HUMBOLDT — Lyle Daniels, inclusion manager with Build Together – Saskatchewan, will be leading two free virtual Indigenous training courses hosted by Humboldt and District Chamber of Commerce.
Brent Fitzpatrick, the Chamber’s executive director, said that while they have been working for over a year to organize these modules, conversations gained a particular focus since the BHP announcement on the Jansen Project.
“BHP has mandated 20 per cent of their workforce to be Indigenous. So because of that, I think it’s really important that businesses and their staff have this training,” Fitzpatrick said. “I think it’s really important that young folks, particularly in Grades 10 through university also take that training because they’ll be entering the workforce when that mine is in full-gear.”
The first module, taking place on Sept. 27 from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., will cover the history of Indigenous peoples in Canada.
Fitzpatrick said this will entail the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action, moving into treaties, the sixties scoop and residential schools.
“Lyle’s stance is not one of accusation, it’s one of simply, ‘Here it is, let’s understand this.’ So when you’re talking to folks you have an understanding,” he said. “It’s a very wide introductory brush that we’re using.”
The second, taking place on Sept. 29 from 9 to 11:30 a.m., will cover Indigenous classification, proper terminology and contemporary issues.
Fitzpatrick said this module will include useful bits of knowledge for businesses on the expectations involved with hiring Indigenous Canadians, as well as just basic ways to address and be respectful.
Registration is required. To pre-register individuals can call the Humboldt and District Chamber of Commerce at 306-682-4990 or email admin@humboldtchamber.ca.
This is the final workshop in a series of workshops hosted by the Chamber and sponsored by the Training and Employment Network (TEN) project that has been going on for over a year.
“It’s really been a great project and it’s done what we needed it to do,” Fitzpatrick said.
“Because Humboldt is uniquely geographically placed we never had a lot of exposure to Indigenous people, not on any kind of scale. So this whole project, the partnership with cultural services, with Carlton Trail College, was just to bring awareness of history and issues as far as Indigenous people are concerned.”
