How a Company Can Transform Their Relationship With Our Indigenous Communities

Our nation was rocked to its core in the spring of 2021 when the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Nation detected the remains of 215 children in unmarked graves near the site of the Kamloops Indian Residential School. Through the rest of that summer, news continued to surface that a potential 93 unmarked graves have been detected.

I, along with my family and friends, were utterly dismayed by this news. We felt a sense of loss, shame and guilt that this could have transpired in this country I was born in and grew to love. The fact that it was never taught in our schools when I was a kid in the 80s was also extremely upsetting. Over the years, I’ve learned many ways to build our relationship with Indigenous communities.

My very first real exposure came from the work of one of our clients, Vancity. They aligned with Reconciliation Canada almost a decade ago and talked about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Calls to Action.

This got me curious about how Ballistic Arts can get involved. These steps I’m sharing may help your journey in transforming your relationship with our Indigenous communities.

Learning from leaders all around you both young & young at heart

Slowly through my involvement with the NEXT Leaders Council and the Business Council of BC, I started to gain more insight to the complex and sad shared history between Canada and its Indigenous hosts. From witnessing BCBC’s MOU with the BC Assembly of First Nations to sitting on a panel at the BC Business Summit on Future Leaders with Williams Lake First Nation Chief Willie Sellars, my exposure to Indigenous issues and the need for economic reconciliation started to take hold. It was also inspiring to see so many Indigenous leaders get involved in charting a path forward together.

Also, our daughter Charlotte would come home with questions about Indigenous issues at a young age, it motivated me to take action on how Ballistic Arts can do our small part. Through my network of agency owners, I was introduced to Pulxaneeks of Heart to Heart Indigenous Relations Consultation.

Listen first. Be open, and really listen.

Pulxaneeks is a member of the Eagle Clan of the Xanuksiala First Nation with Nuchanulth and Lummi Ancestry. We invited her last year to run our team through her 5-part Indigenous Awareness Building Online Series. As a result, our team at Ballistic Arts started to get an understanding of topics about:

Colonialism and how we got here
What Ancestors and Allyship really mean
Living on Stolen Land
Right Use of Privilege

It was an immersive experience, and through mindful listening, I personally took away from the engagement that:

We all have a responsibility to this land
We need to care for all the living things on it
We can be viewed as direct representatives of our ancestors from generations past; and
We must understand each and every one of the hundreds of nations across this country is unique and distinct in their culture.

Tangible steps to help

When asking Pulxaneeks in what ways we can help, she noted that supporting Indigenous artists and businesses is a good starting point.

Other ways include:

Land acknowledgements (be it in your email signature or at the beginning of a business function)
Hiring or training Indigenous people in the ways of business
Taking care of the land we live on
Read and take action on the 94 Calls to Action from the Truth & Reconciliation Commission of Canada

Ted Lau with Chief Willie Sellars of the Williams Lake First Nation on Marketing News Canada

This was a similar message that I took away from the little friendship I’ve nurtured with the aforementioned Chief Willie Sellars of the Williams Lake First Nation. I had the honour of interviewing him live on Truth & Reconciliation Day for Marketing News Canada to learn about being a young leader in BC’s Indigenous community, a young dad and a bestselling author! It was a lot of fun! If you can, give it a listen.

From left to right: Ted Lau, CEO Ballistic Arts. Fred Soofi, Restaurateur. Ed Hall, elected Chief of kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem) First Nation.

Another leader I recently got a chance to speak to was Ed Hall, elected Chief of kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem) First Nation who spoke at the Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce. He also confirmed that land acknowledgements are a good starting point to reconciliation and a way for businesses to start taking action in reconciliation.

How we celebrated our 20th anniversary

At Ballistic Arts, we are humbled to celebrate 20 years of business relationships by gifting our friends with Indigenous art pieces. Working with Lattimer Gallery, a well-respected Indigenous art gallery, we selected two pieces that resonate with us and our story.

One piece is a commemorative plate crafted by renowned Canadian Indigenous artist Corrine Hunt. The Eagle symbolizes friendship and the Orca represents long life and unity. The other is a print from renowned Haida artist Bill Reid. The wolf is a symbol of family, leadership and strength.

Left: Eagle and Orca Platter by Corrine Hunt | Right: Haida Wolf Drum by Bill Reid

We felt this is the proper way of thanking all those who have worked with us over the years while we in turn demonstrated our support for our Indigenous hosts.

It’s more than just gifts, more than just a month, but don’t get overwhelmed. Take action.

Please note this is not just about the gifts. I don’t want you to read this post and think that simply buying artwork from an Indigenous artist means our company has done all we can on reconciliation. While we have taken several steps as mentioned, and we will continue to take steps in our reconciliation journey as an ally.

So as we close out Canada’s National Indigenous Month, I encourage you to take something away from my own journey:

Learn about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action
What it means to be an Ally
Network with Indigenous leaders to help them thrive and grow their communities through groups like Business Council of BC or Advanced Business Match
Donate to the Indian Residential School Survivors Society

We don’t profess to know everything there is to know about Truth & Reconciliation. We have a long way to go in terms of our road to healing as well as the road to economic reconciliation, but we have to start somewhere. I invite you to take one small step each day towards a better tomorrow.

Until next time,

Ted Lau, June 2022

We acknowledge that Ballistic Arts operates on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem First Nation). We thank the kʷikʷəƛ̓əm who continue to live on these lands and care for them, along with the waters and all that is above and below.