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Lesson 4: Negotiation is a Skill, or “I Can Do This, Can’t I?”

In over 30 years of experience with Indigenous negotiations, I have been at the table with hundreds of negotiators. Many of them should never have been in the room. I know this sounds harsh, but being effective in Indigenous negotiations is very hard to do and is not for everyone.

Lyle Viereck recently launched a private consulting firm Lyle Viereck Consulting Services Inc. As the former Director of Aboriginal Relations and Negotiations for BC Hydro and a Chief Negotiator with the Province of BC, he has a depth of negotiating experience. He also has a unique perspective on reconciliation as part of First Nation negotiation that we were eager to learn more about. Lyle kindly took some time to share his invaluable insight.

Lyle Viereck was born and raised in Prince Rupert in northern BC. His family heritage includes Creek Indians from Oklahoma, American black slaves, Irish and German. As a result of this very diverse background Lyle grew up fighting for equality and against racism and was influenced by his family forming labour and credit unions.

Bob Joseph It has been a wonderful year for Working Effectively with Aboriginal Peoples blog and newsletter. Over the past twelve months we have met some amazing people who have given unselfishly of their time for interviews, and to create inspiring presentations on Aboriginal relations for our Speaker Series' events. We are honoured to be able to share their insight and experience with our readers. If there were more people in the world like these remarkable individuals, then the world would certainly be a better place.

For me, advocacy is bred in the bone.

By Jennifer Brown

The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that individual members of an Aboriginal group can’t use blockades or other “self-help” remedies when claiming a government breached its duty to consult, and in fact doing so amounted to “an abuse of process.”

As Chief Diversity Officer, Jane is responsible for coordinating the efforts of firm leadership, human resources and service lines — and providing necessary support and tools — to successfully achieve Deloitte’s diversity vision.

Jeannie Cranmer, Kwakwaka'wakw from the Namgis First Nation has worked in Human Resources for over 20 years. She is currently managing BC Hydro's Aboriginal Education and Employment Strategy (AEES).

Tanya Laing Gahr is the Business Development Officer for TerraLogic Exploration Inc., based in Cranbrook, B.C. In this role, she is responsible for community and aboriginal engagement, human resources management, and marketing and promotions. Tanya has written for several publications, and in 2012, was nominated and shortlisted for the Kenneth R. Wilson Award for “Big Lift”, a story featured in the October 2011 issue of Canadian Mining Journal. Tanya is currently completing her thesis based on the continuing cultural influences of the Ktunaxa Nation creation story for her Master’s of Arts in Professional Communications through Royal Roads University; she plans to pursue her doctorate in Aboriginal studies.

Click here to read Tanya's article "Creation Stories - The Origin of Culture"

by Tanya Laing-Gahr, February 18, 2013