--- title: "Two “Must-Dos” for an Effective Indigenous Engagement Strategy - #1 in Series" description: Here are two useful tips for building an effective Indigenous engagement strategy. image: https://www.ictinc.ca/hubfs/Blog/yes-no-wall-unsplash-yes-2000w.jpg --- 2 min read # Two “Must-Dos” for an Effective Indigenous Engagement Strategy - #1 in Series [ Bob Joseph ](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/author/bob-joseph) March 18, 2014 [Indigenous Consultation and Engagement](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/topic/indigenous-consultation-and-engagement) ![Two “Must-Dos” for an Effective Indigenous Engagement Strategy - #1 in Series](https://www.ictinc.ca/hubfs/Blog/yes-no-wall-unsplash-yes-2000w.jpg) When building an effective Indigenous engagement strategy or program, there are many simple things you can do which will go a long way to getting your relationship off to a good start. **1. Research the community and governing parties before going to the community.** This is a basic “due diligence” step that reaps great benefits. It is a sign of respect to arrive at a meeting with a solid knowledge of who the chief is and when they were elected, the names of the hereditary chiefs, the names of the Councilors, and the various departments. You are advised to know if they have settled treaties or where they are in the treaty process and the issues at stake. It is also advisable to find out the historical view of the community towards your particular type of project. Time spent on the community website is time well spent, however, not all communities have websites and not all communities have the capacity to keep the websites up to date. Some key items to search for include: - Community profiles and statistics - Fishing, hunting, and gathering activities - Spiritual activities - Tribal council affiliations - [Treaty](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/the-importance-of-treaty-education) office affiliations - Community priorities - Date of next [band election](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/first-nation-chiefs-traditional-or-elected-roles-and-responsibilities) - Media coverage of any issues - Past agreements - written or verbal It is also respectful to have a comfortable understanding of the history and culture of the community. One of the biggest errors companies make is not recognizing the cultural [diversity](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/respecting-first-nations-cultural-diversity) of each individual community. Find out all you can about the culture, cultural events, and celebrations. Of equal importance is finding out the challenges that the community faces and what issues are of greatest concern to the chief and council. **2. Try to establish a relationship and meet before you need something. **If you are planning a project on or near traditional or treaty lands, then it is inevitable that you will at some point need something from the community leaders. You will need to know rather than just turn up at their office with your needs front and centre and expecting a prompt and positive response, take the time to build a relationship. Take a moment and put yourself in their shoes - Chief and Council are responsible for health, [education](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/what-is-the-root-cause-of-aboriginal-education-issues), [housing](https://www.ictinc.ca/myth-3-do-first-nations-get-free-housing-on-reserves), finances, and economic development, to name a few, and these responsibilities take precedence over you and your project. The most common thing we hear from communities is that they are bombarded with requests for meetings and decisions and simply don’t have the time to attend to them all. Plan ahead and attend a community [cultural event](https://www.ictinc.ca/first-nation-pow-wow-a-primer), or, contact the community and find out if you can sponsor or support an event. Establish a positive presence before you make a request - you are trying to establish a relationship that will support and benefit your project for the life of your project. Time spent building the relationship in the early phase is a wise and valuable investment of your time and resources. As the saying goes “You only have one chance to make a first impression.” - [Six "Must Don'ts" for an Effective Indigenous Engagement Strategy - #2 in Series](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/six-must-donts-effective-indigenous-engagement-strategy) *Featured photo: Unsplash* [![Learn more about Indigenous Awareness](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/374848/a863b2fa-4bf8-4a6e-a5e6-a637b0ba47d9.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/374848/a863b2fa-4bf8-4a6e-a5e6-a637b0ba47d9) ###### Share: [** ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ictinc.ca%2Fblog%2Ftwo-must-dos-effective-indigenous-engagement-strategy) [** ](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ictinc.ca%2Fblog%2Ftwo-must-dos-effective-indigenous-engagement-strategy&title=Two+%26ldquo%3BMust-Dos%26rdquo%3B+for+an+Effective+Indigenous+Engagement+Strategy+-+%231+in+Series&summary==Here+are+two+useful+tips+for+building+an+effective+Indigenous+engagement+strategy.+) This is a search field with an auto-suggest feature attached. - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. [![Dispelling Common Myths About Indigenous Peoples: 9 Myths & Realities](https://www.ictinc.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/eBooks/Dispelling-Common-Myths-About-Indigenous-Peoples_600w.jpg?width=600&height=900&name=Dispelling-Common-Myths-About-Indigenous-Peoples_600w.jpg)](https://www.ictinc.ca/dispelling-common-myths-about-indigenous-peoples) [![Download the free eBook](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/374848/28861da8-2e39-4685-9166-af3a5cdd6f0f.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/374848/28861da8-2e39-4685-9166-af3a5cdd6f0f) [![Six “Must Don'ts” for an Effective Indigenous Engagement Strategy - #2 in Series](https://www.ictinc.ca/hubfs/Blog/yes-no-wall-unsplash-no-2000w.jpg) ](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/six-must-donts-effective-indigenous-engagement-strategy) #### [Six “Must Don'ts” for an Effective Indigenous Engagement Strategy - #2 in Series](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/six-must-donts-effective-indigenous-engagement-strategy) March 24, 2014 In this second installment in our series of "Must-dos and Don’ts” for an effective Indigenous engagement strategy, we are providing six “don’ts” that... [Read More](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/six-must-donts-effective-indigenous-engagement-strategy) [![7 Common Elements in Successful Indigenous Relations Strategies](https://www.ictinc.ca/hubfs/Blog/Flickr-vancouver125-5598584656_Coast-Salish-drummers_2000w.jpg) ](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/7-common-elements-in-successful-indigenous-relations-strategies) #### [7 Common Elements in Successful Indigenous Relations Strategies](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/7-common-elements-in-successful-indigenous-relations-strategies) May 03, 2016 Indigenous relations is an evolving field, especially now in light of the federal government’s commitment to negotiation on a nation-to-nation basis.... [Read More](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/7-common-elements-in-successful-indigenous-relations-strategies) [![11 Community Outreach Tips for Indigenous Recruitment - #2 of Community Series](https://www.ictinc.ca/hubfs/Blog/Artwork-John-Marston-Surrey-Fortis_Photo-Bob-Joseph_1934w.jpg) ](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/11-community-outreach-tips-for-indigenous-recruitment) #### [11 Community Outreach Tips for Indigenous Recruitment - #2 of Community Series](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/11-community-outreach-tips-for-indigenous-recruitment) February 02, 2023 This is the second part of our series on best outreach practices for the recruitment of Indigenous Peoples. In the first part, Community Engagement... [Read More](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/11-community-outreach-tips-for-indigenous-recruitment) ![](https://googleads.g.doubleclick.net/pagead/viewthroughconversion/1003610425/?value=0&guid=ON&script=0) ![](https://px.ads.linkedin.com/collect/?pid=7874204&fmt=gif) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Bob Joseph", "url" : "https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/author/bob-joseph" }, "dateModified" : "2024-06-12T00:32:27.209Z", "datePublished" : "2014-03-18T19:29:00.000Z", "headline" : "Two “Must-Dos” for an Effective Indigenous Engagement Strategy - #1 in Series", "image" : [ "https://www.ictinc.ca/hubfs/Blog/yes-no-wall-unsplash-yes-2000w.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/two-must-dos-effective-indigenous-engagement-strategy", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://www.ictinc.ca/hubfs/--Official%20Website%20Images/Logos/ICT_Logo_2022.png" }, "name" : "Indigenous Corporate Training Inc." } } ```