Island lake people in wellness together
"Our goal is to make our organization very healthy and strong.
It is about working together, helping and supporting one another and a workplace that really reflects our values.”
Island lake people in wellness together
It is about working together, helping and supporting one another and a workplace that really reflects our values.”
The staff find that Four Arrows is their second family.
Of course I want a healthy work environment, a safe environment for us and our communities too but HR is a pretty new field in a lot of First Nation organizations. It is an exciting time because I can integrate a lot of our indigenous and Anishininew values to our HR practices. That’s my vision and goal for the organization so it fits more of our community’s values in our HR practices.
I think the big thing is we have been using western models. I am researching if there are indigenous models and contacting other tribal councils to see what models they use. Everything we do is in a western model, but what did we do before?
I look where it is different and where the western policies don’t work. My background is I am part Ojibwe and Anishinaabe and the trauma I think affects us much more than a western group. I understand our history very well. I took an advanced degree in Native studies at University of Manitoba.
Understanding the history is very important in our environment where 80% of us are Indigenous. You have to understand the history and trauma we face.
Before HR I worked with Byron Beardy in community development and Food Security for 10+ years. I have been with Four Arrows seven years now but prior to that I worked for another not for profit and I worked for a lot of the fly in communities in Manitoba. I have always been involved in community development work. It is my passion.
Orientation with new employees is very quick with the Western approach and I am finding with a lot of our new staff that one big goal for me in my own work plan is how we could better our orientation with our new employees. It is providing more peer support too. Incorporating our culture more, who our communities are, sitting more with Elders in the office who know those values in the communities. Spend some time with them so they understand those values before they go out to the communities. Understanding the leadership structures in our communities, even with smudging’s and offering tobacco. Starting things off our way in an open, honest relationship. Those are things I would really try to incorporate.