The Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC; [AFAC]) is a national Indigenous organization representing the political voice of Indigenous women, girls, and gender-diverse people in Canada, inclusive of First Nations on and off reserve, status and non-status, disenfranchised, Métis, and Inuit. An aggregate of Indigenous women's organizations from across the country, NWAC was founded on the collective goal to enhance, promote, and foster the social, economic, cultural and political well-being of Indigenous women within their respective communities and Canadian societies.
Since 1974, NWAC has established governance structures, decision-making processes, financial policies and procedures, and networks. NWAC engages in national and international advocacy aimed at legislative and policy reforms that promote equality for Indigenous women, girls, Two-Spirit, and gender-diverse people, including LGBTQ+ people. Through advocacy, policy, and legislative analysis, NWAC works to preserve Indigenous culture and advance the well-being of all Indigenous women, girls, and gender-diverse people, as well as their families and communities.
NWAC works on a variety of issues such as employment, labour and business, health, violence prevention and safety, justice and human rights, environment, early learning childcare and international affairs.
History
NWAC was founded in 1974 as an aggregate of 13 Aboriginal women's groups from coast to coast, with the goals of preserving Aboriginal culture, achieving equal opportunity for Aboriginal women, and having a role in shaping legislation relevant to Aboriginal women. NWAC is led by a president and board of directors, who cooperate and exchange information with local organizations.
Meanwhile, the board studies the actions of the president and its provincial/territorial member associations and makes recommendations.
In 1992, when the Charlottetown Accord was being negotiated, the federal government included four Aboriginal groups in negotiations and gave them money. NWAC, which was not included, alleged the four groups primarily represented Aboriginal men and launched a court challenge for representation, claiming to have been denied rights to freedom of expression under section 2 and sexual equality under section 28 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
This claim is known as the case of Native Women's Association of Canada v Canada. It took place in 1994. NWAC reproached the federal government for not promoting gender equality. By being excluded from the Charlottetown Accord, NWAC has hence been excluded from constitutional negotiations. It maintained that the Aboriginal right to self-governance was not only the choice of the Aboriginal men but also the choice of Aboriginal women. Eventually, the Supreme Court of Canada supported the Federal Court and NWAC was excluded from the negotiations.
In 2004, the Women's Court of Canada, a group of feminist / equality 'Charter' activists, lawyers, and academics, reconsidered the case of Native Women's Association of Canada v Canada. The WCC remembered that Aboriginal women were historically equal in decisions. They also reproached the "patriarchal structure and discrimination" (reference: The Court) of the Canadian law. The Women's Court of Canada maintained that the federal government failed to include Aboriginal women in constitutional decisions, or at least Aboriginal women's interests. Because of this failure, the WCC announced that the federal government violated Aboriginal women's rights.