Why Dentsu Canada Is Embracing the Call for True Indigenous Reconciliation
For a while now, Indigenous reconciliation has been a hot talking point in Canada. Even before the 2021 incident which saw an appalling number of unmarked graves discovered, it’s been a known fact that the historic treatment of Indigenous Canadians has been vile. After all, considering they were here first, taking their land, and committing atrocities like forcibly removing children from their homes and families in order to attend residential schools… It's a horrifically dark chapter in the nation’s history, which many would rather sweep under the rug than actually unpack and recognise the fact that Canada hasn’t always been the ‘good guy’ country it likes to present itself as.
For these reasons, among many others, now more than ever, reconciliation initiatives are vital. And to this end, earlier this year, Dentsu Canada led the charge in the agency world by embarking on a journey driven by a steadfast commitment to meaningful progress. Unveiling its Reconciliation Action Plan earlier this year, which it developed in collaboration with Creative Fire, the agency has since been seeking to intentionally amplify Indigenous representation by authentically portraying the story of Canada, offering cultural fluency training curated by Indigenous consultants, and offering transformative marketing strategies to foster true representation and inclusivity going into the future.
To learn more about what it took to make this happen, and where the journey is leading Dentsu Canada, LBB’s Josh Neufeldt sat down with Marème Touré, vice-president of diversity, equity and inclusion, for a chat.
LBB> Starting at the top, tell us about the Reconciliation Action Plan! How did this initiative come to pass, and why is this something Dentsu Canada wants to do, now more than ever?
Marème> The RAP (Reconciliation Action Plan) signifies a continuation of our commitment to DE&I that we began four years ago. Specifically, part of our strategy is to make sure that we represent the people we serve. This vision is grounded in our commitment to meaningful progress and our mission to be a force of good – with and for our communities, our people and our clients.
Recognising that the Indigenous and First Nations peoples of Canada make up 5% of the total population, we aspire to one day reflect this in our organisational makeup while doing the work to learn and acknowledge the rich histories, cultures, and knowledge of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities. This starts with working with and learning from Indigenous peoples, and so, the RAP reflects our commitment to fostering understanding, respect, and meaningful relationships with Indigenous communities. Reconciliation is a journey, and the RAP was the start of our collective journey.
LBB> Obviously, reconciliation can be quite a broad term. As such, where does one start with something like this, and how have you developed upon that throughout the past year?
Marème> Recognising that reconciliation is not a finite end-state, we embraced the understanding that centuries of injustice can’t be addressed overnight. This is a journey that demands patience, resilience, and commitment to continuous improvement. As such, the iterative nature of this emphasises Dentsu Canada’s commitment to long-term, meaningful change, achieved with sustainability in mind.
Practically, we’ve sought guidance from the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and specifically started with Call to Action #92, which calls for the corporate sector in Canada to adopt the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a reconciliation framework and to apply its principles, norms, and standards to corporate policy and core operational activities involving Indigenous peoples, their lands and resources.
We also needed a framework to guide our efforts in order to advance the rights, perspectives, and prosperity of Indigenous peoples in Canada, which we operationalised by aligning our efforts under the four existing global DEI pillars at Dentsu:
- Transparency and Accountability
- Representation and Sponsorship
- Education and Learning
- Client and Community Impact
LBB> Notably, you’ve worked closely with Indigenous consultants, offering cultural fluency training within the agency, and your affiliated brands. Tell us more about this!
Marème> We have been working with Karlyn Percil and her organisation, KDPM, consulting for a while in our efforts towards being an anti-racist organisation. We have organised several anti-racism workshops over 2021 and 2022, and one of these was from an Indigenous perspective. This was when we were introduced to Erin Moe, of EDM Consulting. Erin Moe is of mixed heritage, Anishinaabe (Ojibway) and Norwegian, from northwestern Ontario. She is a member of Lac Seul First Nation and the daughter of a residential school survivor. She is of the Sturgeon Clan, which is one of the teaching clans. Erin believes that in teaching and educating others about Indigeneity, she is fulfilling her duty to her ancestors and is contributing to the process of decolonising constructs. Erin also uses Indigenous tools and frameworks, such as the Medicine Wheel - which shows the interconnectedness of everything within us and around us - as a way to educate others.
Moreover, Erin introduced us to one of her Elders, Pat Green, a Mohawk from the Wolf Clan, from Six Nations Ontario. He is a father, grandfather, brother, partner and uncle who has always put his family first. Pat is a pipe carrier, sweat lodge keeper, drummer (lead singer for 40+ years), traditional dancer and speaker, who has spent his career helping Aboriginal people in various capacities.
All in all, it has been a journey of getting to know people, building relationships and trust, and having them open their circles to us.
LBB> And what have been the most crucial takeaways?
Marème> For a start, reconciliation starts with learning, and part of the learning has been humility. While we set out 16 big, ambitious goals for this year alone, with an aggressive timeline (and we have reached 10), to use an (unaccredited) quote, ‘Change happens at the speed of trust’, and we were soon humbled by some of our partners who taught us that this would take whatever time it needed, because trust and relationships take time. After all, too much has happened in our country’s history to rush reconciliation, and this has, perhaps, been the biggest takeaway of this year and our journey!
Another key point: given the context, and the fact that this concerns many communities which have been historically marginalised/oppressed/disadvantaged/betrayed, we can’t just show up and expect to drive change from the first conversation. Rather, we need to establish trust by building rapport and being as open-minded, intentional, and frank as possible about the amount of work and learning (and unlearning) we have to do. To this end, we’ve knocked on the doors of various organisations (without answers… yet), and we will continue to do the work it takes.
Going into 2024, what we do not accomplish this year will be revised and added to our next plan.
LBB> Moreover, what do these takeaways mean for the agency, and brands it works with?
Marème> Being champions for meaningful progress means that we are relentless in our quest. Transformative change doesn’t happen merely by doing or embodying only what is necessary; we dream loud, we dare to inspire change, and we make it real by putting the resources, passion, and weight towards reconciliation. We will continue in our efforts, regardless of the challenges, because we know that much of what we are building is the work of lifetimes. We hope this effort is reflective of an authenticity in Dentsu Canada’s desire to be a force for good when we embed efforts towards reconciliation and fair, equitable representation into our organisation.
In turn, we hope this continues to bolster our reputation and enables further trust that our clients (and their customers) have in us; that we are seen as an agency that is credible, intentional, and is walking the walk by being a leader and role model in our industry. We will reap the rewards once Dentsu can truly say it has Indigenous representation in-house, and our work and workplace are more representative because of it.
LBB> Logistically, to date, a key area where you’ve seen success has been in building accountability. What does this mean to you, and why is it so crucial?
Marème> Building accountability into our processes is how we illustrate meaningful intent while enabling us to measure and track progress. Specifically, we have formed a working group to steer this work and keep the company and internal stakeholders accountable. We agreed it was important to have ongoing reporting that is equal parts recognition and celebration, but also leans into humility in areas for improvement. This is especially important when it comes to Indigenous communities and folks; how many times have they been subject to promises and treaties that were not kept? We hope that by continuing to be accountable, both internally and publicly, we are doing our part in weaving this into the way we work and do business, signalling that this is part of our culture.
Practically, accountability means to set goals that our community aligns on and agrees are attainable and meaningful (but not necessarily easy). It also means measuring the outcomes of initiatives and goals while being frank in reporting our progress. Finally, it means regularly assessing effectiveness and our progress, in order to create a culture where we can learn from our successes, pay attention to obstacles, and pivot and iterate as needed.
LBB> Equally notable, you’ve worked alongside Creative Fire for much of this. What does this partnership look like and entail, and why is it so beneficial for this initiative?
Marème> We collaborated with Creative Fire to draft the RAP at the end of 2022. We wanted to ensure that we were working alongside an Indigenous-owned company that could orient us on what a RAP might look like, how ambitious we should be, and what other corporations have already done. Creative Fire has a great deal of experience consulting on other reconciliation plans, so this felt like a great way to get us started. It helped us organise focus groups within Dentsu Canada to distil what were priorities for us, and to create a mission and vision for our plan.
Our vision for reconciliation centres on:
- Using the power and reach of our industry to help share stories of the true history of Canada, within our borders and beyond.
- Creating a workplace that invites and supports Indigenous talent, and opening doors for Indigenous people to pursue a career in our industry.
- Supporting our clients in developing inclusive brands that incorporate respectful, authentic, and meaningful Indigenous representation.
LBB> Given the importance of education and creating positive community impact, if you were to give advice to Canadian brands and agencies on how they can improve in this area, what would you suggest, and why?
Marème> We are still very early in our reconciliation journey, so we’re not sure that we are at a point where we can provide advice to others. That said, some of our key takeaways encompass some great points to keep in mind while others embark on their own journeys:
- Ensure Indigenous voices and perspectives inform journeys and plans.
- Take time to build relationships with Indigenous communities, members, and organisations.
- Lead with humility and recognition that the corporate pace will be different to the pace of reconciliation.
- Be intentional about learning from Indigenous knowledge, wisdom, and teachings.
- Strong buy-in, advocacy, and sponsorship is required top-down.
- Take time to make sense of what may be performative; for example, we initially wanted to learn how to do Land Acknowledgements, but that initiative quickly evolved into a series of workshops around relationship building and learning the truth.
- Like most things DE&I-related, ownership and buy-in across all aspects and levels of business is mission-critical.
- Establish and focus on your organisation’s reason for engaging in the journey: the ‘Why’.
LBB> For readers who’d like to support this and learn more, is there anything you’d like to recommend to them?
Marème> Start by reading the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action. Moreover, dedicate time to understanding why the TRC was established, what the recommendations were, and how it can intersect with aspects of your business.
From there, work with Indigenous communities and your own employees to draft an understanding of where you are at and where you want to go. Learn about what it can take to engage, learn from, and support Indigenous communities.
LBB> Finally, heading into 2024, how will this plan be developing? What can we expect?
Marème> We will continue being a force for good and growth by strengthening our relationships with Indigenous groups and Nations where we have them, and continue identifying more communities, organisations, and stakeholders with whom we can establish future partnerships. We will also aspire to have more volunteering hours dedicated to these organisations from our Dentsu members next year.
Another key goal: we envision co-developing (in partnership with Indigenous communities) and promoting marketing and advertising tools that will enable our agencies and talent to accurately portray Indigenous people in the work that we do. As such, we hope to widen our reach by broadening our talent pool and hiring approaches. Finally, we have plans to work on larger capacity-building and economic empowerment projects in partnership with other like-minded organisations.
