It is no secret that Indigenous young adults in Canada experience higher rates of unemployment than non-Indigenous young adults. Mathew, Nishikawara, Ferguson, & Borgen note that, notwithstanding this concern, many Indigenous young adults are employed and have done well in learning and the workplace. They also point out that studies of Indigenous peoples’ successes are quite rare; most research focuses on problems. Mathew, et al. wanted to find out the specific factors that help and hinder success.
This qualitative study involved interviews with 18 Indigenous young adults (26-34-years-old; 13 female and 5 male) whose career decision-making was self-appraised as successful. Enhanced Critical Incident Technique (ECIT) was used to seek pivotal events that helped or hindered progress.
The 282 reports of critical incidents comprised 135 helping, 87 hindering, and 60 “wish list” items (i.e., items participants thought would be helpful). These sorted into 13 categories, listed in the table below with examples of how the category captured something helpful or harmful. They are listed in order of (a) more helping than hindering, (b) more hindering than helpful, (c) equal helping and hindering, and (d) more wish list than helpful or hindering items.
| Category | Helping Example | Hindering Example |
| More helping than hindering | ||
| Family relationships & commitments | Emotional support from family | Family members depending on the young adult |
| Setting goals/ taking initiative/ (career-related)/ focusing on interests | Career exploration activities | n/a |
| Support from community/ mentors | Surrounding oneself with exceptional performers | n/a |
| A healthy way (physical, mental, social & spiritual) | Practicing self-care | Negativity |
| Finding meaning/ motivation & commitment | The responsibility of having a child | n/a |
| Networking & who you know | Building healthy and strong relationships with managers | n/a |
| Experience (work/life) | Having a range of home, school, work, community, and cultural experiences | n/a |
| More hindering than helping or wish list items | ||
| Systemic/external factors (institution, job-market, sexism, racism, interpersonal aspects) | n/a | Responsibilities as an Indigenous person sometimes do not align with responsibilities as an employee |
| Financial situation | n/a | Budgeting everything and the low income does not allow many activities for the kids |
| Knowledge/ information/ certainty | n/a | Not knowing what jobs were going to be in demand |
| Courage & self-worth (vs. fear/ doubt in self /others) | n/a | Low self-esteem growing up leads to hesitance in making decisions |
| Equal helping and hindering | ||
| Indigenous background / cultural factors | Being aware of one’s culture makes it easier to see when a workplace culture does not fit. | n/a |
| Wish list dominant | ||
| Educational opportunities/ training and specialized education | n/a | Not having a post-secondary education’s credential; it would be reassuring to have one |
This study builds on a body of research that finds:
- systemic barriers can hinder opportunities even when the systems have helping potential (e.g., education);
- interpersonal relationships (e.g., with family, mentors) may have great significance for Indigenous young people; and
- Indigenous young adults’ need to adapt to Euro-Canadian perspectives can lead to resilience for some but fear and self-doubt in others.
Practitioners are reminded to advocate for systemic change, attend to the relational aspects of a person’s life, and recognize the strength it takes for an Indigenous young adult to flourish in two worlds.
Responses