The TRC's Calls to Action: What Businesses and Schools Can Do

"We want to do something real for reconciliation. Where do we start?" It is a question many business owners, teachers and principals are asking. It is a good question.

Our answer is to start with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action. They are specific. They are public. And a few of them speak directly to businesses and schools. This post walks through what they say, in plain language, with links to the sources.

What the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) was created in 2008 under the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. According to Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, it gathered testimonies from 6,500 Survivors and witnesses over six years to document the history and harms of residential schools.

The TRC concluded its mandate in 2015 and released its final report that year. The report included 94 Calls to Action, addressed to all sectors of Canadian society. The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) is now the permanent keeper of the records the TRC gathered.

The Government of Canada says 76 of the calls require its sole or shared leadership, and reports that more than 85% of those have been completed or are well underway. That is the government's own assessment. Many of the calls are not aimed at government at all. Some are aimed at the rest of us.

Call to Action 92: business and reconciliation

Call to Action 92 is the one written for the corporate sector. Here is the opening, word for word:

"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."

It then lists three commitments:

1. Consultation and consent. "Commit to meaningful consultation, building respectful relationships, and obtaining the free, prior, and informed consent of Indigenous peoples before proceeding with economic development projects."
2. Jobs and benefits. "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."
3. Education for staff. "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."

The federal government's own page on this call notes that the corporate sector in Canada is responsible for the response. In other words, nobody is going to do this for businesses.

What a business can actually do

Most businesses are not running pipelines or mines. You might be a coffee shop, a law office, a construction company or a dental clinic. Call to Action 92 still applies to you. Here is how we would break it down.

Start with education (92.iii)

This is the part every business can do this year. Set aside paid time for staff to learn about residential schools, the treaties and Indigenous rights. Read the Calls to Action together. Learn about the treaty territory your business sits on. We are in Saskatoon, on Treaty 6. You can read about what that means to us in Treaty 6 and Saskatoon: where XUSI comes from.

Look at who you hire and train (92.ii)

Ask honest questions. Who applies for your jobs? Who gets promoted? Where do you post openings? Are there Indigenous organizations or schools in your area you could build a relationship with?

Look at where your money goes

Call to Action 92 talks about Indigenous communities gaining long-term benefits from economic activity. One practical way to do that is to buy from Indigenous-owned businesses. The federal government has set its own mandatory minimum target: at least 5% of the total value of federal contracts held by Indigenous businesses, with all departments and agencies expected to meet it by fiscal year 2024-2025. If the Government of Canada can set a number, so can a private business.

Groups like the Canadian Council for Indigenous Business (CCIB) certify businesses that are majority Indigenous-owned and controlled, which helps buyers know who they are working with. You can read more about who we are on our about page.

Build relationships, not one-off gestures

The first commitment in Call to Action 92 is about "building respectful relationships." That takes time. It means showing up more than once a year.

The education Calls to Action

Schools come up in two places in the Calls to Action. Calls 6 to 12 are grouped under education in the "Legacy" section. Calls 62 to 65 are grouped under "Education for reconciliation." Here is what 62 to 65 ask for, in short.

• Call to Action 62 asks federal, provincial and territorial governments, working with Survivors, Aboriginal peoples and educators, to make age-appropriate curriculum on residential schools, Treaties and Aboriginal peoples' contributions a mandatory part of education from kindergarten to grade 12. It also asks for funding to train teachers to bring Indigenous knowledge and teaching methods into classrooms.
• Call to Action 63 asks the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada to keep an annual commitment to Aboriginal education issues, including curriculum on residential schools, sharing best practices, and building student capacity for "intercultural understanding, empathy, and mutual respect."
• Call to Action 64 asks governments that fund denominational schools to require education on comparative religious studies, including a segment on Aboriginal spiritual beliefs and practices developed with Aboriginal Elders.
• Call to Action 65 asks the federal government, through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and with Aboriginal peoples, post-secondary institutions, educators and the NCTR, to set up a national research program with multi-year funding to advance understanding of reconciliation.

What a school can actually do

Teachers and principals often have less control over curriculum than people think. But there is still a lot you can do inside a school.

• Teach the history directly. Use Survivor-led and Indigenous-led resources. The NCTR is a strong place to start.
• Mark September 30 with care. The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was established as a federal statutory holiday in response to Call to Action 80. Orange Shirt Day shares the same date. See our post on Orange Shirt Day and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
• Bring Indigenous people in, and pay them. Elders, Knowledge Keepers, artists and business owners give real time and knowledge when they visit a school.
• Support Indigenous youth directly. Our Strong Roots Strong Future workshop is for Indigenous youth ages 10 and up. You can learn more on our youth workshops page.

Where we fit in

We are a small Indigenous-owned company. We are not going to pretend that buying a shirt is reconciliation. It is not. But where your school or business spends its money is one of the few things fully in your control.

If your school, team or workplace is ordering shirts anyway, for a sports day, a staff event or September 30, you can order from an Indigenous-owned printer. We do custom screen printing in Saskatoon with a 10-garment minimum, up to four colours per design with design help included, and every order is quoted before printing. We ship across Canada. More on our screen printing page.

One more thing

Read all 94 Calls to Action. It does not take long. Then pick one thing your business or school can do this year, and do it well. Then pick another one.

Sources

• Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada: Delivering on Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action
• Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada: Delivering on Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action (progress summary)
• Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada: Business and reconciliation (Call to Action 92)
• Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada: Education for reconciliation (Calls to Action 62 to 65)
• National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation: Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
• Government of Canada: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
• Indigenous Services Canada: Mandatory minimum 5% Indigenous procurement target
• Canadian Council for Indigenous Business: Certified Indigenous Business