There are two parts.
Number one is having the indigenous member identify as being indigenous. A lot of the time it's important to understand that they won't identify for various reasons, unless they visually look indigenous, like I do, but some don't.
If they identify as indigenous, especially for up north, you won't have a first nations member from Batchewana, like me, identifying that, “Oh, I'm an expert in the north.” I couldn't do that. Those individuals who are Inuit from up north, they are looking for specifics to help integrate into the north. For those—especially in my position, where I may not know about survival in the north—I can say, “I know where I can connect you to people who know about survival in the north.” It's about sharing that knowledge.
As first nations and indigenous people, we don't assume that we know everything. We know that we can point you in the right direction where you can find out the information that you need.
