Chapter 1 - Indigenous Awareness Training

1.01 Introduction (5 min.) Sample Lesson
1.02 Before the Newcomers (40 min.)
1.03 Impact on Contact (32 min.)
1.04 Negotiation (21 min.)
1.05 Assimilation (32 min.)
1.06 Cultural & Communication Differences (35 min.)
1.07 Working with Indigenous Peoples Today (22 min.)

Indigenous Awareness Training by Holly Fortier / Chapter 1 - Indigenous Awareness Training

Lesson 1.01 Introduction

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Transcript

01. Lesson 1.01: Introduction 02. Session Outline 03. Indigenous Awareness Training Participant Resource 04. Session Objectives

01. Lesson 1.01: Introduction

Welcome to Indigenous Awareness Training. I'm so happy that you joined me and invited me into your space for this training for us today. My name is Holly Fortier and I am from Fort McKay First Nation. We are Cree and Dene in Fort McKay. We're one of Canada's 634 First Nations. My community is actually ground zero of the world's third largest oil reserve. And so my dad was actually a geologist up there dating back to the forties and fifties, when there is nothing up there but the boreal forest. And they knew that there was resources and land. So he would hire Fort McKay First Nation men because they were the only ones who knew the land. And they would, back then they would travel by dog team. And instead of eating in the camps, they'd snare rabbits and cook them over the fire. So that's actually how he met my mom, because those are all her relatives. And so I feel very privileged to present this cross-cultural presentation to us today because I believe and know that First Nations and all other nations can get along because I'm evidence of that, right. So a few years ago, a gal came up to me and she goes, Do you know anybody who does indigenous awareness training? And I was like, Oh, there's tons of people who do this. I can find someone for you. And I started thinking about who would be a good fit. And I thought, well maybe I should just do one for you. I don't know what possessed me to offer that because I'm not a historian, I'm not an academic. I can't even say it. I'm not a political analyst. I don't even like public speaking. So I know you're wondering like, well, Holly, what do you have to offer us. But, do you know that public speaking is the number one fear. Dying is the number three fear. Like at a funeral, people would rather be, like, dead in the coffin than delivering the eulogy. Anyways, I did that one. It was October 2007, and it's been an amazing experience because I've been across Canada, even into the United States and Europe. And when we talk about culture and diversity, we often look at other people. What you learn through your neighborhoods, your homes, even through the media. But if we take the time to look at other people through our own story, it's like we adjust a lens. So that's my hope for us today, is that we can adjust the lens on how we look at the indigenous people in Canada.
So here's our first tip. I hear a lot of people saying our indigenous people and we're like, we're not our, like we don't belong to anybody. So the better term is the indigenous people. I'm going to help us with terms throughout this training too, so we'll address some of those.

02. Session Outline

2:47 So in today's session, I split it up into these pieces because I feel like it gives us a really good story. With the first part, we're going to take a really quick look across Canada at what it looked like for the first people. And then, we're going to talk about when Europeans and other folks came here and how that relationship is still residual today. And then, we're going to finish up our session today with how to work with indigenous peoples and communities. So I'm going to give you a list of tips. We're going to talk about some thoughts I have on moving forward and what is reconciliation. So the first part of the session is about the past. The second part about the future. Because really, in order to move forward, we need to know where we come from.

03. Indigenous Awareness Training Participant Resource

So I did provide a manual for you. This will come to you in the link. They'll be sent to you. It's a really beautiful resource for you. I love it. It's 119 pages. We just updated it in 2023. And so you'll have something at your fingertips for when you finish this course.

04. Session Objectives

Now, I know you came to this training with objectives, and I love that. You know, hoping, oh I hope Holly touches on this one topic. Well my objectives are to go through those topics because they give us a full story. I have a lot of information for you. I'm going to be moving at a pretty good clip. So this next 4 hours is really locked and loaded for you. Also, I'm really proud of you for inviting me into your space for taking time out of your busy schedules to be with me. I know a lot of you are working with indigenous peoples and communities. I know that there is an obligation to build a meaningful and respectful relationship. But I realize that from my training is that most Canadians are here not just professionally but personally. Also, there's a lot of misinformation, misunderstanding about us out there, so we're going to keep the conversations real and we're going to touch on the hot topics. But the main reason I do Indigenous awareness training is to build relationships between the first Canadians and all other Canadians so that we can have a much better future than we have historically. So let's dive in. I hope you're comfortable and I hope you enjoy this time with me.