Data & Insights:
Indigenous Reconciliation
Introduction
In 2021, hundreds of unmarked graves of Indigenous children were discovered at former residential schools in Canada, where Indigenous children were sent to be stripped of their families, culture, language, and religion for the purpose of assimilating them into Western society. Similar institutions existed in the United States, known as American Indian boarding schools. These discoveries sparked a renewed focus on reconciliation, which Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission defined as follows:
“Reconciliation is about establishing and maintaining a mutually respectful relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples in this country. In order for that to happen, there has to be awareness of the past, an acknowledgement of the harm that has been inflicted, atonement for the causes, and action to change behaviour.”
In 2015, the Commission proposed 94 actions to advance reconciliation, including Call to Action #92 which is directed at the business community and detailed in the box below. In this section, we examine several themes that flow from Call to Action #92 including educating employees about Indigenous history, Indigenous recruitment and youth development programs, publicly supporting the rights of Indigenous Peoples, and procurement from Indigenous suppliers.
Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Call to Action #92
We call upon the corporate sector in Canada to adopt the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a reconciliation framework and to apply its principles, norms, and standards to corporate policy and core operational activities involving Indigenous peoples and their lands and resources. This would include, but not be limited to, the following:
| Commit to meaningful consultation, building respectful relationships, and obtaining the free, prior, and informed consent of Indigenous peoples before proceeding with economic development projects.
| Ensure that Aboriginal peoples have equitable access to jobs, training, and education opportunities in the corporate sector, and that Aboriginal communities gain long-term sustainable benefits from economic development projects.
| Provide education for management and staff on the history of Aboriginal peoples, including the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal–Crown relations. This will require skills based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and anti-racism.
Figure 26: Indigenous Education for Employees
Has your organization provided training to employees on the history and/or rights of Indigenous Peoples?
No Data Found
No Data Found
Providing education for leaders and staff on the history of Indigenous peoples is one of the primary directives issued by Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission targeting the business sector. As the Honourable Murray Sinclair stated:
“Education is what got us into this mess, and education will get us out.”
We asked survey participants whether they provided training to their employees on the history and/or rights of Indigenous Peoples as a foundational step in addressing Indigenous rights and reconciliation within their organizations. For clarity, we provided examples for reference including education about reconciliation, Canadian Residential Schools, American Indian Boarding Schools, and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
As shown in Figure 26, a majority of survey participants (55%) have provided training to their employees on the history and/or rights of Indigenous Peoples while nearly one-quarter (22%) are considering it or working on it. Approximately one-quarter (23%) have not provided Indigenous training to employees and are not presently considering it.
The combined proportion of participants who have either provided training on Indigenous issues or are working on it or considering it sums to approximately three-quarters (77%) of participants. This signals that education of this nature is commonly practiced and championed within the business community.
It is worth noting that there was no correlation between the location of participants’ headquarters (Canada, U.S., or Global) and their responses to this question.
Figure 27: Public Support for Indigenous Rights
Has your organization taken formal actions to publicly support the rights of Indigenous Peoples?
No Data Found
We asked survey participants whether their organizations have taken formal actions to publicly support the rights of Indigenous Peoples. For clarity, we provided several examples including development of a Reconciliation Action Plan, showing public support for UNDRIP, or responding directly to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action #92, which calls upon the business sector “to adopt the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a reconciliation framework and to apply its principles, norms, and standards to corporate policy and core operational activities involving Indigenous peoples and their lands and resources.”
As shown in Figure 27, 39% of participants have taken formal actions to publicly support the rights of Indigenous Peoples, while 26% are considering it or describe it as a work in progress. About one-third (35%) of participants have not taken formal actions to publicly support the rights of Indigenous Peoples and are not presently considering it.
Similar to the previous question about education, there was no correlation between the location of participants’ headquarters and their responses to this question. These data highlight a gap between internal and external support for Indigenous rights. Whereas a majority of participants (55%) have trained their employees on Indigenous rights internally, a minority (39%) have publicly declared support for Indigenous rights. In other words, most organizations are treating the matter seriously enough to educate their employees but have refrained from making external commitments. This trend is interesting and challenging to explain. We can speculate that it may be attributed to: (a) different or competing perspectives on the value of public commitments; (b) uncertainty about what a public commitment would require, in practice, and how to pursue one authentically; or (c) varying degrees of conviction with respect to reconciliation. The latter point may be overly cynical as most organizations are educating their employees on the subject internally, which is an important step. However, it’s important to note that public commitments attract scrutiny and necessitate accountability measures—both of which may feel daunting to organizations at this stage in their journey.
While most organizations treat Indigenous rights seriously enough to educate their employees, they have refrained from making external commitments.
Figures 28 & 29: Indigenous talent recruitment & development
28: Does your organization have a talent recruitment program specific to Indigenous Peoples?
No Data Found
29: Does your organization have a program to invest in the advancement of Indigenous youth?
No Data Found
Indigenous Peoples make up 4.9% of Canada’s population9 but hold only 0.3% of board seats and 0.2% of senior management positions among Canadian public companies governed by the Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA).10 Indigenous Peoples represent 2.9% of the U.S. population11, although data covering their representation in corporate leadership is scarce. A 2022 Associated Press article citing an estimate by Deloitte noted that Indigenous representation on the boards of U.S. publicly listed companies is “less than one-tenth of 1%”.12 These data make clear that Indigenous Peoples are extremely underrepresented in corporate leadership.
This underrepresentation is the result of centuries of marginalization and oppression of Indigenous Peoples, for example through the Residential School system in Canada and American Indian Boarding Schools in the U.S., where Indigenous children were stripped of their languages, cultures, and families. The result is a legacy of intergenerational trauma and limited access to financial and economic resources among many Indigenous communities.
Against that backdrop, organizations that are committed to reconciliation and DEI are increasingly implementing programs to recruit Indigenous talent and support the advancement of Indigenous youth, the latter of which includes internships, scholarships, and mentorship programs to enable a future talent pipeline and a potential path to corporate leadership. We asked survey participants to let us know whether their organizations have developed such programs.
As shown in Figure 28, 26% of survey participants have an Indigenous talent recruitment program, while 28% are considering such a program or describe it as a work in progress. Nearly half of respondents (46%) do not currently have a talent recruitment program specific to Indigenous Peoples and are not presently considering it.
Missed Opportunity: Nearly half of respondents do not have, and are not considering, an Indigenous talent recruitment program.
Similarly, Figure 29 shows that 26% of participants have a program to invest in Indigenous youth, while 25% are considering it or working on it. Approximately half of participants (49%) do not have a program of this nature and are not presently considering it.
These data are unsurprising given that such targeted programs are relatively new, and do not yet constitute a norm within the business community. However, organizations with a high conviction stance on reconciliation are laying the groundwork for others to learn from, and possibly to emulate in the future. This will be a trend to watch in the coming months and years.
Figure 30: Procurement from Indigenous suppliers
Does your organization have a policy or program to procure from Indigenous suppliers?
No Data Found
Another action that organizations can take to support reconciliation is to procure supplies from Indigenous-owned businesses. As shown in Figure 30, 22% of survey participants have a policy or program to procure from Indigenous suppliers, while 30% are considering or working on such a program. Approximately half (48%) of respondents do not have an Indigenous procurement policy or program and are not presently considering it.
Similar to our analysis of the data presented in Figures 28 and 29 above, Indigenous procurement policies are relatively new and do not reflect common practice within the business community. Those with a high-conviction stance on reconciliation are laying the groundwork for others to follow, and this will be a trend to watch in the months and years ahead.
The employee perspective on Indigenous Rights and Opportunities:
A cultural divide
When asked how important it is to them, as an employee, for their organization to demonstrate a commitment to support the rights of, and opportunities for, Indigenous Peoples, the majority of respondents (~70%) in both Canada and the U.S. noted that this is either somewhat or very important to them. What is notable about this finding is that (a) Indigenous rights has the smallest majority of support compared to the other social priorities we tested and (b) there is virtually no difference between how Canadian employees and U.S. employees responded to this question, despite the fact that dialogues around Indigenous rights and reconciliation have been more prominent in Canada than in the U.S.
BIPOC respondents assign significantly higher importance to Indigenous rights and opportunities than their Caucasian peers.
Interestingly, when we break down this data between BIPOC and Caucasian employees in the U.S. and Canada, we see a different picture. BIPOC respondents in the U.S. and Canada are far more likely to rate Indigenous rights and opportunities as a matter of importance than their Caucasian peers. Indeed, BIPOC respondents in the U.S. appear to feel more strongly about this issue even than their Canadian BIPOC counterparts. This suggests a significant difference in the expectations between BIPOC and non-BIPOC employees, which is worth noting for employers who aim to create more inclusive organizations.
Figure 31: Importance of Indigenous rights and opportunities to U.S. and Canadian employees
How important is it that your organization demonstrate a committment to supporting rights and opportunities for indigenous peoples?
No Data Found
Overall, a small majority of employees in both Canada (59%) and the U.S. (61%) agree that their organizations are performing well or very well when it comes to demonstrating a commitment to Indigenous rights and opportunities. Again, the extent to which Canadian and U.S. employees align on this issue is surprising given its prominence in Canada versus the U.S.
Figures 32: Employee perceptions of performance on Indigenous rights and opportunities
How well is your organization performing in terms of demonstrating a commitment to Indigenous rights and opportunities?
Figures 33: Employee Perceptions of Performance on Indigenous Rights and Opportunities, by Group
How well is your organization performing in terms of demonstrating a commitment to Indigenous rights and opportunities?
No Data Found
No Data Found
What’s even more surprising is that U.S. employees, particularly U.S. BIPOC employees, are more likely to give positive marks for performance on this front than their Canadian counterparts. Are BIPOC employees in the U.S. actually more satisfied with corporate performance on this issue than their Caucasian peers? Or are they simply more encouraged by the foundational steps organizations are taking, following a long history of having been ignored? It is impossible to discern the answer from this data. However, a significant takeaway for organizations is that it appears that early efforts on this front are being noted and valued—and that should be encouraging to all embarking on this journey.
It appears that organizations’ early efforts on Indigenous rights are being noted and valued.
