I have worked on contract for over a decade. As I enter into new contracts, I wanted to share some thoughts on how this relates to First Nations people. These insights may also apply to Métis and Inuit people. I am Cree and a citizen of Cowessess First Nation, with lineage to Piapot First Nation, Pasqua First Nation, and Peepeekisis First Nation. I can only speak from my position as a First Nations woman.

People in many sectors work on contract rather than becoming employees. This occurs for various reasons, and in the field of mental health, many therapists and professionals in teaching and training also work by contract. The nature of contracts, as opposed to employment, can sometimes fail to consider a person’s unique personal context as an expert and specialist in their field. In this time of Truth and Reconciliation, combined with the need for more First Nations therapists, this is a critical topic and perhaps a conversation that needs to happen in your organization.

Giving Consideration to an Individual’s Unique Context

The impacts of historical trauma affect all First Nations peoples. Residential schools, the Sixties Scoop, and the Millennial Scoop have had significant traumatic impacts. First Nations counselors and therapists must constantly work on trauma at micro, macro, and mezzo levels. This work inevitably leads them to become thought leaders and visionaries within their communities, taking on an added degree of responsibility that other counselors and therapists may not experience in the same way.

Thought leaders also carry the added responsibilities connected to traditional teachings and the concept of holding knowledge as a living entity. These responsibilities create a complex and layered unique context. Knowledge is a living entity, and as First Nations people, we hold a responsibility to it in the same way we are taught to be stewards of the land. Because of these responsibilities, First Nations therapists who are thought leaders bear extra responsibility to themselves, their families, communities, and Nations.

These elements place First Nations therapists who enter contract agreements in a position where the parties contracting with them must maintain the relationship with integrity and respect for each individual’s unique intersection with their teachings, connections to traditions, and relationship with both trauma and resiliency. There is a deeper need to consider “what happened to you” rather than “what is wrong with you.” Active thought and action must be given to the trauma lens, recognizing the gifts that trauma brings. These actions must be carried out respectfully, acknowledging the intersection with historical trauma and treating it with the utmost respect. It is essential to understand it as a unique asset and to work to understand the sacred learning of the individual, rather than imposing a Western employer lens that may see it as a problem or deficit.

Decolonizing Mental Health to Consider Wellness

Obedience, respect, and humility are the first three teepee teachings. Each of these teachings holds a specific meaning that provides a framework for how we walk with and honor all of the interconnections in our lives.

At every point in the life cycle, there are significant life teachings. First Nations people honor and value our Elders, leaders, and grandparents. These aspects of life, place, and space are rooted in obedience and must be considered when entering into a contract agreement with a First Nations person.

Each First Nations individual brings unique knowledge and experience to their role. Most of us know it is imperative to understand and show respect to those acknowledged as Elders and Knowledge Keepers, but what about others? People who speak their language bring added meaning and context to decolonization, and grandparents are recognized in a different regard. Young men and women who speak with respect and responsibility are acknowledged in humble ways. They understand the significance of obedience and actively demonstrate discipline and humility. At all stages and spaces in the life cycle, we are to demonstrate obedience, respect, and humility. Each relies upon the other.

Decolonizing means making the effort and taking the time to see each individual with the utmost respect and regard. It means understanding the responsibility of interconnection and walking with obedience, respect, and humility. Failing to consider these interconnections puts organizations at risk of perpetuating further colonial harm. Decolonizing mental health begins with the spaces where First Nations therapists walk with others on their wellness journeys.

The contracts and agreements with First Nations therapists, who help you grow your business and who walk with other First Nations people in their learning and wellness, require special care and attention to the interconnected relationships. This factor needs to be considered in the contract and/or in ceremony. The gifts and presence that a First Nations therapist brings to your space must be held with obedience, respect, and humility from a First Nations perspective, rather than a Western one.

The relationships are sacred. It is a privilege to share space with First Nations people who are engaged in wellness.

Relationships can change or sometimes come to an end, especially those with actively engaged First Nations people in the area of wellness. These people are desperately needed by their communities. A Western lens may sometimes teach an organization or employer to see these people as a “threat” or to view them as “not engaging” due to other factors, such as being called to others in need of their expertise. Organizations that enter contracts with First Nations therapists must actively work to support their success, rather than viewing the contractor as a problem or not fitting the organization’s Western standards. Retaining the relationship and supporting it while holding obedience, respect, and humility is the responsibility of the agency, organization, or community engaging the contractor. Decolonizing means putting aside Western norms that can cause added colonial harm, whether through intended or unintended dishonor and disrespect.

Showing and holding obedience, respect, and humility in those changes sometimes viewed as endings in a Western lens is an act of decolonization.

For First Nations people, there are many teachings about “no endings” and “no goodbyes.” The only acknowledgment of an ending comes at death and the transition to the spirit world. There is great wisdom in this, as to cut ties is to signify death. Many of my own relatives now living in the spirit world were deeply concerned if they heard anyone say “goodbye” or speak of full cut-offs and endings. The preferred expression was always “see you later.” There is wisdom in this, and it also demonstrates obedience, respect, and humility.

Considering the degree of regard needed when engaging First Nations people as contractors versus employees is an important step in decolonizing and ensuring no additional harm to First Nations people.

What thoughts, actions, or policies do you need to change in your organization to decolonize mental health?

Be good to one another and kind to everyone, regardless.