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VALUES, ETHICS & PROFESSIONALISM Integrity in Government Successful Partnerships Go Beyond the Numbers Communities Capitalizing on Infrastructure THE JOURNAL OF ABORIGINAL MANAGEMENT ISSUE 19 OCTOBER 2016

Transcript of Values, ethics & Professionalism - afoa.ca 19 Preview.pdf · Values, ethics & Professionalism...

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Values, ethics & ProfessionalismIntegrity in Government

Successful Partnerships Go Beyond the Numbers

Communities Capitalizing on Infrastructure

the Journal of aBoriGinal manaGement issue 19 octoBer 2016

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JAM The JournAl of AboriginAl MAnAgeMenT

SubScripTion inforMATion

AFOA Canada members receive a free subscription to JAM: The Journal of Aboriginal Management. The Journal is published twice a year – spring and fall editions. The Journal is mailed to members.

Non-members can subscribe to JAM for $50.00 a year. To get a subscription, call AFOA Canada toll free at 1-866-722-2362 or visit AFOA at www.afoa.ca.

AdverTiSing inforMATion

JAM is distributed to over 1,500 members and delegates, and is made available to all First Nations, Métis and Inuit across the country. These are the people with the purchasing power who spend millions of dollars a year on products and services. Advertisers gain valuable exposure to key decision-makers in Aboriginal communities and organizations. Corporations who advertise in JAM also contribute to enhanced Aboriginal finance and management in this country and, ultimately, make a contribution to the enhancement of the quality of life among Aboriginal peoples.

AFOA Canada welcomes advertisers for JAM: The Journal of Aboriginal Management. All advertisements are in full colour.

Corporate Members OtherFull page, inside front or back cover $3,500 $4,500Full page $2,500 $3,500Half page $1,000 $1,500

iSbn inforMATionJAM: The Journal of Aboriginal Management

Published by: AFOA Canada 1066 Somerset St. West, Suite 301, Ottawa, Ontario K1Y 4T3

Managing Editors: Jody Anderson, Manager, Public Relations, AFOA Canada (613) 722-5543 ext. 103 [email protected] Wayne K. Spear (647) 882-1965 [email protected]

For subscription and advertising information see above.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication The journal of Aboriginal management: JAM Semiannual Issue 19 (October 2016) ISSN 1716-5237 (Print) ISSN 2292-8677 (Online)

Native peoples – Canada – Finance – Periodicals Native peoples – Canada – Politics and government – Periodicals. AFOA Canada. Title: JAM

E78.C2J678 658.15’0897071’05 C2005-903501-3

“All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.”

Cover image: www.cattroll.com Graphic Design: www.PaulEdwardsDesign.com Copyright 2016 AFOA Canada Printed in Canada

AdverTiSing diSclAiMer

AFOA Canada does not make any representation as to the accuracy or suitability of any of the information contained in the advertisements and does not accept responsibility or liability for those advertisements. They are not endorsed or recommended by AFOA Canada.

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the Journal of aBoriGinal manaGement issue 19 octoBer 2016

Table of ConTenTs2 Values, ethics, and Professionalism – a Primer Wayne K. Spear

4 integrity in goVernment Catherine MaCQuarrie

8 an interView with Peter garrow

10 focus first on your Values Dr. MiKe DeGaGné

14 the role of Values in ethical decision making for indigenous leaders roDney nelSon

18 nisga’a nation Quality of life strategy FreDeriC tolMie (reprinteD FroM February 2011)

22 what hr is meant to be! Cori MaeDel

26 Job searching in the canadian first nation Job market nina Kent

28 aboriginal business Ventures – the art of the deal – successful PartnershiPs go beyond the numbers harvey SanDS anD eriC barbieri

32 best Practices in negotiating and imPlementing imPact benefit agreements Caireen e. hanert, JeMiSon JaCKSon anD niKa robinSon

40 cPa canada and afoa canada – strengthening ties for education and ProsPerity SanDy hilton

46 the PaPerless office is not Just a green initiatiVe bruCe nunn

48 u.s. withholding taxes and aboriginal inVestment Portfolios S. Kelly roDGerS

50 nurturing Professionalism as high stakes strategy lynne Dee Sproule

52 getting into the game – PotashcorP seeks to increase aboriginal ParticiPation in saskatchewan’s economy leanne M. belleGarDe

56 communities caPitalizing on infrastructure Will FonG anD Kenny anSeMS

62 Values, ethics and Professionalism SiMon braSCoupé

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Values, ethics, and Professionalism

a PrimerWayne K. Spear, Editor, The Journal of Aboriginal Management

“Your profeSSion iS noT whAT bringS hoMe Your weeklY pAYcheck, Your profeSSion iS whAT You’re puT here on eArTh To do, wiTh Such pASSion And Such inTenSiTY ThAT iT becoMeS SpiriTuAl in cAlling.”

– Vincent Van GoGh

Few of us think of our work as spiritual in nature, but Van Gogh was more correct about the foundations of a profession than he may have realized. The “profession” emerged in medieval Europe, with the rise of monasticism. Those called to a life of devotion underwent a proscribed period of spiritual formation – an induction process which culminated in the neophyte’s profession, often taking the form of a public vow.

To be a professional is to have professed one’s devotion to a set of values and standards, whether of a religious order or a guild or a society. The profession required knowledge of the rules of the trade and thorough training in the purpose of one’s calling. Furthermore, a professional must by definition have submitted individual interests to the wellbeing of the community. As John W. Wade explains, in Public Responsibilities Of The Learned Professions, “gaining a livelihood is incidental” to the life of a professional.

A professional man offers a certain service and he confers the same diligence and quality of service whether he is paid or not. The lawyer or doctor does not patent his discoveries or exploit them for his own personal use, but makes them known to the profession and to the public in general. He practices preventive medicine and law. He does not advertise or compete for customers. He does not seek to create a demand for his services in the fashion that the businessman does. (http://digitalcommons.law.lsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2882&context=lalrev)

The modern conception of professionalism has of course evolved to include personal profit, self-advancement, and self-promotion. Today the phrase “business professional” is not a contradiction of terms. Values like honesty and respect matter in business. We have not jettisoned ethics, even though the historical, spiritual character of the professions has ebbed. Indeed, the professions which in medieval times established codes of ethics, through their various associations, maintain the practice. Doctors and lawyers, for example, continue to be accountable to their respective associations. Modern professionalism is heavily inflected by human values.

The foremost value of many, if not all, Aboriginal cultures corresponds with Wade’s commitment “to the public in general.” The professional places the guild and the public above the individual. Or, as Peter Garrow says, in his JAM interview, “we as a people always looked at the collective.” Ethics must be ground in something, and for Garrow this is often “the family unit, the clan unit, the community unit. That should be the overarching principle of our leaders, that you’re working for them.”

If values are so important, why are they so infrequently considered? Rodney Nelson, in his article, The Role of Values in Ethical Decision Making for Indigenous Leaders, suggests that it is difficult to talk about ethics because “the topic is perceived as philosophical, nice to talk about but difficult to equate to everyday life. It’s abstract, particularly outside academic and theological circles.” Another possible explanation is our assumptions that we know our values, and that others share them. In truth, values may vary across the professions, as well as across cultures and even individuals. “The values within a policing or military culture are very different from those in health care, law, or engineering,” says C. MacQuarrie.

A value like honesty may look ten differing ways to ten different people. And, to make matters more complicated, we human beings don’t share the same top value or, as I like to call it, prime directive. Conflict in workplaces arises when the unaligned values of co-workers collide. In my consulting, I use a variety of tools to explain the real-world drama of conflicting workplace values. DiSC, for example, helps us to identify and understand the commonplace struggles between people high in Dominance (D) and people high in influence (i). One values bottom-line results above all else, and the other a fun and enthusiastic workplace. Both values are important, but the reality is often that Ds and Is must work at understanding, and respecting, their differing workplace values, or prime directive. This principle, of mindful collaboration, applies also to Steadiness and Conscientiousness, the two other behavioural styles of the DiSC model.

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The lesson of DiSC is to not leave your workplace values and behaviour to good fortune and circumstance. Figure out your values before you set out on the journey – not mid-way, after you’ve realized you are lost at sea and rudderless. Organizations are well served by tools which articulate the rules of the game as well as why they’re playing it. “Indigenous business graduates will find themselves in workplaces with varying levels of ethics, professionalism, and management,” writes Nina Kent. “Every workplace provides an opportunity to be innovative, and to create ways of doing things unique to the community.” This positive focus – on opportunity and innovation – is a great approach to defining a shared organizational culture that will motivate, excel, create value, and thrive. Have fun with it. Recognize it as the rich and important work that it is. Remember: our values help us to create value for the people we serve.

Rodney Nelson helpfully identifies the most powerful human tool to explore our values: good questions. Effective organizations unearth the most potent human values, by asking questions of their staff, partners, clients, and customers. These values are the foundation on which they build a professional workplace. The work shouldn’t be tedious or abstract. Lynne Dee Sproule, author of Nurturing Professionalism as High Stakes Strategy, sees professionalism as the embodiment of “honesty, courtesy, respect, and responsibility – a commitment to bringing integrity and honour to our daily work.” Values are energizing. When we are doing what we are passionate about, we are pursuing our calling – what we were put on Earth to do.

Rounding out this issue are articles from PotashCorp, Sandy Hilton (CPA Canada), Brian R. Worth & Gerald Allaye-Chan (Worth Allaye-Chan Investment Counsel / Raymond James), S. Kelly Rodgers & Max Reed (SKL Tax), Caireen E. Hanert, Jemison Jackson, & Nika Robinson, Chad Van Norman & Paul Rolston (Jarislowsky, Fraser Limited), Bruce Nunn (Softrak), Mike DeGagne (Nipissing University), and Simon Brascoupe, AFOA Canada VP, Education & Training. I hope you enjoy this issue, and I wish you great success in your professional, value-driven work.

Wayne K. Spear was born at Buffalo, New York and grew up in Fort Erie, Ontario. He completed graduate studies in English Literature at Queen’s University and worked for over two decades in Aboriginal health and education. From 1999-2012 he employed at the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, where he was the Director of Communications. He is the author of two books released in 2014, Full Circle: the Aboriginal Healing Foundation and the unfinished work of hope, healing and reconciliation and Residential Schools: With the Words and Images of Survivors. Today he lives in Toronto, where he appears regularly on CTV News and writes for the National Post and Huffington Post.

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integrity in goVernmentCatherine MacQuarrie, Senior Executive in Residence, Indigenous Government Programs at the Institute for Public Administration of Canada (IPAC)

whAT TYpeS of vAlueS And eThicS iSSueS do You regulArlY fAce? Are There worrieS ThAT SoMeone on The locAl houSing boArd iS AcTing in Self-inTereST rATher ThAn working on behAlf of The whole coMMuniTY? perhApS You Are heAring coMplAinTS AbouT hiring deciSionS, or fAir And equiTAble ServiceS To coMMuniTY MeMberS. MAYbe iT’S AbouT verY difficulT deciSionS, like wheTher proTecTion of The lAnd iS More iMporTAnT ThAn The poTenTiAl for JobS And An econoMY.

Situations like these are the day-to-day issues of governing, faced by all governments and organizations that deliver public services and make decisions on behalf of a population. The test of a government’s integrity is not whether they face these issues but how they deal with them to reassure citizens that they are working in the public interest, not in self-interest.

As First Nations pursue greater self-determination, building and maintaining members’ or citizens’ confidence in their governing institutions is an important and ongoing task. The work of building this confidence starts with community agreement on the underlying principles that will guide their governments. It requires the systems and practices that will materialize these principles. Many communities have started – some by the relatively simple act of adopting conflict of interest rules for chief and council, or boards and agencies, or by establishing a clear separation of politics and business administration.

Other nations and their agencies are returning to their traditions to identify the values that will guide decisions and actions. In the west, the Nisga’a Nation embedded their traditional values in their nation’s constitution. (See sidebar on next page.)

Ogimaawabiitong, Kenora Chiefs Advisory, adopted the Seven Grandfathers Teachings of Honesty, Truth, Respect, Bravery, Love, Humility, and Wisdom. They have committed to reflecting these teachings in decision-making and service delivery, and have written down how these values should guide the behaviour of leaders and staff.

Articulating values, and making sure that they are practiced, is a vital step in the journey to self-government. Why? Because there is a direct correlation between this, good government, and better social and economic outcomes for a society. Societies where everyone agrees on the rules of the game, and where the rules are fairly applied to all, will in the long-run be more stable and do better economically, socially, and culturally.

Empirical evidence supports this, including evidence close to home. The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development found that while the exercise of sovereignty was a key ingredient to the success of tribes, it must “be backed by capable institutions of governance. Nations do this as they adopt stable decision rules, establish fair and independent mechanisms for dispute resolution, and separate politics from day-to-day business and program management.”

When I was participating in the OECD’s (Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development) experts group on conflict of interest, we started talking about these concepts as “integrity in government.” Integrity goes beyond adopting specific tools like ethics codes. It encompasses all the actions taken by governments, at the political and administrative levels: to be transparent and accountable to citizens, to prevent, detect and deal with corruption and fraud, and to ensure fair, honest practices in hiring, financial management, procurement, and service delivery. To be – as the Harvard Project puts it – “capable institutions of governance.”

Integrity in government isn’t something you build overnight and fix for all time. Ideas about what gives a government “integrity” are shaped by societal values, changing expectations of government, and, frequently, by events. It took Canada more than 150 years to build all the elements of its current government integrity system, from merit-based hiring in the early part of the 20th century (following

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years of nepotism as standard staffing practice) to a whistleblower protection law in 2006. In between, other pieces were slowly added and amended, frequently in response to controversy: Auditor General Act (1977), conflict of interest rules (1974 for elected officials, 1985 for employees), Access to Information, Lobbyist Registration acts (1985), values and ethics code for the public service (2003), and procurement ombudsman and whistle blower protection (2006) to name a few. And many argue these still aren’t good enough. New pressures for greater transparency and accountability include debates on open data, modernizing Access to Information rules, demands for greater public engagement in policy choices, and electoral reform.

Culture is also a big factor in government integrity practices. It influences the choice of values that a society feels are most important to safeguard (eg., respect, honesty, responsibility, stewardship of the land) as well as the choice of how best to implement them, including what happens when someone goes against the values or breaks the rules.

I got to see the stark effect of culture when working with the OECD. I remember French and Dutch colleagues being horrified at the development of whistleblowing laws in countries like Canada. They could agree that governments needed additional mechanisms to detect fraud or abuse (a shared value), but to them whistleblowing was a very wrong choice. It conjured up terrible memories of the Second World War, when neighbours would report on neighbours to the Nazis. In another discussion on lobbying, some colleagues from Eastern Europe couldn’t understand why we were even talking about this as an ethics issue. They explained (perhaps somewhat tongue-in-cheek) that, in their culture, lobbying was seen as a top profession and that everyone knew that serving time as a politician was just a necessary step to get the job they really wanted: lobbyist.

In spite of the fact that English was the working language of the OECD, I learned you could never assume we all mean the same thing, even when we used the same words.

This disconnect in meaning can happen even within the same culture. It was hard to develop the first statement of public service values in 2003 – to agree on the values that would be meaningful (and therefore, we hoped, actually practiced) in all the different occupational cultures that make up the 250,000-person workforce of the federal public service. The values within a policing or military culture are very different from those in health care, law, or engineering. Well, maybe the values aren’t all that different, but their relative importance and what they mean to people often are. Ask five people to describe concretely how they want the value of “respect” demonstrated to them, and you are likely to get five different answers.

First Nations face a more elemental issue as they begin to grapple with how their governing institutions can better reflect and be accountable to their own community values and expectations: the dysfunction created by the legacy of the Indian Act. In spite of the work-arounds and amendments over the years, it remains a woefully inadequate instrument for governing, given its imposed governance requirements and embedded accountability to others (in the form of the Minister of Indigenous Affairs, or outside funding agents) rather than to community members.

Catherine MaCQuarrie is currently Senior Executive in Residence, Indigenous Government Programs at the Institute for Public Administration of Canada (IPAC). A Metis raised in the NWT, her various career experiences include 5 years as Executive Director of the Native Communications Society of the Western NWT, 6 years with INAC in land claims and self-government policy, and 7 years with the Treasury Board Secretariat leading values and ethics. IPAC is a non-profit network of public administrators that works with governments across Canada and around the world to support excellence in public administration in a variety of subject areas, including values and ethics. Catherine has an MA in public administration from the University of Ottawa.

the Journal of aBoriGinal manaGement

vAlueS excerpTS froM The niSgA’A conSTiTuTion

We are Nisga’a, we declare to all the world – We are a unique aboriginal nation of Canada, proud of our history, and assured in our future. We claim and take our rightful place as equal participants in Canadian society. Our destiny is living peacefully together with the other nations in Canada. We commit ourselves to the values of our Ayuuk which have always sustained us and by which we govern ourselves, and we each acknowledge our accountability to those values, and to the Nisga’a Nation.

fundAMenTAl vAlueS of The niSgA’A nATion

The Nisga’a Nation is founded on values that have always been shared by all Nisga’a. In particular:

» Nisga’a revere K’amligiihahlhat who created this land, placed us in it as stewards, and endowed each person in it with a unique spirit.

» Nisga’a cherish and celebrate the spirituality of our people.

» Nisga’a honour the traditions of our ancestors, the authority of our Ayuuk, and the wisdom of our elders.

» Nisga’a practice the principle of the common bowl.» Nisga’a respect the dignity of each person.

For the full text of the Constitution of the Nisga’a Nation: http://www.nisgaanation.ca/legislation/constitution-nisgaa-nation

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As a result, developing “true” integrity in First Nations government will ultimately require going back to first principles. It will take community or nation discussion and agreement on their most important values, and on how they want to embed those in their own governing laws, structures, practices, and institutions. As Steven Cornell writes in his essay, “Wolves have constitutions”:

“ As they search for new systems of governance and new governing tools, Indigenous nations are faced with fundamental, constitutional questions: What is the nation? What does it value? What is it trying to protect? What kind of future is it trying to create? What kinds of relationships does it wish to foster among its citizens, with its neighbors, with other governments, and with the natural and spirit worlds? And what kinds of governing tools – structures, systems, laws, processes – will such visions, priorities, and concerns require?”

This probably sounds very far removed from your daily dilemmas: who gets housing or a job, or what to do about that board member failing to declare conflict of interest. Yet integrity in government ultimately lives in the everyday actions of individuals throughout the system. So starting the dialogue about values and ethics is just as useful within a work unit or an organization, even while it might take much longer for the bigger questions to be addressed by the wider community. We each have the ability – responsibility, even – to contribute every day to the trust and confidence that we are serving the people and the community, not merely ourselves.

There is no simple recipe to follow, and the ingredients will be your own. But here is some general guidance in the development and maintenance of integrity practices.

1 First, open dialogue is vital – from the first discussion of values to the ongoing reflection on how well we are living our values. Even once you’ve agreed on a set of values, not everyone will have the same idea about how they should be practiced in day-to-day life, so ongoing dialogue is needed here too. Include everyone in these discussions.

2 Decide whether there should be rules for how the values should be lived. What will happen if those rules are broken? For example, what exactly will you expect from people if “fairness” is an important value in decision-making? What will the process be if someone claims unfairness? What are the consequences for acting unfairly? Who gets to decide?

3 Think about whether there are some particular areas of risk in your work where preventive practices are needed. These could be perception risks around common things like conflict of interest or fair dealing, or real risks in financial controls or hiring. Which ones are the most important to start with? What policy or practices will you adopt to monitor, prevent, and manage these risks? How will you inform and train people for what’s expected of them? What are the consequences when things go wrong?

4 Live your values loudly and faithfully. People are more likely to believe that you and your team’s values are authentic when they see them in action, rather than experiencing them only as nice words on paper. If you have adopted rules or practices to ensure values are being upheld, be consistent and firm in their application. Nothing undermines integrity faster than saying one thing but doing another. Once you’ve lost people’s trust, it takes a long time to restore it.

5 Take time regularly for assessment, reflection, and (if needed) readjustment. Values guide rather than direct behaviour. There will often be times when two or more values conflict, or when others will perceive that we are not acting according to our values because they had different expectations. We may also run up against situations where it’s not clear how our values should guide us. In these cases, dialogue is always the best remedy.

inteGrity in GoVernment

SuggeSTed furTher reAding:

Shin Imai. (2007). The Structure of the Indian

Act: Accountability in Governance. National

Centre for First Nations Governance http://fngovernance.org/

ncfng_research/shin_imai.pdf

Cornell, S. (2015). “Wolves Have A Constitution:”

Continuities in Indigenous Self-

Government. The International Indigenous

Policy Journal, 6(1). Retrieved from: http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/iipj/vol6/iss1/8 DOI: 10.18584/

iipj.2015.6.1.8Towards a Sound Integrity

Framework: Instruments, Processes, Structures

and Conditions for Implementation (2009)

OECD http://www.oecd.org/

Values Alive: A Discussion Guide to the “Values and

Ethics Code for the Public Sector” http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/psm-fpfm/ve/

code/va-vaq-eng.asp

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AFOA CAnAdA dOllArs & sense PrOgrAmContact us today and learn about our youth-targeted financial literacy suite of workshops!

AFOA Canada has developed three financial literacy Dollars & Sense modules for Aboriginal students:

1 The Secondary School Module for students in grades 11 and 12;2 The Middle School Module for students in grades 7 and 8; and3 The Elementary School Module for students in grades 3 and 4.

The goals of the Dollars & Sense Program are to:

1 enhance students’ understanding of handling finances and using money wisely;

2 provide the knowledge and skills to help students make informed financial decisions;

3 increase students understanding of saving and setting financial goals;

4 assist students in determining the real costs of products and services; and

5 build students awareness of career opportunities in finance.

There is a lot of interest in this program because it is much needed in our communities. Contact us today to take advantage of this opportunity to invest in helping our Aboriginal youth understand what financial literacy is and why it is so important.

Let’s work together to help build a community of professionals!

CONTACT: Patricia DebassigeToll-free: (866) 722-2362 Ext.105 Email: [email protected]

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an interView with

Peter garrowProgram Manager and lead negotiator, Mohawk Council of Akwesasne

JAM: As Ethics Officer at St. Regis, you were responsible for creating an Ethics Ordinance and an Ethics Commission, as well as training modules. Can you talk a bit about that work?

PG: St. Regis is located on the American side of the border. Part of the community is on the Canadian side, at Akwesasne. There was an ordinance in place that needed to be updated. In 2012 I was working on a document, an ordinance. I looked at the existing ordinance and there were some flaws. If there was a complaint against an elected official, you had to form an ethics commission. First do the research, see if the complaint is valid, and then put a commission of peers together, almost like a jury. Once that commission has heard and come to a decision, they’re dismissed. For the appeal process, you have to have another commission. It took me almost 18 months just to get 6 people interested to come on that commission.

I looked at this, and I thought, “This has to change. We have to amend the ordinance.” The other issue was the tenure of the commission. It should have been at minimum a couple years, or at least the full term of the complaint hearing.

JAM: How did you go about creating an Ethics Ordinance? What was the approach?

PG: I looked at various ethics codes – municipal, provincial, corporate. I looked at other tribes like the Navaho, the Oneida. I looked at a number of tribes, including our Mohawk Council on the Canadian side of the border. I also found some examples from British Columbia.

They had a solid base. What I thought was missing, and what I wanted especially to impart in our ethics and in the training portion, was the Thanksgiving Address. I wanted to start with that, and not with a model from an outside government. We have a base, of course, in the Great Law. That becomes the solid base for the ethics of our leaders.

JAM: In English the Ohenten Kariwatekwen is translated as “Thanksgiving Address,” but in the Mohawk language it means “the words that come before everything else.” It’s about focusing our minds in a good way before we do anything else.

PG: That’s right, and it’s been around for centuries. So let’s not develop something contrary to what we already have. We as a people always looked at the collective. It’s a mindset. We’re a part of all things, not above. The Thanksgiving Address supports and addresses that we’re part of creation. Be thankful for the gifts the creator has already given you, then work towards making things better.

We’ve been colonized to think that man is above all things, and that it’s an individual’s right to succeed based on, oh, I don’t know what to call it. “Trumpianism” [laughter].

The principle I was looking at was that we’re a collective. We select our leaders to look at the whole, to promote our nation, our community, our clan. That is a survival technique, and we’ve survived. These are strong principles, so I figured I’d start with that.

JAM: What do you think is the core idea or principle of ethical leadership?

PG: The idea is you’re supposed to stay away from any conflicts of interest. You’re supposed to work in a way that you don’t benefit. You look at some leaders, and they benefit. There are opportunities galore to further yourself. People get caught up in that. A lot of it isn’t even illegal, and that’s the problem – that fine line between moral and legal.

I found ethical leaders. They’re champions, because they look at things differently. They are responsible to the people who have put them in a leadership role. Ethics has to start somewhere. It can start in the family unit, the clan unit, the community unit. That should be the overarching principle of our leaders, that you’re working for them. You’re not “up here” with everyone else “down there.”

JAM: When I think of leaders with strong values, I think of someone like Deskaheh. He had his own internal moral compass and didn’t need anyone to tell him what was right. He just knew, and he did it. On the other hand, do you find some people don’t want to be told? Maybe because they feel they are already ethical?

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PG: Oh, or course.

JAM: The point is you don’t want to leave ethics to chance, hoping that people will just know, and do, what is right.

PG: That’s right. And there are a number of elements to the Ethics Ordinance, even punitive. It’s so important at the very least to have a discussion about what ethics means to you as a community.

JAM: When you look at what’s happening today, you see conflict and division – particularly between the people and some of the leaders. It’s often discussed as a political division, when in fact it’s a clash of values. Do we want “X,” or is it going to be “Y”? This struggle is ethical. What do you do with that?

PG: You have to bring it to the forefront. Because of social media, leaders have to walk the walk. Get out there and start communicating, because there’s a lot of public scrutiny. Leaders have to be much more transparent. Look at the youth. A lot of our youth have a good understanding of our history, of traditional culture. Some don’t. Let’s talk about what we can do to educate the youth. Being involved in the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association, I speak to them, trying to include a lot of our history, using the TRC recommendations. We have to change the curriculum.

In the political scene, everybody understands that you have an election every five years, or what have you. Let’s see if we can elect the right ethical leaders, ones that have strong values, that have demonstrated that.

JAM: Thank-you for speaking to JAM, Peter.

PG: You’re welcome.

peter GarroW is a member of the Mohawks of Akwesasne (Bear Clan) and is presently a Program Manager (Entewatatha:wi/Nation Building) and the lead negotiator for Mohawk Council of Akwesasne. He has completed many major evaluations of National and Provincial /Regional Programs, has developed Governance and Administrative Manuals, and is a professional trainer and facilitator.

Peter is a champion of “Shannen’s Dream,” “Jordan’s Principle,” and the United Nations Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples.” He is a strong advocate for the rights of First Nations people, the concept of life-long learning, and the contributions of Indigenous people to society and the world.

In April 2012 he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for his work in advancing education and the rights of First Nation people in Canada. He was recently the recipient of the Rotary International Paul Harris Award for building strong community relations.

the Journal of aBoriGinal manaGement

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focus first on your ValuesMike DeGagné, PhD, CAPA, President and Vice-Chancellor, Nipissing University

in The end of hisTory and The LasT Man, frAnciS fukuYAMA wroTe ThAT “for deMocrAcY To work, ciTizenS need To develop An irrATionAl pride in Their own deMocrATic inSTiTuTionS, And MuST AlSo develop whAT Tocqueville cAlled The “ArT of ASSociATing,” which reSTS on prideful ATTAchMenT To SMAll coMMuniTieS. TheSe coMMuniTieS Are frequenTlY bASed on religion, eThniciTY, or oTher forMS of recogniTion …” – Fukuyama, 1992

First Nations communities have developed pride in their community institutions and can be justifiably proud of the progress made, socially and economically. In many cases our communities have developed multiple, own-source revenues and have used these resources to benefit community members. These achievements have been driven by strong leadership and community involvement.

For this “irrational pride” to continue, we must keep working to refine our governance practices and methods. Our progress will come from skilled governance and management, and from the trust of our communities that we will manage community resources ethically. Unfortunately, many of us can recall being uncomfortable with the conduct of a leader or colleague – or a fellow Board Member.

Several years ago, I sat on a community Board of Directors at a time when the organization was planning to apply for grants for summer workers. There was an opportunity to have three fully funded positions for summer students, with wages paid by several federal government departments. The organization was successful in gaining these grants and conducted interviews for the positions. One of the successful applicants was the daughter of a Board member. The Board member declared a conflict of interest but went further. He felt that his daughter’s position was a benefit to his family, and thus a conflict with his role on the Board. He asked that his daughter be allowed to continue as a summer student, but that she not be paid, and that the paid position be offered to another applicant.

Was this excessive caution? After all, the Board Director played no part in the hiring of summer students. The student was well qualified for the position, and she was chosen through a fair application process. But the Board member was concerned about how the hiring of his daughter would be perceived by the community. He acted ethically, in a way that ensured the community knew he had its best interest at heart.

A conflict of interest exists when a person is in a position to derive personal benefit from actions or decisions made in their official capacity. Conflict can be actual or perceived. Managing conflict is accomplished through a process defined in policy. When it occurs, we know what to do. We realize that our role as a Director is in conflict with our personal interests and that we may gain some personal advantage from our place on the Board. We contact our Board Chairman and declare our conflict as soon as it becomes apparent, and we decide, with the Board, whether it is necessary to withdraw from some portion of the Board’s work or from the Board of Directors altogether.

The responsibility of declaring conflict and taking necessary action lies with the individual Director. In some cases, the conflict has no impact on the Director’s work, and the Board can collectively determine that the Director is not in conflict. In cases when the conflict is real or the perception of conflict can potentially harm the organization, a conflict is declared. This declaration comes from the Director’s primary concern for the welfare of the organization.

Declaring conflict is not a “get out of jail free” card. How often have we seen Directors declare conflict and then carry on with the offending behaviour as if the declaration somehow set their conduct right? In these cases, I believe that we rely too heavily on policy and in compliance with the minimum standards set out in the rules. We might see compliance with policy as absolving us of the harm done by our conduct. However, we need to look beyond policy and concentrate instead on an often-overlooked element of our organization’s plan: the importance of defining, and living by, our values.

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Thank you for reading JAM: The Journal of Aboriginal Management.

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