First Nations members must deal with cultural and legal barriers as they attempt to participate in agricultural industry
OTTAWA — Kendal Netmaker, a Saskatoon entrepreneur and speaker from Sweetgrass First Nation in Saskatchewan, said Indigenous people would like to be asked to work in agriculture.
Many won’t apply for a job because they believe their culture and history mean they don’t have a chance.
He told the Canadian Crops convention that decades of suppression and restriction of First Nations people and laws that still exist today put the fastest-growing demographic at a disadvantage. Many are just trying to survive.
He said some in the crowd would be uncomfortable as he talked about his past and what First Nations people want today.
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“Growth is a result of being uncomfortable,” he said. “The future is inclusive whether we like it or not. It’s not just Indigenous peoples that we have to be understanding, it’s all the newcomers that are coming to this land. As leaders, we have to take the time and effort to understand, learn, become aware of different cultures that are coming to work for us.”
For example, he said looking people in the eye is a sign of disrespect in the Indigenous world. Indigenous people rely on storytelling, so a job interview can be an ordeal.
“You want to bring out ideas. You want to get them talking through storytelling,” he advised. “‘Tell me the story that brought you here today’.”
In an interview, he agreed there is a lack of trust between farmers and Indigenous people, who are their closest neighbours.
“That’s a result of an underlying symptom of this society we’re living in,” he said. “Change happens when we decide as individuals we need to change.”
Netmaker said farmers and Indigenous people on reserves have to figure out how to sit at the same table.
“There’s a work force sitting there waiting for opportunities but no one’s coming to present those to us,” he said.
He encouraged all the people in the room to be leaders and do the work to remove the invisible wall.
He recalled being a child in the local grocery store.
“I noticed the wall where people wouldn’t talk to us. People would treat us differently. That has to stop. We’re better than that, all of us,” he said.
He spoke of the legacy of residential schools that left many people “messed up” and of the overt racism Indigenous people experience. He said the decision to shift one’s mindset goes both ways and requires everyone to learn and understand.
Netmaker encouraged people to attend powwows, visit reserves and work on building bonds that will benefit society as a whole, including the workforce.
“We all have our own work to do,” he said. “My people, we’ve got a lot of healing to do. From a non-Indigenous perspective we need to create a more inclusive society that brings people together, that encourages each other.”
