Federal Natural Resources employees remain uncertain about what indigenous reconciliation means and how it applies to their jobs despite years of departmental training and programming, according to an internal report.Blacklock's Reporter says the Department of Natural Resources acknowledged employees want clearer instructions about reconciliation priorities and how they relate to individual roles.“Employees expressed a strong desire for clearer, more accessible and role-specific communication to ensure priorities are conveyed in ways that are easily understood,” said the report.“There is still room for improvement.”The findings were contained in the Joint Evaluation And Audit Report: Sharing Our Truth, Advancing Reconciliation, which examined the department’s reconciliation efforts.Managers in 2022 hired a panel “comprised of indigenous elders in residence” and established a departmental unit called “nokwewashk.”The report described nokwewashk as “an Algonquin word for sweetgrass, one of the four sacred medicines in many Indigenous traditions.”“Nokwewashk became the first federal department sector to be officially named in an indigenous language, marking a step forward in Canada’s reconciliation journey,” auditors wrote.Auditors acknowledged what reconciliation means in practical terms for employees has remained unclear.“As a science-based department, Natural Resources Canada has made important efforts to transform the way it conducts science and research activities,” they wrote.“With efforts often still developing in maturity, case studies highlight a deliberate shift toward recognizing and respecting Indigenous knowledge systems, data sovereignty and cultural identity.”The department also ordered every employee in 2022 to complete eight hours of “self-directed Indigenous learning” annually.However, officials could not determine how many employees actually met the requirement.“While most employees are aware of this requirement, there is no mechanism available to report on the extent to which it is being met across the department,” said the report.“However the number of hours completed may also not be the most relevant metric of learning outcomes.”.The findings mirror a separate 2026 audit at the Department of Fisheries that found employees were widely aware of reconciliation programs but often did not understand their objectives or how they applied to their work.“Clarity is required around how reconciliation fits within the department’s mandate,” said the Evaluation Of The Department’s Efforts Towards Reconciliation With Indigenous Peoples.Internal questionnaires found just 41% of employees agreed the department had clear objectives regarding reconciliation.Another 38% had not completed mandatory reconciliation training.Employees interviewed for the audit also questioned what the term itself meant.“We keep saying the word reconciliation but what does it mean?” one employee was quoted as saying.“Reconciliation means different things from one person to another,” said another.
