NWAC adopts Indigenous identity verification policy to protect opportunities for Indigenous peoples

By Chevi Rabbit, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter 

(ANNews) – The Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) has adopted a comprehensive Indigenous identity verification policy aimed at ensuring leadership positions, employment, contracts and funding intended for Indigenous peoples reach those they are designed to benefit.

Approved by NWAC’s Board of Directors in August 2026, the Indigenous Identification and Verification Policy establishes new requirements for verifying Indigenous identity, citizenship, community recognition and Indigenous business ownership across the organization.

The policy applies to NWAC’s board members, employees and contractors when Indigenous identity, ownership or control is a requirement or preference for a position, contract, benefit or public-facing role.

“Every opportunity diverted through a false claim of Indigenous identity is an opportunity taken from an Indigenous woman, an Indigenous business or a community working to overcome generations of exclusion,” said NWAC President Josie Nepinak. “Our responsibility is to protect those opportunities and the trust placed in NWAC. That accountability begins with our own leadership and extends throughout our organization.”

At the centre of the policy is the principle that Indigenous-specific opportunities must benefit Indigenous people, businesses and communities, while respecting the right of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples to determine their own citizenship and belonging.

Beyond self-identification

The policy addresses false or misleading claims of Indigenous identity, including claims based solely on distant ancestry without present-day Nation or community recognition, an established relationship or credible evidence of reconnection.

Under the new framework, self-identification alone may not be sufficient for positions, contracts and other significant opportunities reserved or prioritized for Indigenous people. Applicants may be asked to provide citizenship or membership documentation, Inuit beneficiary records, confirmation from a Nation or community, or evidence through an approved alternative verification pathway.

NWAC will apply enhanced scrutiny to positions involving significant authority or public representation, including board leadership, senior executives, public spokespeople and cultural authority roles.

The policy also introduces requirements for businesses seeking Indigenous procurement opportunities. Companies must demonstrate genuine Indigenous ownership and meaningful control over management, governance, profits and strategic decisions.

Nominee arrangements, front companies and token Indigenous ownership will not meet the policy’s standards.

“Indigenous identity is not something that can be established simply by purchasing a membership card, presenting a family story or putting an Indigenous name on a business,” said NWAC First Vice-President Edna Delorme.

“This policy requires credible evidence and real accountability. It also recognizes that colonial policies separated many Indigenous people from their families and Nations. Protecting our opportunities must include fair pathways for those working to reconnect.”

Recognizing the impacts of colonial displacement

While the policy establishes stronger verification requirements, it also recognizes that colonial policies and institutions have disrupted Indigenous families, communities and connections to ancestral Nations.

Adoption, the Sixties Scoop, residential schools, child welfare removals, gender discrimination and lost family records can make it difficult for some Indigenous people to obtain conventional documentation or establish their connections to their communities.

To address these circumstances, the policy provides alternative verification pathways for people whose histories have been shaped by these experiences.

It also rejects DNA testing, blood quantum and judgments based on physical appearance as substitutes for Indigenous identity.

The distinction is significant: the policy seeks to address misrepresentation without automatically excluding people whose connections to their Nations have been disrupted by colonial systems.

An inability to complete verification is not, by itself, evidence of dishonesty.

Accountability and due process

The policy establishes potential consequences for material misrepresentation, depending on the evidence and applicable requirements. These may include losing eligibility for Indigenous-specific opportunities, contract cancellation, repayment, employment discipline or disqualification from future opportunities.

At the same time, NWAC has included procedural safeguards intended to protect individuals during the verification process.

These include confidentiality, limits on the collection of personal information, notice of concerns, an opportunity to respond and appeal mechanisms for significant decisions.

The policy also recognizes that documentation can require further scrutiny when the authority of an issuing organization is uncertain or contested. NWAC may seek corroborating evidence and independent Indigenous governance or legal advice where necessary.

NWAC emphasizes that its role is to determine eligibility for its own opportunities, not to determine Nationhood or constitutional rights. The policy respects the authority of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nations and communities to establish their own citizenship, membership and belonging.

Protecting opportunities and Indigenous self-determination

The new policy places Indigenous identity verification within NWAC’s broader responsibilities for governance, employment, procurement and programming.

For Indigenous women, businesses and communities working to address longstanding barriers to economic participation and representation, access to opportunities remains an important issue. NWAC’s policy seeks to strengthen accountability over how those opportunities are distributed while recognizing the complex realities of Indigenous identity and colonial displacement.

The framework brings together two objectives: protecting Indigenous-specific opportunities from misrepresentation and ensuring that verification processes do not disregard the experiences of Indigenous people who have been separated from their families, communities and cultural connections.

NWAC says the policy will guide its internal practices wherever Indigenous identity, ownership or control determines access to opportunities.

The association advocates for the social, economic, cultural and political well-being of Indigenous women and girls in all their diversity.

Click here to read the Native Women’s Association of Canada, Indigenous Identification and Verification Policy, that was approved August 2026.