The Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) is a national Indigenous organization representing the political voices of Indigenous women, girls, Two-Spirit, transgender, and gender-diverse+ (WG2STGD+) people in Canada. We are an aggregate of Indigenous women’s organizations from across the country. Together with these provincial and territorial member associations (PTMAs), we work to enhance, promote, and foster the social, economic, cultural, and political well-being of the people we serve and represent.

In this issue of our newsletter Shining the Spotlight, we look at some of the many topics in which NWAC is involved. Some of those topics or issues relate to breaking down barriers and lifting up Indigenous women, through initiatives such as the recent “Change the Bill” call to action that aims to promote reconciliation through art. Then there’s our ongoing work on the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls file, with our current focus on the Safe Passage project. Given the affinity that Indigenous women have with the land, all things climate-related continue to be top-of-mind. That’s why participating in such international events such as COP 15 In Montreal in December 2022 is so important to NWAC and the people we represent.

But we couldn’t do our work without the active participation and involvement of our grassroots members.

In this issue you’ll read about the work we are doing with our PTMAs, to help them build operational capacity in the areas of fundraising, project management, budget management and helping them build linkages and relationships with their federal political representatives. A large part of capacity building involves securing stable core funding for our organization, and for our PTMAs, as well as funding to develop resiliency lodges in every province and territory across the country.

Drilling down, engaging with our individual PTMAs encompasses not just NWAC helping them build political relationships and fundraising. It also involves our Capacity Building team providing direct training and support on how to write strong grant and funding proposals, how to develop strategic action plans, and how to create programs that meet the needs of their specific communities. This issue carries two stories about our engagement work with the PTMAs and the art of proposal writing.

On every file we work on, NWAC is ever mindful of our mission to advocate for and inspire women, girls, 2SLGBTQQAI+ people, and the families of many Indigenous nations. Every action we take is designed to move us toward achieving an inclusive world that understands and respects the diversity and uniqueness of all Indigenous women, girls, 2SLGBTQQAI+ people, and families.