In this Issue:

• Main Article: How Not Valuing Our Culture is Messing Up Brands in BC

• Aboriginal Day 2005

• Recommended Links

• Our Services

• CopperMoon Rate Changes

• Contact Us

Aboriginal Day 2005

In 2005, CopperMoon was profiled on CBC television for national Aboriginal Day. Click on the above video to see what CopperMoon was up to three years ago!

Recommended Links

Along the topic of residential schools, we are providing some links to timelines and information on this chapter of Canadian history.

Thunderbird: Summary of Apologies and a timeline

Hidden from History: Fighting for recognition of a "Canadian Holocaust "

As-It-Happens Interview on the upcoming "Truth and Reconciliation Commission"

Key Historical Newspaper Articles on Residential Schools

Where are the Children: A Timeline

Our Services

CopperMoon provides solutions for your communications needs. Our services include:

• Strategic Planning
• Branding
• Professional Design
• Writing
• Communications Planning
• Video Production
• Public Relations
• Capacity Building
• Community Engagement

News: Rate Changes

We are changing our rates effective July 1st for all new projects. Our rates were based on communication industry standard rates from 2002, and have remained unchanged for over five years. Instead of simply raising our rates, we've taken the opportunity to re-examine our work flow and try and find more effective ways to estimate, track time, and invoice clients. We've come up with a slightly different model that we think everyone will like.

To view the details, click here.

Contact Us

CopperMoon Communications

www.coppermoon.ca/contact

jacob@coppermoon.ca

(877) 475-0754

Residential School Still Effects Everything

How Not Valuing Our Culture is Messing Up Brands in BC

By Jacob Beaton

I didn't attend the live viewing of the federal apology to residential school survivors. I didn't even read about it until days later. When I did, I was struck by how sad and upset I felt. My grandfather (ya-aa) and great-grandmother attended residential school, and my grandfather died last year a broken man who never recovered from what happened to him. One of the greatest tragedies of residential school is the loss of culture and the conditioning to de-value our culture and by extension, ourselves as native people. Survivors were taught that they were less-than, and when I recall the stories my ya-aa would tell me of his life, many of them were of his redemption against society: His winnings in the pool hall, and his ability to out-do any man at basketball or fishing. He never told me about his shame, but I felt it and saw it wrapped up in his alcoholism and his abusive behaviour.

The effects of residential school ripple into many aspects of our lives, and now that most of us are a generation removed, those ripples are starting to fade from consciousness and are becoming an accepted part of our lives as native people. In my work over the past seven years I have seen this manifested in many ways (the "Indian crab" syndrome being one), the most frustrating being what I call "the value cross-over." You probably know what I am talking about. I am talking about all the non-native organizations such as the 2010 Olympics , that are using native symbology and culture to sell their products and services. I am also talking about the native organizations that are in a rush to work just like a bureaucratic government, or to look just like a mainstream company, or to hire qualified non-native people because they "are better."

Two companies sell the same product: vacuum sealed smoked salmon

In the above image you can see an example of this values cross-over in action. The non-native company uses distinct, strong, classical native art to sell lots of smoked salmon to tourists who are hungry not only for salmon, but for unique Canadian culture too. The native-owned company uses a modern non-native looking brand to try and sell their smoked salmon. I'm sure their packaging is one reason why outlets have hesitated to carry their product, and why it hasn't exactly been flying off the shelves.

This type of branding can be seen all over BC and Canada. The fact is, Canada's brand is increasingly becoming a native brand. Witness this in our tourism advertising and in the 2010 Olympics. People around the word are hungry for culture and open spaces, and Canada is offering up native culture as the main course. The problem is that native people are playing a very small part in creating that brand, and native people are seeing very few, if any, benefits from it.

The basic definition of this cross-over is this:

• Some native people don't value their own culture and cultural systems, so they look elsewhere for solutions.
• Some non-native people, who are searching for culture and depth in an increasingly mono-culture world, see great value in native culture and cultural systems.

It needn't be so black and white. There is an incredible opportunity to create amazing brands by combining the best of both what the mainstream world has to offer and what native culture has to offer. I was talking to a Tlingit elder last week who emphatically told me how important it is to find a place where "both the white man's way and the native way can meet in a good way." For native organizations, it is important to keep looking inward and find the strengths that are in the local community.

Looking back at the smoked salmon example, in addition to buying smoked salmon, the buyer could be picking up artwork, a story, and a peek inside a rich and ancient culture. This is something that native organizations can tap into in ways that non-native companies can't. This how how native brands can come out on top: by providing a depth and understanding that non-native brands don't.

The smoked salmon product can offer much more than salmon; it can offer understanding, happiness, and connection with a distant and beautiful land. It can be a piece of art, something that can be hung on a wall or placed on a mantle. It can be a story, or a legend that is being passed on. The richness of native culture is often what buyers are really hungry for.

To wrap things up, here are some of my tips for creating successful native brands:

For the Non-Native organization:

• There is nothing wrong with wanting a native image or brand - as long as it is done respectfully.
• Work within the culture of the people who's territory you're doing business in. The olympics logo was a mistake. And no, saying that they're "Canada's Olympics" doesn't excuse you from using an Inuit motif for the games being held in B.C.
• Look beyond the artwork. There is so much more to be learned from First Nations philosophy. Native people were the original sustainable and triple-bottom-line business people in Canada - so learn from them!
• Work with as much of the community as possible - you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Hire native people.
• Take the time to do it right.

For the Native organization:

• All of the above, plus:
• Work within the well-established principles of branding. I started writing about branding in our second newsletter issue, and there is more to come.
• Don't be afraid to share. People really do want to learn, and in today's world of endangered native cultures and languages, you've got nothing to lose.
• Use the latest tools available to you. Don't be in a rush to do what the rest of the world was doing 15 years ago - skip the paperwork and just jump to creating great materials that people want to read/ buy/ listen to/ watch today.
• Outdo the competition by offering more depth.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the article. Please feel free to send me your feedback - I enjoy receiving it!