The KES team comes from a variety of cultures, backgrounds, and experiences. We have all had our individual journey and we have had a collective one as a team. Those journeys never end and are an opportunity for us to grow on our own and together. Our view on reconciliation is an important part of our journey. Our acknowledgment and understanding of the atrocities committed to Indigenous peoples, communities and Nations is deeply understood by our team and, in many cases, is a lived experience.
Our commitment to reconciliation happens regularly. It starts with the way that we approach team members, clients, associates, and participants everyday with a goal of being open, inclusive, and communicative with a goal of building and keeping trust and showing respect to all.
That commitment continues through our methodology, which is built upon a Two Eyed Seeing approach to our daily work and our projects. It continues as well through the learning that we undertake, which is an investment in ourselves and our organization but also in continuing our ongoing reconciliation journey. Here are some of the learnings and activities that team members have undertaken:
Continuing education of the KES team which included San’Yas Indigenous learnings, OCAP Principals workshop, and 7 Grandfather teachings workshop
To the best of our ability ensuring that Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers are a part of our formal dialogues with clients, whether the dialogue involves Indigenous or non-Indigenous topics
Recommitting ourselves to a number of important principles for public engagement including inclusivity and protection of data and privacy including applying OCAP principles across all of our undertakings
Incorporating Indigenous lessons and techniques such as the 7 generation theory, healing circles, among others to our public engagement methodology. Integrated and driving this everyday is a Two-Eyed Seeing approach, where we combine the strengths of Indigenous knowledges and ways of knowing with the strengths of Western knowledges and ways of knowing to our craft of public engagement but also to how we work together as team members and partners.
