Most countries in the world provide “statutory holidays”.  These legislated holidays are based on nationalistic, cultural, and religious criteria as determined by each country (and areas within countries).  While some holidays may hold special significance to certain groups of people, other groups may not identify with the significance or even understand the significance of the holiday.  Some of us see statutory holidays simply as a treasured long weekend.  Others wish they could have a different day off to honour someone/something that is meaningful to them as individuals.

Act of Decolonization

Statutory holidays provide an opportunity for an act of decolonization – replacing western interpretations and celebrations of history with an Indigenous perspective.  We can create space to support Indigenous worldviews and celebrate diversity by how we treat statutory holidays.

Stat Holidays at Animikii

At Animikii we want to give the choice of how our employees use these paid holidays.  Some team members may choose to take the holiday as scheduled because the day is meaningful to them, others may choose to observe the day but reinterpret and honour in their own way. Others may choose to select a different day that is more meaningful to them based on cultural, faith or personal significance or simply a personal preference. The choice will be theirs.

We've Open Sourced the Policy!

Animikii's stat holiday policy is open-source (Creative Commons) and ready to use, including a form that staff can use to substitute stat holidays. Visit open.animikii.com for the full policy.

Further Reading:

• How an Indigenous firm wants to make holidays more inclusive (The Globe and Mail)
• Redefining Statutory Holidays (Jouta Performance Group)