While analysing the resources and quotes for the final chapters, I began to see a pattern where the recommendations could be categorized in a progression of development on the Integral Spiral (Beck and Cowan, 1996). The following examples from the literature are representative of the signs of health and well being at each level in relationship to the steps in the spiral map in Figure 4.
Signs of gaps in safety and basic needs for Aboriginal job seekers is evident and seen as a barrier to successful employment. The NATCON papers (Peruniak, 2004) presented a report from ECs in rural settings where participants discussed the difficulty supporting employment activities for clients who did not have their basic needs met. The report told us, “It is not surprising that those who were preoccupied with food, shelter and security concerns were not ready to talk to a career practitioner unless it was about these worries” (p. 3). The Government of Manitoba (n.d.a) presented a profile of Aboriginal and northern communities in Manitoba as “some of the most disadvantaged in the province as illustrated by numerous social and economic indicators” (¶ 1).
The basis of a strong home and a strong sense of family and community are often seen as success factors in labour market attachment. Wihalk and Price (2006) integrated their separate studies about dealing with Aboriginal clients and presented some of the skills they felt are necessary for an EC to assess and help the Aboriginal job seeker become aware of their place in community. These authors claimed the ECs
must have a wide-ranging knowledge of Aboriginal history, as described by Aboriginal writers, have developed familiarity with cultural traditions, both past and present, have an appreciation of Aboriginal collectivistic worldview and be able to integrate “other ways of knowing” into their counselling repertoire to increase cultural empathy and understanding. (p. 5)