Last weekend I had the pleasure of photographing ONWA’s 47th Annual General Assembly at the Chelsea Hotel in Toronto, Ontario. On Friday, the first day of the event, The Talk4Healing launch took place in the afternoon. ONWA and Beendigen announced the expansion of its 24/7 helpline for indigenous women. Initially just serving Norther Ontario, Talk4Healing expanded to the rest of Ontario. If you like to read a great article on the subject head on over to the CBC website here.

The evening saw the Annual General Assembly being with the Opening Ceremony with “Passwewe Ikewug” - Echo Women, Sisters in Song Women’s Drum Group & Grassy Narrow’s Women’s Drum. Afterwards ONWA held an election.

The Saturday and Sunday saw a variety of different sessions take place. From Inspiring Change Through Leadership to different speeches on Trauma and Sexual Violence, there was plethora of support and information passed along to all attendees.

The Sunday session ended with an exercise where attendees were encouraged to honour their sacredness through art. The resulting creations were all so well done. It was amazing to see so much creativity and passion.

Have a look at the photos below to see some of the highlights from the event!