The Minaake Awards: Celebrating Toronto’s Aboriginal Women & Youth

The Minaake Awards is an annual event that celebrates local Aboriginal women and youth who have made positive changes in their lives, made significant contributions to their communities, and continue to be an inspiration to others. In Ojibwe, “Minaake” (pronounced min-nah-kay) means people who are on the good path.

How To Participate In The Minaake Awards

• Donate to the silent auction (download file)
• Sponsor the event (download file)
• Volunteer

– Contact Hanna Gibot (volunteer@nwrct.ca) for more info.

• Nominate an Aboriginal woman or youth living in the GTA

(download file)

These awards were founded in 2013 by the Native Women’s Resource Centre of Toronto to recognize the incredible achievements of the women in the Greater Toronto Aboriginal community.

The NWRCT is a registered charity that offers life-enhancing resources, cultural ceremonies and teachings, skill development, and programs to build capacity and celebrate Aboriginal culture. All funds raised from the silent auction directly support future NWRCT programming.

Award Categories

• Leadership Award: Recognizes a woman who has shown leadership and has contributed to positive changes for others in her workplace and/or her community.
• Advocacy and Human Rights Award: Recognizes a woman who works to positively improve the rights, freedoms, and liberties of others.
• The Good Path Award: Recognizes a woman who is walking a good path by setting and achieving goals and by fostering positive changes in her own life and/or the lives of others.
• LGBTQ2S/Two-Spirited Award: Recognizes a woman who is making positive changes in the LGBTQ and Two-Spirited community. This person does not need to identify as LGBTQ2S but can be an ally.
• Challenger Award: Recognizes a youth aged 15 to 24 years old who has overcome hardships, demonstrated leadership, and acted as a positive role model in her community.
• Culture Keeper: Recognizes a woman who is keeping her culture and the stories of Aboriginal people alive.

Eligibility

To be considered for an award the nominee must be:
• An Aboriginal woman living in the Greater Toronto Area
• Adult nominees should be 18 years old or older
• Youth nominees should be between the ages of 15 and 24 years old
• ALL WOMEN ARE ENCOURAGED TO APPLY (LGBT2S: lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and two-spirited individuals are welcome)

Minaake Awards Archives

• Minaake Awards 2015
• Minaake Awards 2014
• Minaake Awards 2013

Silent Auction Information

If you are an artist, a healer, a performer, or represent a company that wishes to donate to the Minaake Awards Silent Auction, please complete this form and submit it to the Minaake Awards Committee at volunteer@nwrct.ca.

Prior donations have included: paintings, beadwork, Hot Docs festival passes, TIFF festival passes, dream catchers, jewelry, Kobo readers, handmade bags, theatre and performance art tickets, bath and body care products, sculptures, and more. The sky is the limit!

Thanks to all of our 2015 Silent Auction donors: Deanna Dolson, Guess, Harry Wilmot, Hot Docs, Jumblies, Mary Fox, Mike Ormsby, Mountain Equipment Co-op, Native Earth Performing Arts, Origin of Life, Paige Rice Photography, Steve Teekens, Rosary Spence, and ToCA Community Acupuncture.

Minaake Awards Press Coverage

Interested in covering the 2016 Minaake Awards? Contact us.

• 2015 Press Release: 3rd Annual Minaake Awards celebrate six Aboriginal women in Toronto who are “walking the good path” Download File
• 3rd Annual Minaake Awards: Walking a Good Path, Muskrat Magazine. April 20, 2015.
• Minaake Awards: Aboriginal Women & Youth, Toronto Star. April 18, 2015.
• Congratulations to Monica McKay – 2015 Minaake Awards Recipient for ‘Advocacy and Human Rights’!, Nisga’a Lisims Government. n.d.
• Helicopter changed Ocean Bell’s life, Anishinabek News. April 14, 2014.
• The Minaake Awards, Accessible Media Inc. April 28, 2014.
  (Note: the interviews regarding the Minaake Awards begin at 16 minute mark)
• Minaake: walking a GOOD PATH, City Treaty. March 30, 2014.
• Still a speaker after 60 years in city, Anishinabek News. April 25, 2014.
• Tera Beaulieu is an example of a true Métis leader, Métis Nation of Ontario. April, 2014.
• Community Leadership, Ryerson Today. April 19, 2013.
• Four Things We Learned at the Minaake Awards, The Grid. April 17, 2013.
• Interview with Crystal Melin, Executive Director of the Native Women’s Resource Centre, Nation Talk. March 22, 2013.
• Interview with Minaake Award winner Katherine Hensel, CBC Metro Morning with Matt Galloway. April 10, 2013.
• Katherine Hensel Wins a Minaake Award, Precedent online magazine. April 4, 2013.
• Minaake Awards, SNAP Toronto. May 2, 2013.
• Minaake Awards in Toronto, Urban Native Girl blog. April 17, 2013.
• Toronto’s First Aboriginal Women and Youth Awards, Woodlawn Post. March 13,