Indigenous Awareness Training

IAC’s training is the starting point for many people on their journey to learn more about the Indigenous Peoples of Canada and our shared background and history, including current realities and how we can work together to make a better world. Our training touches on aspects that are broad or similar to all Indigenous peoples in terms of cultural practices, and provides the background and context for inspiring people to want to learn more and engage for the benefit of all Canadians.

These online skills-based training courses will provide you with the information needed to build effective and positive relationships with Indigenous people in Canada.

Each course is broken up into useful sections and you can start and stop as often as you like.

101 Indigenous Awareness Introduction

The Indigenous Awareness Introduction course is a stand-alone highly abridged version of the widely-recognized Certification course.

The online Indigenous Awareness Introduction course is NOT a pre-requisite to the Certification. It is a stand-alone abridged primer, best suited for those wishing to start slowly and learn some basic information before taking the Certification course.

201 Indigenous Awareness Certification

The Indigenous Awareness Certification course is the most popular starting point. This comprehensive and information-rich course offers important foundational knowledge, history, and context.

Upon completion, each participant can print out their own Certificate in Indigenous Awareness.

This course is widely-recognized by academic, government, First Nations, and many professional associations. This course is recognized and recommended by Indigenous groups and leaders, and it is fundamental to meeting corporate obligations and training requirements in support of programs like the CCAB (Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business) PAR initiative or the Government of Canada’s directives to all Canadians on adopting the Recommendations of the TRC (Truth & Reconciliation Commission).

301 Indigenous Peoples and Cultures

The Indigenous Peoples and Cultures course builds from the foundation-level Certification course and continues to develop the ideas, issues, awareness and context.

The course builds your knowledge and understanding of Indigenous issues. It goes into more detail and depth on each of the three Indigenous groups, history, land claims, treaty areas in Canada, demographics, self-government issues, diversity of culture and practices, language development and loss, symbols, belief systems and values, the role of elders, and more.

This course is very popular with anyone wanting to explore the history and peoples in more depth. It is popular for professionals working in the HR field, public services, social services, health care, government, academia, students, educators, and corporate employees or contractors who work in an Indigenous Relations role.

311 Indigenous Communication & Consultation

The Indigenous Communication & Consultation course builds from the foundation-level Certification course with special focus on engagement and interaction.

The course is designed to help organizations and individuals identify how to effectively interact and communicate with Indigenous community leadership, members, Elders and contractors. Anyone working directly with Indigenous peoples within their community, and those seeking to develop projects with Indigenous partners, will benefit from understanding and building a strategic framework for better engagement, relationships, and outcomes.

This course is very popular with commercial organizations and anyone working directly with Indigenous communities or people. It is a critical skill set for staff involved with negotiations, commercial agreements, shared development projects, community outreach, and for those in policy-making roles.

321 Indigenous Employment Outreach, Recruit and Retain

The Indigenous Employment Outreach, Recruit, and Retain course builds from the foundation-level Certification course with special focus on company culture and employment considerations.

The course is designed for community leaders, HR professionals, hiring mangers, executives and anyone seeking to build an inclusive environment to support and leverage the benefits of improved employment outcomes with their Indigenous partners and employees. This course will teach you how to effectively Outreach, Recruit, Retain, and Develop qualified Indigenous employees. It will also help you create a welcoming environment for all staff.

This course is very popular with any organization, government, or individual working directly with HR, hiring, new business development, sales teams, the Board of Directors, management/leadership/teams, recruiting, and anyone in a supervisory capacity. This is a core component for anyone wanting to increase their understanding and empathy, improve their interpersonal skills, and become more effective communicators.