Andy Fyon

Imagine you are about to start a project in a First Nations homeland. It could be a health, construction, engineering, policy, or science project. You are excited about the project, but your project will impact First Nations people. You are concerned. You heard it is crucial to engage with the First Nations. But what does that actually mean? Walking Together: Engagement Lessons From My First Nations Learning Journey is a resource to help answer some of those questions and to provide engagement insights to you and the organization you represent.

Walking Together chronicles my experiences and lessons I learned about engaging with remote First Nations people across northern Ontario, Canada.

Through 50 stories, divided into three parts, I share:

• engagement foundations including the importance of working with remote First Nations to design and implement a community-based engagement strategy;

• my understanding of remote First Nations worldviews, and engagement expectations, which are key factors that underpin meaningful engagement.

• examples of an engagement model and related process and practices;

• some serious and some humorous community-based experiences and directly related lessons I learned from remote First Nations people;

• questions to ask of yourself and your organization to prepare for engagement.

The book encourages you to embrace the engagement journey, be open to new experiences, and remember that the most valuable lessons are generally learned outside the boardroom.

There are learnings and insightes in Walking Together that should be relevant to you and your organization on your engagement journey.