Co-ops are about people working together towards a common goal. But when creating a co-op, it’s easy to focus on getting the formalities, structure, and paperwork right.

Our Director of Indigenous Relations, Trista Pewapisconias, has spent years helping people create co-ops and has learned not to lose sight of the human aspects of starting a business. While writing bylaws and financing the business are important steps, it is equally important for members of the co-op to strengthen their relationships with each other, build trust, and find ways to allow everyone to contribute meaningfully.

In her time at Co-operatives First, Trista has learned a great deal from our Indigenous clients, partners, and existing co-operatives – how they’ve gone about building not just co-ops, but relationships, systems, processes, and trust.

Why our Indigenous clients have sought out the co-op model

In her experience working with Indigenous groups, Trista has found the co-op model’s less hierarchical structure is part of its appeal. Groups are often looking for a fairer and more equitable way to do business; the one-member, one-vote system co-ops use and the focus on member needs over profit can make co-ops an ideal model.

The fact that co-ops are independent businesses or organizations is another important trait. Having control over an entity to meet local needs in the way they envision for themselves is key. With a co-op, groups can also retain intellectual property rights over their work, traditional knowledge, and more.

While these traits make co-ops more ‘people-centred’, it’s still easy to get caught up in the technical aspects of the start-up process. Over the years we’ve learned and implemented some key lessons to ensure we center the people who are starting the business.

So for groups who have a common goal and think they will benefit from starting a co-operative, here are three people-centred lessons we’ve learned that can help co-ops get started.

A people-centred approach

1. Look at your assets, not your deficits

Everyone brings something to the table. This is particularly important to acknowledge in a co-op, which is likely started by a group of volunteers with a big goal and limited resources. So when starting a big project, first take the key step of assessing the skills, experience, and perspectives of the people involved, and the assets within your broader community.

Karri-Lynn Paul, an Indigenous educator who led the Circle of Abundance – Indigenous Programs training at the Coady Institute at St. Francis Xavier University, is a proponent of an “abundance” approach to economic development and entrepreneurship.

“It was very Indigenous to me that you would look inside your community and see the gifts and talents that already existed there and then build on those to really solve your problems,” she said on an episode of The Common Share.

“We couldn’t have survived in our traditional communities without having everybody use their gifts. There was no sitting around, we needed to hunt and fish and gather to make sure everyone was taken care of.”

Often, people take a “deficit-based” approach, focusing on problems and what they lack. An asset-based approach flips the narrative—while it doesn’t make the issues disappear, it uses people’s gifts and talents as a starting point and asks how to build on them.

To do this, Karri-Lynn recommends the “Head, Heart, Hands, Spirit” activity. In it, each individual assesses their own gifts, then shares them with the group. In this way, members can gain an understanding of each other and what everyone can contribute to their collaborative efforts.

Think about your gifts in each of these categories:

• Gifts of the Head: things you know about, enjoy talking about or teaching others (ex., speaking an Indigenous language, planning, organizing)

• Gifts of the Heart: things you care deeply about (ex., social justice, cultural revitalization, environment, youth)

• Gifts of the Hands: things you know how to do and love doing (ex., dancing, drumming, cooking, beading, gardening)

• Gifts of the Spirit: things that you can do that connect you to your spirit (ex., smudging, medicine knowledge, teachings)

While Karri-Lynn admits this process can be challenging for people, it is an important and rewarding exercise.

“I think that process of looking at yourself and seeing your own abundance within you in those different areas is a way to both build confidence but also make it a lot easier to see in other places,” said Karri-Lynn. “…It opens your eyes and your heart and your spirit up to seeing those gifts in others, and I think that has a major, multiplying effect. And then we move that all the way up to ‘how do we see those in our community?’”

2. Build connection and trust through tradition

When doing anything as a group, building trust is essential. When creating a business or organization – which involves setting policy, financing, determining how best to serve the members – group members need to know everyone is equally committed and will be responsive and supportive of each other.

One way Indigenous-led co-ops have built trust amongst their members is by embracing and embedding tradition in their organizations.

Ohe·láku, which started as a non-profit co-operative, is made up of Oneida families in Wisconsin who grow traditional White Corn together.

Lea Zeise, co-founder of Ohe·láku, said when members initially wanted to experiment with growing corn, they thought they should divide the land, with each family getting its own plot.

“One of our Elders was like, ‘that’s not how we would have done it in our village – we would have planted one row for the Bear Clan, one row for the Wolf Clan, one row for the Turtle Clan, and then we would start over again with the Bear Clan,” she said. “And everybody’s corn grows right next to each other, and it belongs to everybody’.”

In addition to this collective approach, the co-op also held community events and invited corn growers from other Nations to provide their knowledge. The co-op was astounded at how much corn they were able to grow together by learning about and embracing tradition.

“We’re working together like our ancestors did, and we’re relying on one another, we’re helping each other out,” Lea said. “We’re forming these really different kinds of relationships that I think only can be formed when you’re working together towards something. So even though it’s work, it’s really social and it’s really bonding for us.”

3. Listen to all perspectives

In a group setting, it can be hard for everyone’s perspectives to be heard. Often, a natural leader emerges who is more assertive than the others. This can lead to other members deferring to this stronger voice, even if they disagree or have something to add to the discussion.

“In all teams there’s a spokesperson that’s more vocal, but while you realise their heart is in the right place, but they might not be representative of all people,” said Trista. “You have to find a way to listen and hear what the other members have to say, because they may have more experience or a different view that can change the direction of what the co-op is doing or find alternative solutions that may better than the original.”

One place where there’s room for more discussion is voting. The typical form of voting – by indicating whether you are for or against a decision – doesn’t allow for nuance or discussion that could benefit the group and result in better, more considered outcomes.

To improve this method of decision-making, Trista recommends a voting method called “Fist to Five”. When voting, rather than simply raising your hand to indicate “yes” or “no”, participants indicate their agreement or disagreement by holding up a chosen number of fingers.

If you are completely against an idea, you would hold up your closed fist. If you are mostly against it but open to discussion, you might hold up one or two fingers. Three fingers say you’re on the fence, while four fingers mean you are mostly for the idea, and five fingers mean you’re 100% in favour.

This method allows people not to have to commit completely to a proposal they may have questions about, or to outright reject something they may be willing to compromise on if given the chance for further discussion. Once folks have indicated where they’re at on the decision, the group then has a more in-depth discussion, with those who are skeptical given the chance to voice their concerns, and the group the chance to discuss alternatives.

Co-ops are about people

When starting a business, you need both the technical and human aspects to make it successful and well-rounded. Learning about and embracing traditional methods, finding ways for everyone to contribute, and considering all your assets are great ways to ensure your co-op has the strong relationships it needs to thrive.

Do you have an idea and a group of people ready to make it happen? Get in touch with us to create a plan for your unique co-operative, and visit our Your Way, Together site for information specific to Indigenous co-op creation.