Each year on September 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we are offered an opportunity to remember and honour the Indigenous children who never came home from residential schools, the survivors who endured, and their families and communities. We are also called to reflect on our personal and organizational commitments to advance truth, justice and reconciliation.
At Boann, we are grateful to the Indigenous leaders who help us deepen our understanding of the history and impacts of colonialism and the residential school system, as well as how we can continue to activate our commitment to reconciliation. Today, we want to share a few ways we are thinking about Boann’s role, and the role of impact investing overall, in advancing economic reconciliation in Canada.
1. Impact investing requires us to start with truth.
Impact investing is founded on the premise that resources do not always flow to where they are needed most. They must be directed there intentionally. And that requires us to deepen our understanding of from where inequities arise and the pathways forward.
In Canada, many Indigenous communities continue to face inequities that are the result of the history and ongoing legacies of colonialism. Unmarked graves at former residential schools are part of this truth. Income inequality and disproportionate housing need experienced by Indigenous people are part of this truth, as are disparities in health and wealth.[i] Under-capitalization and barriers to accessing social finance tools are part of this truth. And the critical importance of resourcing Indigenous-led solutions is part of this truth.
2. Impact investing leverages financial strength as a vehicle for Indigenous self-determination.
Impact investing is a way to direct resources to solutions that are advancing positive outcomes in Indigenous communities. One of the ways impact investing diverges from traditional finance and charitable models is the power it holds for supporting self-sustainability: Impact investing builds community wealth more equitably, helps to address income gaps in long-lasting ways that foster intergenerational wealth building, and supports financial control for self-determination.
3. Impact investing offers mechanisms for accountability to community-defined outcomes.
Impact investing emphasizes measuring and demonstrating impact. This is a tangible tool to ensure we are keeping our eyes on what initiatives are producing for Indigenous communities – outcomes defined by for-Indigenous, by-Indigenous funds and initiatives and the communities they serve. This approach holds people and the earth at the centre, respecting the autonomy of people to define the goals and methods of getting there that are most meaningful for them.
4. Impact investing can help us reimagine the economy through Indigenous teachings.
The social finance ecosystem is adding momentum to principles that have long infused Indigenous communities’ ways of thinking and acting with others in mind. The Seventh Generation Principle, for example, encourages us to recognize that impact – for good or ill – extends and magnifies into the future, and to ensure the decisions we make today are sustainable and beneficial to future generations. The emphasis on relationality also strengthens how we think about a thriving social finance ecosystem in Canada. Fostering mutually nourishing relationships and working in a good way helps us pursue the kinds of growth that enrich the ecosystem we are a part of.
We encourage you to consider what you might add to these insights, and what advancing reconciliation looks like in the parts of the social finance ecosystem you participate in. We also want to point to all 92 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action.