From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
Chelsee Pettit spent much of the summer collaborating with designers to create and manufacture apparel reflective of the Indigenous values she hoped would be on people's minds when Canada marks its second National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
But in the days leading up to Sept. 30, she noticed many companies had not had the same forethought and were scrambling to place bulk orders with her store, Aaniin.
"It's just a little funny how last-minute other organizations that are all non-Indigenous are, and they're pushing that (work) back onto Indigenous people," said Pettit, an Anishinaabe woman.
"We're not like big box stores that just have disposable T-shirts and are at everybody's beck and call. Working with us ahead of time as opposed to just laying it on us a week before the day, I think would be super helpful."
Pettit has tried her best to accommodate last-minute orders, but she and other members of the Indigenous business community see the trend as a sign of how much more work corporate Canada has to do to turn support for Indigenous communities into a 365-day-a-year effort.
While many businesses encourage staff to don orange shirts -- a tradition started by residential school survivor Phyllis Webstad in 2013 -- or to sell wares in the bright hue on Sept. 30, those efforts quickly fade. Companies often don't do much more to elevate Indigenous voices and causes.
"It is positive that we are seeing education happen and awareness-building happen, but it can be quite triggering and harmful for Indigenous Peoples who see it as one day of performative action and nothing throughout the rest of the year," said Tabatha Bull, president and chief executive of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB).
Bull and Pettit say if an employer is looking to make a mark on truth and reconciliation goals, they should also be doing that work all year round.
Those efforts should begin with educating staff about both long-standing and new traumas Indigenous Peoplesface and how to support those affected.
Pettit recallsbeing at work in 2021, when the remains of 215 children were found at a former residential school site in British Columbia.
"My boss at the time was like, 'Oh, well, everybody knew about that already' and just like kind of brushed it off, but I was feeling very emotional that day for obvious reasons, so there's tons of work that has to be done," she said.
That's borne out in studies too.
A 2021 report from equity organization Catalyst Canada found about 52 per cent of the 86 Indigenous respondents surveyed are "on guard" at work and about 60 per cent feel psychologically unsafe on the job.
The study was based on a survey of 820 Canadian workers from various under-represented groups, but Catalyst isolated results from Indigenous respondents for this report because their need to feel on guard was so significant.
Krystal Abotossaway, president of the Indigenous Professional Association of Canada, said she has seen more companies move toward reflecting on what they can do to improve their corporate culture and support Indigenous communities in recent years.
Land acknowledgments, which note which Indigenous Peoples lived and took care of a site events are being held on, are an increasingly common and good start, she said.
Bull counts at least 200 companies, including Bank of Montreal, Uber, Walmart and Rogers, as members of the CCAB's Progressive Aboriginal Relation program -- an initiative helping them build cultural awareness and make progress on reconciliation plans.
Others have yet to take on such work. Bull thinks they're slower to act because they feel overwhelmed and afraid of having difficult conversations.
"Some corporations are just not even knowing what the right question is to ask," she said. "I think we need to move beyond that, if we're going to really progress as a country."
Abotossaway said they can start by marking other Indigenous days and use them as an opportunity to educate.
Among those she suggested are Red Dress Day, which commemorates the lives of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, and International Inuit Day, National Indigenous Peoples Day and Louis Riel Day, which celebrates the life of the late Metis leader.
The efforts shouldn't stop there, she added. Companies should reflect on how their governance structures, hiring policies, talent pipelines and workforce education programs align with Indigenous needs, she said.
"We've seen a lot of learning and development content come out, but that's usually just one course and it might be just an hour long," she said.
"Is it mandatory or is it not mandatory? And then how many of your employees or workforce are participating in it?"
Abotossaway and Bull agree any corporate actions on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation or other days should involve Indigenous Peoples at every step -- even if the action is selling orange apparel.
Bull said, "If you're going to create an orange shirt, ensure that you're working with an Indigenous artist, ensure that the Orange Shirt Society or an Indigenous organization benefits from that and you're not making a profit off of the orange shirt or Sept. 30."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 30, 2022.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
The National Post is reporting that Rex Murphy, the pundit and columnist who hosted a national call-in radio show for decades, has died.
Another suspect is in custody in connection with the gold heist at Toronto Pearson International Airport last year, police say.
Careful attention to government statements and legislation is required to get a handle on the level of risk British Columbians’ information is under, as investigators probe multiple breaches under a continued barrage of attacks.
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
A Conservative government led by Pierre Poilievre would not legislate on, nor use the notwithstanding clause, on abortion, his office says, as anti-abortion protesters gather on Parliament Hill.
Hailey and Justin Bieber are going to be parents. The couple announced the news on Thursday on Instagram, both sharing a video that showcases Hailey Bieber's growing belly.
Studies have shown that ultraprocessed foods can have a detrimental impact on health. But 30 years of research show they don’t all have the same impact.
The Oscar-winning team behind the nearly US$6 billion blockbuster 'Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit' trilogies is reuniting to produce two new films.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
The stakes have been set for a bet between Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors on who will win Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
A P.E.I. lighthouse and a New Brunswick river are being honoured in a Canada Post series.
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.