The NWRTC recently announced the launch of the city’s first ever Minaake awards (pronounced min-nah-kay), an award night that honours aboriginal women and youth making positive contributions to their community. Minaake is an Ojibwe meaning ‘people who are on the good path.’
The inaugural award ceremony is scheduled for April 10th, and will be held from 6-8 p.m. at the TD Bank Tower (66 Wellington Street West, 54th floor).
Awards will be presented in six categories--Leadership, Advocacy and Human Rights, The Good Path, LGBT/Two-Spirited, Challenger (Youth), and Culture Keeper.
According to Crystal Melin, executive director at NWRTC, the motivation behind the event was two-fold: to raise core funding for the center as well honouring women whose achievements are not often given the attention they deserve.
"Because we work with the most vulnerable women we wanted to make sure there was an achievement awards that recognize the women we work with everyday and the huge achievements they made in their lives, "says Melin.
"We wanted to make sure that or seniors or elders in the community there could be an award for them. Women who never finished grade 9 but have huge cultural knowledge could be nominated. We also wanted to recognize that LGBT/two-sprited women form a very important part of our programming and our community. We wanted to make sure that across the board all aboriginal women could be eligible."
NWRTC received almost 30 nominations for each of the 6 categories, and the winners were chosen by a diverse group of aboriginal women, men and youth active in the community.
In addition to honouring the girls and women who have made contributions to their communities, the event will also include traditional Aboriginal hors d'oeuvres, musical performances and a silent auction consisting of native arts and crafts.
"We didn't want it to be a stuffy awards that would be intimating," says Melin. "It's going to a fun event and a way for us to showcase our community."
The event will be hosted by Sandra Larond, founder of contemporary indigenous performance company
Red Sky, and director of
Indigenous Arts at the Banff Centre. Laronde will be joined onstage by a number of other accomplished aboriginal women. The scheduled presenters include Lee Maracle, the prolific first-nations writer and scholar, and Jessica Danforth, founder of the
Native Youth Sexual Health Network.
Located at 191 Gerrard Street East, NWRCT is registered charity that offers a meeting space for aboriginal women in the GTA while also supporting a wide-range of programming to support and celebrate aboriginal women and their children.
Tickets are $75 and can be purchased
online. All proceeds of the ticket sales support the NWRCT and its programs.
Writer: Katia Snukal
Source: NWRC