Without ethical leadership, organizations risk exposure to a negative reputation, demoralized staff, a culture of mistrust, fiscal loses and legal implications. In every organization there are expectations amongst stakeholders that the leadership will uphold the highest standards when it comes to ethical leadership. An indigenous economic development organization has many stakeholders to consider to be a flourishing and sustainable organization. It can be one of the most challenging yet also rewarding areas to work in.
When considering values and beliefs of an indigenous economic development organization, these come from internal employees, the indigenous government, band members, outside government stakeholders, other indigenous peoples as well as the general public. Balancing expectations of all can be achieved, provided the leaders set the tone for the organization. For example, indigenous economic organizations work under a variety of government structures. Some are elected in Chief and Council positions, some are hereditary positions or a combination there of. In addition, when it comes to elected positions, each government sets their own term for how long a person holds office. One challenge of an indigenous economic development organization in upholding ethical leadership, is the pressure of the current government to keep the membership happy. This can occur in both an elected and hereditary government system. The best way an indigenous economic development organization can prevent leaders from being negatively influenced by the current government, is to create a legally binding board of directors that the leader of the economic development organization must be accountable to. This board of directors should be a mix of internal stakeholders but heavily outweighed by outside board members whom stand nothing to gain and expect the leadership to act ethically. If the leadership of the economic development organization does not act ethically the board of directors should hold the authority to terminate the employment of the leader and not be influenced into making decisions based on the current government. If a nation wants it economic development arm to be around for generations to come, this is an important step in securing its future and its success.
The public also plays a major role in deciding what values and beliefs constitute ethical leadership of an indigenous economic development organization. For example, if you were to eat at a café that you purposely went to, in order to support an indigenous organization, would you think it be appropriate if that café was not recycling? How about if the indigenous café served farmed fish? There are social responsibilities an indigenous organization must uphold because of the expectations of the public. In a day of truth and reconciliation, public support is higher than it has ever been because of shared public values. Taking care of the environment is a common shared value and indigenous economic development organizations are expected to uphold this public value.
Another stakeholder of an indigenous economic development organization are the band membership which are often the ownership of the indigenous economic development organization. This can get tricky when considering ethical leadership and so having strong policies and procedures in place can avoid any conflict of interest problems. An example of where this can occur is the membership is expecting that its members have first priority at all jobs. Implementing strong Human Resource management practices with ensure that the organization is not breaking the law and showing favoritism’s. There are opportunities in indigenous led organizations to apply to the Human Rights code to allow preference to indigenous people when hiring, however there are rules and processes that must to be followed. It’s important though, to ensure that the employees working those jobs are qualified, or divides may occur between indigenous and non-indigenous employees. Capacity building for indigenous people is about helping indigenous people to get qualified and to be successful. It’s not about providing a “hand-out” but instead a “hand-up”.
Government and memberships of communities are both concerned with the financial integrity of an indigenous economic development organization. Indigenous organizations with employees working on reserve receive taxation benefits. There are also exemptions from purchases made by Status Indians purchasing on reserve. Excellent record keeping is important because if an organization is not following the law, there can be tremendous financial implications and public shaming. The public does not always understand the Indian Act, how it came to be and within it, why indigenous people sometimes are entitled to taxable benefits. There are negative perceptions surrounding some of these benefits and if an indigenous organization is thought to be breaking the law in this regard, it could receive a great deal of negative publicity. This could embarrass the organization and the membership. Yet, another way indigenous organizations are impacted by government and its membership is with the First Nations Transparency Act. Indigenous economic development organizations and their governments are required to go through an external financial audit each year, with the results posted online and presented to the membership. The purpose of this audit is to ensure accounting principles are followed and there is no fraud. Without ethical leadership there cannot be fiscal responsibility which in turn could mean, the end of an indigenous economic development organization.
In closing, indigenous economic development organizations that have high ethical standards with leadership and its employees can be highly successful. Particularly today, there are many individuals, government officials and the public that want to support indigenous economic development organizations to be successful. There is however only one chance to do things right and any unethical behavior can be damaging for years to come. The truth and reconciliation movement has benefited indigenous nations by creating public sympathy and a desire to want to help indigenous organizations, particularly those that want to help themselves. This olive branch however comes with a great deal of responsibility and so a strong culture of ethical behavior is integral to the success of an indigenous economic development organization. What are some other ethical and moral beliefs that the public holds with its indigenous organizations? Do you think it is fair that indigenous organizations are held to this standard given the history of inter-generational trauma?
Your paper is very well researched and discussed. I learned a lot. I do not think it is fair at all, given the history of inter-generational trauma, to have to have higher ethics than the general public. It is shocking to think of the lack of education that the Canadian public has regarding this trauma and the ripple effect it has had over the years. It would appear that at least the awareness is getting a little bit better. Gord Downey with his songs and album, The Secret Path, comes to mind. Making this history part of Canadian School Curriculum is extremely important. Books such as ‘Indian Horse’ by Richard Wagamese, which was on the short list of CBC Reads is important to understand more. We studied this book in our neighborhood book club and again, very important to discuss this in the context of what happened, the implications and that we all have a responsibility for reconciliation and fairness. I think the press also has a responsibility to report on all the great things going on with Indigenous economic development organizations and not just negative stories. We have a long way to go.
It’s great to hear that you have committed yourself to learning about reconciliation. The more awareness as you say in the press and school curriculum, hopefully builds more understanding. I do agree that it is not fair to be held to a higher standard of ethics. We’ve survived so much and so by taking it upon ourselves to maintain a higher level of ethics surprises folks. It provides a sense of pride to our young people that we are leaders and can lead the rest of the world in the right way in terms of caring for our mother earth, our family values and in having generous soles. Despite all we have been through as a people, we are still here and are getting stronger every day. The more we are held back the harder we strive to push forward. No one has ever taken care of us so lets continue taking care of ourselves. It is truly indigenous organizations that are educating and leading the way in reconciliation. Of course it is lovely to have leaders such as the late Gord Downey using his star power to bring issues to the forefront.
By the way I have not yet read Indian Horse but I hear it is fantastic. I’ll likely need a Kleenex box and some time to recover as I’m sure it will resonate with similar situations that have come up in my own community.
Thank you for your comments.
Thank you for sharing your experiences. My brother-in-law lives in Taipei and he has discussed some of the prejudices the indigenous people of Taiwan have experienced. It’s happened throughout history and around the world. I’m hopeful with more understanding and education things will get better.