Nbisiing Consulting
Respectful. Meaningful. Collaborative.
What’s Nbisiing?
Nbisiing is the original name of Lake Nipissing. It is a homophone (has the same pronunciation) for the word Nipissing. In Ojibway, it means “small water” referring to the size of the compared to the nearby Great Lakes. Nbisiing is also the traditional name of Nipissing First Nation which is part of the Anishinabek Nation and the great Anishinaabe-Three Fires Confederacy.
Nbisiing Consulting is based out of Nipissing First Nation, and is proud to serve clients across Canada.
Vision
Contributing to the success of our clients and Indigenous communities through professional advice and unmatched service that is consistent with accepted standards of business and Indigenous values.
Mission
Nbisiing Consulting will achieve our vision by providing professional advice and services in the areas of Indigenous relations, community engagement, communications, negotiation and mediation, and management consulting.
We are committed to putting the client and Indigenous communities first.
We will raise the bar of consulting services by ensuring value for dollar and exceeding your expectations.
We will work to guide our clients through culturally-appropriate and sensitive approaches to achieving your goals with First Nations, Métis, Inuit and urban Indigenous communities.
Relationship & Engagement
A successful venture on Indigenous traditional territory will have a number of common elements. These may depend on the “spectrum of consultation” that begins with discharging the Duty to Consult. The approach of Nbisiing Consulting will be to move beyond fulfilling this basic duty towards meaningful engagement, collaboration and partnership with First Nations, Métis, Inuit and urban Indigenous communities.
Good Relationships
Mutual respect and an ongoing relationship with First Nation, Métis, Inuit and urban Indigenous communities is a must for any sized project or venture.
Understanding
Knowing the Indigenous communities you will be working with including their protocols, culture and language, the breadth of their traditional territory as well as their aspirations, needs, interests and claims.
Meaningful Dialogue
This includes ongoing, sustained dialogue before, during and after your project commences. Collaboration on a forum for discussions, providing project information, soliciting feedback, determining impacts, addressing concerns, and mitigating adverse impacts are all a part of meaningful dialogue.
Collaboration
Any project or venture may want to consider a meaningful and substantive role for Indigenous communities. Rather than dealing with each other on opposing sides of a table, consider collaboration and realizing mutual objectives. Better yet, consider a co-development and partnership approach.
Agreement & Protocols
When concerns and impacts are significant or cannot be addressed to the satisfaction of Indigenous communities, a relationship protocol, project agreement or Impact Benefit Agreement (IBA) may be necessary to find consensus on your project or venture.
Partnerships
Some relationships may move beyond engagement and dialogue stage. True partnership means sharing in the decisions, risk and benefits of a given project or venture. This is always the goal of many Indigenous communities.
