Grants and Contributions

Ganohkwasra Family Assault Support Services "Love Starts With Us" project will continue to work directly with the Six Nations missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls' families from the Grand River Territory. The project will allow for one-on-one emotional, mental and spiritual support through the facilitation of healing circles and individual and group counselling sessions. The project will also assist in the Calls to Justice outcomes from the MMIWG National Inquiry Report, foster MMIWG community education and awareness and complete specialized MMIWG projects including supporting MMIWG families to work in partnership with the Six Nations Police.

The project will provide culturally appropriate resources and therapeutic approaches to restore a sense of justice, balance and well being for families of missing and murdered Indigenous women. The program will utilize the teachings of Courage, Care Giver, Protector and Medicine Spirit to enable families of missing and murdered Indigenous women to heal from complicated grief and trauma within a culturally safe and friendly environment. Participants learn alternative ways of coping with their feelings around the loss of their loved one(s). All interventions are participant-focused, and participants will self-determine the preferred healing modality.

The Kativiik Program will reach out to Inuit family members directly affected by the experience of losing a loved one who is either missing or has been murdered. A trained and qualified Inuit outreach worker will provide culturally responsive, community-based, Inuit-specific, trauma-informed counselling. The outreach worker trained and practicing Inuit traditional culture will work directly with the Inuit community and other allied health and social service agencies who provide services to Inuit. The outreach worker will provide a combination of approaches and culturally relevant practices and traditional methods of support and guidance.

The Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal (NWSM) project responds to the immediate need for assistance expressed by families and loved ones in the cases where an Indigenous woman or girl (trans, two -spirit) goes missing. NWSM’s aim is reducing and ultimately eradicating the number of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (trans, two-spirit) of Quebec and to offer support and ensure adequate, anti-racist response from institutions when someone goes missing, and to reduce barriers in accessing supports. The project goals include: ensuring police file a report and do a proper investigation; ensuring that police adopt best practices in responding to this crisis; assisting families, friends when an Indigenous woman or girl (trans, two-spirit) goes missing and that they have the emotional support during this very difficult time; implementing prevention strategies within a harm reduction model with the community and community partners; developing a welcome kit for Indigenous women and girls (trans, two-spirit) when they are new to the city of Montreal; and, providing a 1-800 number so that anyone can offer tips on MMIW or request help.

The Ontario Native Women’s Association’s overall goal of this program is to support families and loved ones of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls (MMIWG). The program will continue to honour the memory of MMIWG through ceremony and other cultural activities, which is essential to family healing. The program will provide information, coordination, counselling and ceremonial supports to families of Indigenous women, girls and 2S people who have been murdered or gone missing. This program will leverage the expertise of Indigenous women, lessons learned through its existing work and mobilize it to drive forward the following objectives: provide MMIWG prevention education and training to service providers and communities; connect families to cultural support services in their communities; provide families and communities with the opportunity to honour their loved ones through ceremony; maintain an ongoing list that can be shared with communities of trauma-informed counseling and supports, including traditional ceremony services; and, provincial coordination and information sharing to multiple stakeholders.

Through their project, the Pacific Association of First Nations Women will provide: culturally responsive trauma informed community-based services for families of missing and murdered Indigenous people (MMIP), in the greater Vancouver area; counselling, traditional healing practices and ceremonies led by Indigenous therapists, traditional healers and wisdom keepers; services to the families that will include cultural teachings and informational workshop sessions, family gatherings, healing circles, and support groups; and, development of trust and safety between families of the MMIP and local services through community workshops.

The Regina Treaty / Status Indian Services Inc. (RT/SIS) will provide culturally relevant and responsive indigenous cultural healing interventions to assist families of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. This cultural wellness and healing model will be utilized across all support partners including the primary care model of the All Nations Healing Hospital, addictions and mental health counselling at RTSIS, Leading Thunderbird Lodge and White Raven Healing Centre, and in its two women’s shelters. Cultural resources will be offered through the Strategy including access to Elders and Knowledge Keepers, including in the context of both regular counselling and Ceremony. RTSIS already has well established programs that offer weekly group wellness sessions offering a cultural component as well as access to individual services including spiritual counselling. RT/SIS will continue to provide wrap around services to clients that includes an emphasis on addressing the immediate stabilization needs of families of MMIWG through intensive case management and stabilization supports.

VACPC will provide training in cultural land-based tools designed to aid survivors of direct and complex inter-generational trauma, specifically the families of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGTBQI+ people. The VACPC staff is adeptly trained to support this efficacious healing method rooted in traditional Indigenous practices. Community members will acquire valuable insights, experiences, and skills, enabling a nuanced understanding of diverse trauma types and levels, along with their pervasive effects. Participants will be equipped to recognize and respond innovatively to mitigate negative consequences, obtaining tools for self-healing and family support, and enhancing responsiveness to triggering situations. The program's activities will encompass teaching and practice sessions conducted within a traditional circle.

The Yukon Aboriginal Women’s Council’s (YAWC) MMIWG2S+ Family Supports Expansion project is a strategic augmentation to YAWC’s MMIWG Outreach Program, which provides connections, services, and support for families and survivors of MMIWG2S+. This expansion project represents a significant commitment to improving the well-being and resiliency of community members affected by the crimes perpetrated against MMIWG2S+. Central to the project is the establishment of a dynamic and accessible drop-in space. This dedicated space will serve as a hub for a diverse range of activities and discussions aimed at fostering holistic healing and empowerment among participants. The multifaceted program will encompass participatory sharing circles, cultural activities such as beading, workshops on mental health and overall well-being, etc. The dynamic nature of the sessions will allow for flexibility that evolves to the needs and preferences of the community.

Canada's Fisheries Fund will transform and drive innovation in the fish and seafood sector in Canada with a focus on developing the sector to better meet growing market demands for sustainably sourced, high-quality fish and seafood products.