What’s the best way to get to know you?

Part II of Culture, cross or not

Cross-cultural training, is it called that because it is Christian based? Is it called “cross” because it is based on anger? Are you feeling cross today? If not, would you like to feel cross today? Maybe it means that the Aboriginal people are going to learn about our “Canadian” culture. Maybe the instructor is going to teach the non-Aboriginal participants about the nuances, differences and similarities between the cultures of EnCana and Hewlitt-Packard? Is that cross-cultural training? Maybe this instructor will be so astute as to teach about the differences in cultures between the Dogrib of Sahtu and the Maliseet of New Brunswick. Remember, it is not the Aboriginal people that are taking this training.

Who do you think is qualified to teach non-Aboriginal people about a Blackfoot Thunder Medicine Bundle Transfer Ceremony usually held the last day of May? How does one participate and what does the painting of one’s wrists and forehead by the Elder mean as you crawl in a clock-wise circle past the Elder being honored?  When at a powwow, should a person pick up a feather that falls to the floor during a dance? Who will tell you about this, an unsanctioned instructor? How do you even know what questions to ask when you know nothing about the topic?

I know this can all sound a little intimidating, but the learning when presented by a sanctioned Elder is absolutely fascinating and non-threatening. This is so much fun and yet so enlightening and uplifting. These Elders are simply waiting for you to ask. So you tell me what role the non-Aboriginal imposter plays in all this. Logic is important, but feelings are everything.
Cultures should not be viewed as curiosities. The preservation of all cultures must be something each of us values as an important element of who we are as Canadians. It is all about equality. Everyone must have the right to express his or her own culture and to own it. Fortunately in Canada there is such a thing as intellectual property and the mysteries of a particular culture qualify for its implied protections.

I can’t imagine what would happen to me if I were to advertise that next Wednesday afternoon I would be conducting a mass in a parking lot and listening to confessions for $200 each.

Cultures are “the sum total of all thoughts and dreams, myths, ideas, inspirations, intuitions brought into being by the human imagination since the dawn of consciousness,” said Anthropologist Wade Davis
“To know a people...you need only a little patience, a quiet moment and a place where you might listen to the whispered messages of their land,” said Lawrence Durell.
When British Columbia hosted the Winter Olympics in February 2010, the world got a heavy dose of Canada’s diverse Aboriginal cultures and increased the recognition of the uniqueness of Canada’s Aboriginal cultures and the passion, which most Aboriginal people already have when it comes to sharing their culture. (All you have to do is ask and it is very cost effective.)

This was an honest effort to show the diversity of Aboriginal nations’ cultures and how important the cultural survival is to the owners of these cultures. Do you think the non-Aboriginal participant in a “cross-cultural workshop” will learn any of this from a non-Aboriginal instructor on the things I am addressing here today?

Nationally and historically in Canada today there is a distinct lack of appreciation and respect for any of the Aboriginal nations’ cultures. For the Asians and Europeans, now there’s a different story. They are absolutely intrigued with the sacredness, holistic and spiritual components of these diverse cultures. There is a complete misunderstanding of Aboriginal peoples and their cultures by Canadians and their governments. We certainly don’t learn about Aboriginal Nations’ cultures in our schools and even if we wanted to who would do the teachings, a recent graduate with a B.Ed?

From a public knowledge perspective all these topics smack of secrecy. They must be secret because if they weren’t then Canadians would surely know more about the topics. It is obvious that cultural education got caught up in the whole national secrecy agenda along with everything else when it comes to having knowledge of and understanding our Aboriginal fellow citizens. Why is all this wonderful knowledge treated as secret? Why have our history books been “whitewashed and purged” of Aboriginal heroes, history, residential schools and so forth? Up until amendments to the Indian Act in 1951, practicing your culture was a criminal offense for Aboriginal people.

Over 70 per cent of the Aboriginal population now lives in urban centres. The migration of young people from the reserves continues at a terrific pace, yet their cultures in the cities continue to be practiced, especially at the Aboriginal student centres of post-secondary institutions and local Native friendship centres.

The reserve communities’ Elders are fearful that as the young people leave and the old people pass away that all the wonderful histories, stories, languages, ceremonies, legends and traditional values will all disappear. They have good reason to be fearful. For example, in the year 2000 there were 6,000 distinct languages on earth. Today that number is half and we are losing a language right now at the rate of one every two weeks. In Canada only three of our 54 Indigenous languages are expected to survive.

Discussing the growing disappearance of cultures is a fact and has nothing to do with the actual culture itself. One does not need to be a sanctioned Elder to talk about cultures in this context, however if someone is going to take it upon themselves to teach about a particular culture then they best get permission from those that own it.

Why would an instructor say they are teaching “cross-cultural awareness” when in fact they are teaching Aboriginal awareness, at least, that is what their agenda says. Part of one of their workshop agendas says the participants will learn about Aboriginal culture, values and attitudes and their impact on business and workplace behaviours. Which Aboriginal culture? Are the Aboriginal people’s values all the same? Are the Aboriginal attitudes all the same? Are we getting a little tired of listening to this drumbeat?

Our cultures are ingrained in us by the time we are 12 years old. Our culture is the “lens” through which we view the world. It affects what we see, how we make sense of what we see and how we express ourselves. How does someone not from that particular culture teach that to someone else and more importantly why? Do you think the “cross-cultural instructor” asks the participant in this fraudulent activity to express five things culture X does better than their own culture? Of course they would have to be well versed in culture X and whom is going to teach them about culture X when there is no instruction about culture X …only about “whitewash cultures” all encompassing and all assuming. Are you beginning to get the picture here and why the Elders are so concerned?

To the many Aboriginal people I have spoken with, cross-cultural training means: We the non-Aboriginal people who want to give you, the Aboriginal people, enough information about “us” so you can assimilate and be more like “us” and therefore it will be easier for “us” to deal with you.

I thought the “doctrine of assimilation” was behind all of us and that integration was the objective. You know, where you are not expected to give up who you are to become a part of, and that diversity in the workplace has real measurable value.

At the end of the day of such a futile effort, can participants describe some key cultural differences such as how to shake hands with one culture that is different from another culture or how to express a compliment, or what about gift-giving. What are the three personality traits a person must have to be successful in culture X?
For professionals working in the ‘Intercultural relations” business they have to ask what ethics are needed in intercultural relations in order to respect the dignity of all. Or how can we learn to accept others without feeling we are condoning beliefs and values that we don’t accept personally. Does anyone expect to learn these things about other’s cultures in a “cross-cultural awareness workshop?

There are Six Fundamental Patterns of Cultural Difference.
Different communication styles
Different attitudes towards conflict
Different approaches to completing tasks
Different decision-making styles
Different attitudes towards disclosure
Different approaches to knowing

Excuse me, but I don’t see any of the above on the “cross-cultural awareness workshop” agenda.

Culture is often at the root of communication challenges. Exploring your own historical experiences and the ways in which various cultural groups have related to each other is key to opening channels for communication. Becoming more aware of cultural differences, as well as exploring cultural similarities, can help you communicate with others more effectively.

No one disputes the need for this kind of specific knowledge. Corporations and governments all over the world clearly understand the benefits and support the learning but let’s be considerate about the delivery systems.

A couple of business leaders have told me that they hire the non-Aboriginal instructors to facilitate cross-cultural awareness and Aboriginal awareness training because they want to get a non-Aboriginal perspective of the information being provided. When I ask why, they have said that the Aboriginal perspective is sometimes biased towards the Aboriginal point of view.

I am sorry but I just don’t follow the logic. Isn’t that the whole point of the exercise? I suspect the real reason is that the learning environment, the presentation of the facts, is less threatening somehow and the non-Aboriginal participant feels more comfortable. I suppose this makes some sense to those that see the learning and information sharing as a “nice to know” rather than a “need to know” and there is no expectation or desire to act on the newly acquired information. Ho hum …what’s for lunch.

Next time you find yourself in a confusing situation, ask yourself how your culture may be shaping your own reactions, and try to see the world from the other’s point of view. Hopefully you have been fortunate enough to have learned what that other point of view is from those with that point of view. I have learned over the past 26 years of facilitating workshops that I must not have either an opinion or point of view when it comes to these matters. I present just the facts and never talk about any culture. Just the facts and allow the learner to form their own opinions and hopefully this time it will be based on facts rather than myths and rumors.

As the popular song goes “Getting to know you, getting to feel free and easy”
And that folks is what it is all about.

Robert Laboucane is an Aboriginal Awareness Trainer and may be contacted at robert@ripplefx.ca.