Native Women’s Association of Canada

Incorporated in 1974, the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) is founded on the collective goal to enhance, promote, and foster the social, economic, cultural and political well-being of Aboriginal women within the Aboriginal community and Canadian society. As one of the five National Aboriginal Organizations, we are a network of Native women’s organizations from coast, to coast, to coast. In 2010, we are proud to continue to speak as a collective voice for Aboriginal women for over 35 years.

Strong Leadership

In September 2009, NWAC was pleased to welcome in-coming President Jeannette Corbiere Lavell – a strong Anishinabe woman who hails from Wikwemikong, Ontario. She is a proud mother and grandmother and has previously distinguished herself by leading a Supreme Court challenge of the federal government’s system of determining Indian Status, and is the first Anishinabek Nation Commissioner on Citizenship. She has worked as an advocate for Aboriginal women for over a quarter of a century, and her efforts have not gone unnoticed. As a founding member and former president of several Aboriginal women’s organizations, including the Ontario Native Women’s Association, as well as a recipient of numerous awards such as the YWCA Women of Distinction Award in 1995, we are honoured to have such a strong leader at the helm. In fact, in her first week as President at NWAC in 2009, she was awarded the Governor General’s Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case, which honours individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the advancement of women’s equality.  NWAC commends Ms. Corbiere Lavell’s past accomplishments, and eagerly awaits the future successes she will bring to the organization and to all Aboriginal women in Canada.

Strong Voice

As a leader both domestically and on the international stage, NWAC is working to improve the human rights of Aboriginal women and dedicated to promoting gender equality issues through research, policy, programs, and practice. Not only is an Aboriginal female voice needed at such forums as the United Nations (UN) or regional organizations such as the Organization of American States (OAS), but Indigenous issues as a whole need to be advocated for collectively with fellow indigenous peoples. NWAC welcomes the opportunity to share, support and learn from our Indigenous brothers and sisters worldwide and believe that together we can be a showcase for Indigenous talent, knowledge and cooperation.

While achieving many successes as a leader, NWAC is also proud to work as a partner with other National Aboriginal Organizations and participates on a variety of other initiatives through the participation of NWAC staff, the Board of Directors, the Youth Council, and through expertise offered by consultants. NWAC currently works to advance knowledge and action in the following areas:

•           National Aboriginal Council on Species at Risk
•           Canada’s Duty to Consult and Accommodate
•           Canada-Aboriginal Peoples Roundtable
•           Court challenges impacting Aboriginal peoples in Canada
•           Culture and gender-based analysis of federal legislation and challenges to the human rights code

Healthy Communities

Aboriginal women’s health means more than just physical ailments and illnesses. From a holistic and Aboriginal perspective, health is all encompassing and involves the mental, emotional, spiritual and physical aspects of a person, hence the term ‘holistic.’ There are many factors that influence the health status of a person such as the environment, social standing, level of education and income. People who live in conditions that are below a certain standard will experience a health status that is poorer than the general public. Many Aboriginal women live in sub-standard conditions as is manifested in their overall poor health status. NWAC, as the national voice for Aboriginal women in Canada, is committed to addressing and improving their health and, as such, has established a Health Unit that has been and will be working in collaboration with other stakeholders who have a vested interested in improving the health of Aboriginal women in a holistic and culturally-appropriate manner.

The Health Unit was established and staffed in the latter part of 2005. Since then, NWAC has been actively involved and continues to participate at the national level on many working groups and advisory and steering committees to ensure that the specific needs of Aboriginal women are being included and/or addressed. Some of the issues NWAC is involved in (but not limited to) include:

•           Maternal/child health;
•           Diabetes;
•           Early childhood development
•           Sexual exploitation of women and children;
•           Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)
•           Violence against women;
•           Health human resources;
•           Cancer; and,
•           Health of seniors.

In March 2010, NWAC was also thrilled to host the Miyo Machihowin Health Career Trade Show and Conference in Edmonton, Alberta. The two day conference provided Aboriginal youth with the opportunity to explore and discover the wide array of professions and opportunities available within the Canadian health sector. The conference and trade show also created an opportunity to engage with Aboriginal youth and promote the number of Aboriginal people in health careers in Canada. With more than 150 participants from coast to coast to coast, Miyo Machihowin was a huge success.

Active Youth

NWAC respects the voice of youth and recognizes the critical role youth have in our communities. Youth participate in all activities of the organization and focus on issues affecting young Aboriginal women across Canada through the work of the NWAC Youth Council and activities of the NWAC Youth Department. As a National Aboriginal Organization, NWAC presently offers programming in support of Aboriginal youth through the following projects: Policy Collaboration Project and associated activities of the Community Development Coordinator – Youth, funded by Human Resources and Social Development Canada; Violence Prevention Toolkit project funded by Status of Women Canada; and Suicide Prevention Projects funded by Health Canada, First Nations and Inuit Health Branch.

Sisters In Spirit

In the fifth year of the Sisters In Spirit initiative, NWAC reflects on achievements and challenges, as well as the ongoing needs of women, girls, their families and their communities to end the cycle of violence. As such we are focused on building new relationships and a renewed commitment to Sisters In Spirit through ongoing commitment and collaboration with communities and key stakeholders. The next step is to bring this work to action, while continuing to support the evidence for informed policy development. In developing a vision for the next phase of SIS, the knowledge, expertise and understanding of the needs of Aboriginal women and girls comes from NWAC; however, the mechanism for change comes from government. Thus, it is one of our key priorities to build collaborative relationships with federal, provincial and territorial government departments, and support this with partnerships with other National Aboriginal Organizations, communities and community organizations, police services, educators, researchers and service providers to ensure sustainability and lasting change.

The Year Ahead

Over the last 35 years, NWAC has demonstrated knowledge and expertise and shown true leadership in advocating for change with respect to the rights and interests of Aboriginal women in Canada. As an organization, we are continuing to build on the success and best practices learned in all areas of social, political, cultural, economic, and spiritual health and wellbeing seize opportunities to bring evidence to action. We look forward to moving ahead, not only as leaders, but with the support of our allies in communities and other Aboriginal organizations, through partnerships with government and other key stakeholders from coast to coast to coast.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 29th, 2010 at 3:51 pm and is filed under Orange Post, Prevention, Testimonials. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.