Leticia Clark’s Story with an Inclusive Employer

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About the ‘Spotlight on Indigenous Disability in the Workplace’ Series:

Accessible Employers and Tetra Films have created a series of short films promoting accessible employment in Indigenous led businesses in British Columbia (BC). Restating the case for inclusive employment, the video series is an awareness campaign about accessibility and inclusion in the workplace.

Transcript For This Video:

(Narrator) Words Appear: Presented by Accessible Employers, a Presidents Group Initiative over aerial shots of the TinWis resort on Vancouver Island’s west coast.

A woman with long black hair wearing white is speaking in front of a brightly coloured Indigenous mural.

Words Appear: Maria Clark, Assistant General Manager, Best Western Tin Wis Resort. Maria begins to speak.

(Maria Clark) Tin Wis is owned and operated by Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation, in the traditional territory of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation.

At 12 years old, the Tla-o-qui-aht education coordinator came to the high school and told us that Tin Wis belonged to us, we could work in any department we wanted. We could take the opportunities that Tin Wis provides us and move outward into the world.

I don’t know if that radiated with everybody who was sitting in that room, but it radiated with me.

(Narrator) Maria and Leticia, a young Indigenous woman with dark hair and glasses, wearing a black top, are laughing and talking to each other outside the resort in front of a 10-meter tall red cedar totem pole.

(Narrator) Words on screen: Rachel Leghissa, Digital Marketing Manager, Best Western Tin Wis Resort. Rachel is a young caucasian woman with blonde hair wearing a denim jacket and a white shirt. She begins to speak.

(Rachel Leghissa) Maria’s amazing. She’s definitely the heart and soul of this place. I don’t think the Tin Wis would be what it is today without having an Indigenous woman in a leadership role. I love her, so maybe I’m biased. I have a great personal and professional relationship with her, and I see just how much she cares about the staff.

She has a lot of mother bear energy, which I think is perfect for the role of a manager.

(Maria Clark) Leticia is a really vibrant, intelligent young woman. She’s a people person. She struggles, quite significantly with her health, but I don’t think that people would actually know or recognize, what she’s going through on a day to day basis.

(Narrator) A young Indigenous woman with dark hair and glasses is wearing a black top.  Words on screen: Leticia Clark, Housekeeping, Best Western Tin Wis Resort. Leticia begins to speak.

(Leticia Clark) I have an autoimmune disease called neuromyelitis optica. It’s the swelling of the spinal cord, I was paralyzed from the waist down for five months, and I had to learn how to walk all over again.

(Maria Clark) She did work here previously. She was at the front desk, and she did very well there, because she learned so quickly. She can adapt very well in different positions.

Because of her condition, she can fall ill quite frequently. We put her into housekeeping this time because it’s a little bit more lenient where time and schedules are concerned. So it can accommodate if she has to miss work on short notice.

(Narrator) Maria and Leticia are talking in front of large industrial washing machines as Leticia removes the clean white sheets.

(Rachel Leghissa) Leticia and I, we worked together at the front desk. And I was able to train her. She was keen to learn everything about the guest experience and picked it up really quick.

When she came back, I was super excited to see Leticia had been job carved into a house attendant role. I learned about everything that she’s gone through and how that’s a challenge for her in the workplace.

(Leticia Clark) It was scary to me coming back into the workforce just because I didn’t know my full capabilities, or what I was going to be able to do. It was hard to figure out like what I could do and what I couldn’t do.

My supervisor is very accommodating. I’m able to be like, “I can’t do that. Like I can’t get up and reach that area. It’s not in my capabilities.”

They just give me like a lighter workload in the laundry room folding and stacking towels, cleaning the lobby, and cleaning like the workout rooms.

(Rachel Leghissa) So she goes around to the different common areas to care for them, which is a great role because you can move at your own speed. You’re not having to engage with someone constantly. No time constraints for when people are checking into rooms.

(Narrator) Leticia is cleaning workout machines in the gym. Outside, Leticia is wiping down a black railing with a green sponge.

(Maria Clark) Leticia isn’t the first employee we’ve had who kind of struggled. I have quite a bit of experience in job carving, in creating different kinds of opportunities for folks to work in.

(Maria Clark) I think Indigenous culture lends itself well to an accessible workplace. Because at the forefront of any Indigenous culture or home or family, is that, is family.

I like to think that here at Tin Wis, we are like a family.

If you think about things that way, I think you’re always going to take a different approach. Checking in each morning, making sure everybody’s okay.

(Narrator) Maria is walking down the hallway with a young tall caucasian man towards the front desk, the walls are lined with Indigenous paintings.

(Rachel Leghissa) Maria’s Indigenous management style is observing, respecting, and acting accordingly. So she takes that time to observe, to respect that person as a whole, and then to act accordingly.

Not every staff should be treated the same. They should be treated according to what they need.

(Narrator) Maria and the front desk clerk are laughing as they work on the check-in computer. There is a grey and green Indigenous wood carving behind them.

(Leticia Clark) Having an autoimmune disease like I do, I have to take time off sometimes just because I just get sick out of nowhere.

I can do that here. And like know my job is going to be secure. Whereas I know other people that have disabilities, they do have a hard time being in the workforce.

(Narrator) Leticia is in a guest room making up a bed. She is wearing a black jacket with a yellow Tin Wis logo.

(Maria Clark) The most important thing about being accessible is, giving your employees the opportunity, to be able to be open and trusting.

Not everybody is forthcoming and wanting to share what’s going on for them, that’s a difficult situation.

(Narrator) Maria and Rachel are discussing reservations on a clipboard at the front desk.

(Leticia Clark) She’s really accommodating and she’s super understanding about everything. You just got to tell her the truth. Like, just be honest.

(Rachel Leghissa) She’s not just concerned with doing things up to brand standards. She’s concerned with you, your work life balance, how you’re doing on a mental, emotional and physical level.

(Narrator) Maria and Leticia are standing together looking out towards the ocean at the guests enjoying the beach on a bright sunny day.

(Maria Clark) Our culture puts a lot of priority on being still or sitting together. Just taking the time to acknowledge all aspects of life. I think it reflects within our team very well.

We accept the challenges to build healthy, strong places for everybody to come to work and feel safe.

(Narrator) An aerial shot starts behind the Tin Wis resort. As the camera gains altitude and flies forward it reveals the trees, beach, and ocean with islands in the distance on a beautiful summer day.

Logos appear: Accessible Employers, a Presidents Group initiative, Government of Canada and Government of BC. Funding provided by the Government of Canada through the Canada-British Columbia Workforce Development Agreement.