Throughout June and July, the Communications team carried out complex projects touching on the knowledge, experiences, and history of women, girls, Two-Sprit, transgender, and gender-diverse people (WG2STGD+), making them accessible and understandable, but above all creating dialogue in the digital sphere and beyond. We ran communications campaigns aimed at strengthening Indigenous identity and paving the way for better integration of diversity and cultural richness of Indigenous Peoples. Our efforts over the past two months have paved the way for even more enlightened actions in favour of inclusion and representation.

The launch of Genocide in Canada: A Legal Explanation, a graphic booklet explaining how the national inquiry came to the inescapable conclusion of genocide, was highly promoted on all platforms, resulting in several appearances in the national media (Yahoo News, Windspeaker). Our audiences’ engagements reached a total of 130,099 likes, shares, and comments across all platforms and on the website. NWAC asked the Ministers of Education in each province and territory to incorporate the material into the high school curricula of their jurisdictions.

During National Indigenous Month, CEO Lynne Groulx celebrated the successes made so far, citing the National Inquiry that resulted in the Calls to Justice, the decline in unemployment rates, and the momentum created in non-Indigenous people’s audiences about the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls genocide. In June, President Carol McBride urged the public to learn more about Indigenous unique traditions, experiences, and culture, to build a foundation of shared knowledge and understanding as the country tackles the ongoing work of reconciliation.

Both statements were supported by NWAC's ‘’Our History, Our Voice, Our Future’’ campaign, calling First Nations, Inuit, Métis women, girls, Two-Spirit, transgender, and gender-diverse people to tell the world what Indigenous history meant to them and how it has made them strong and resilient in their daily lives. In June, NWAC engaged with its social media audience through a series of quizzes that tested the rich and diverse histories, cultures, and contributions of Indigenous Peoples to deepen public understanding of Indigenous history.

During the same month, we enabled our supporters to double their impact by donating to NWAC through our fundraising campaign, with every dollar donated matched up to $10,000 by Citron Hygiene, our campaign’s business partner. Promoted by both NWAC and Citron Hygiene, the campaign generated a total of 12,585 impressions, comments, likes, shares, and clicks.

To commemorate Pride Month, the Communications team developed captivating and compelling content to highlight the importance of identity and culture, as well as the existence and knowledge of Indigenous terminology related to gender diversity and 2SLGBTQQIA people. The promotion of “Intersections: The Pride Month” campaign generated a total of 86,684 impressions with 6,292 engagements on all posts.

On June 8, we promoted the launch of NWAC’s first culinary and intercultural indigenous experience, the “Ancestral Mexican Culinary Classes,” which kicked off a series of four culinary experiences featuring chefs Antonia Reyes and Modesta Ramírez Orozcoand. The event showcased the ancestral customs, ancient culture, and historical traditions of Mexica. Our live broadcast of all classes on June 15–16, on Facebook, generated a total of 28,389 impressions, engagements, and post clicks on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Press releases

• NWAC Issues Federal Government a Failing Grade for Continued Inaction on its MMIWG2S+ National Action Plan as a conclusion of a detailed analysis of the progress made by the federal government on the implementation of its national action plan. The analysis also assessed action taken by NWAC on our own action plan, Our Calls, Our Actions, which received a much higher score.
• NWAC pointes out a failing Canada’s UNDRIP Action Plan: Canada’s plan for implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) fails to affirm the role of Indigenous women as reconciliation leaders. NWAC said it failed short for gendered groups. The UNDRIP Action Plan promises a path toward reconciliation that would undo centuries of colonial harm but ignores the vital role of Indigenous Peoples in regaining their own power and place.
• NWAC, OAS, and the Trust for the Americas launched a new program to help train hundreds of Indigenous People for high-tech jobs. The program will provide hundreds of Indigenous People with the digital skills required for high-demand jobs in the tech industry. The Empowering Indigenous Peoples through Digital Skills Project, which was unveiled during the week of the OAS General Assembly in Washington, D.C., aims to enhance the livelihoods and opportunities of Indigenous People in communities across Québec, British Columbia, and Alberta.
• At the annual meeting of premiers, the Premiers Table listened intently as NWAC offered a unique perspective on issues facing Indigenous women, girls, Two-Spirit, transgender, and gender-diverse people. We also outlined the actions we are taking to improve Indigenous lives.
• NWAC demands immediate resumption of the search for women’s remains and that the federal, provincial, and municipal governments take steps to begin an immediate search of landfills near Winnipeg for the remains of Indigenous women victims of a serial killer. We demanded that searches commence immediately in both the Prairie Green and Brady Road landfills for the remains of Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran, and an unidentified woman who has been named Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe (Buffalo Woman). We also called on governments to stop shirking their responsibility and to get the job done.