FSIN Chief Addresses “Indian Time” During Speech
Wednesday, April 30, 2008 at 14:57
The chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations says being on “Indian Time” shouldn’t mean being late.
Chief Lawrence Joseph was speaking this morning at the Women and Youth Entrepreneurship Symposium in Saskatoon, which got underway later than scheduled.
An elder delivering an opening prayer was the first to comment on the late start time.
Joseph thanked her for the remark, then added that if any Aboriginal person wants to be competitive in the business world, punctuality is very important.
Joseph said he wasn’t trying to scold the audience, but make them aware that “if we’re going to compete in areas of employment . . . we have to be there when we say we’re going to be there”.
He said if a person agrees to meet someone at 8:30, it means arriving 10 minutes before that time, not an hour later — “. . . because there’s nobody out there that’s going to wait for people (who) come to work an hour late”.