Key themes

We acknowledge that there was a range of views expressed by Indigenous partners and that they did not always align. This report reflects a summary of Indigenous partner views. In these preliminary consultation and cooperation meetings, we learned about the topics Indigenous partners think are most critical for the public to increase their understanding of the UN Declaration and Indigenous human rights. We sought to learn which Indigenous organizations are developing or have developed materials that could be shared with the public to deepen their understanding of the UN Declaration and Indigenous human rights. We received many comments and suggestions on existing UN Declaration Act and UN Declaration introductory training materials. Participants identified key themes and considerations. Partners also identified other priority training topics, effective training formats, and information on educational materials and resources authored by Indigenous partners and organizations and subject matter experts. Themes are presented in an order reflective of the discussion deck and the UN Declaration Act training decks. Some Indigenous partners provided slide by slide comments. In some discussions, we discussed how we could work together on implementation of SP14.

General comments

Training is for everyone. Indigenous partners emphasized the importance of public servants critically examining their own practices, including their work, training, and decision-making, to identify and address ways they may unintentionally uphold colonial structures. Training needs to be provided at all levels of government, including the most senior federal officials. Indigenous partners want public servants to know that senior officials expect meaningful recognition of Indigenous rights to be the ultimate outcome.

Partners stated that training is imperative to ensure UN Declaration implementation does not become a check-box exercise. “Learning is the basis for change, so the training needs to count” (Native Women’s Association of Canada). Indigenous partners recommended learning objectives include incorporating learning into public servants’ work and action-oriented outcomes, in addition to understanding the UN Declaration and the UN Declaration Act and knowing where to get information and support.

In general, Indigenous partners recommended integrating more explanations, interpretation and meaning making from the voices of Indigenous peoples through videos, narration, and more, as training materials are further developed, including a Two-Eyed Seeing approachFootnote 2. Many noted that the training should include examples that are more inclusive, for example, an exercise on section 5 of the UN Declaration Act could include an example about women and gender diverse people. Additionally, UN Declaration Act training should apply an intersectional lens that would offer participants new ways of understanding persistent patterns of inequality that both reflect and respect complexity and diversity.