacy systems. They existed generations before contact and it is not going backwards to conceive of a world that removes these systems and builds a decolonial system of equity and justice.
Imagine a world where our children and seven generations to come have access to clean water, trees, air, time to be with one another, safety, and freedom. Unless we make changes now we can only imagine instead of knowing that reality.
I do not pretend to have the answers to the world’s problems but I can share my story, experiences, ideas, and hope that you can strive to implement changes to make your space that much better. Push the boundaries because if we do not do this within ourselves, our families, and homes, as well as our community and work then where? When? How?
Introduction

Common questions businesses, educational institutions, and communities ask are, “What is an Indigenization strategy? Do I need one? And wher