Ontario Native Women's Association

The Ontario Native Women's Association (ONWA) is a non-profit Indigenous women's agency founded in 1971 by a group of Indigenous women around a kitchen table in Thunder Bay. It is the oldest and largest Indigenous women's agency in Canada. Its work spans research, policy development, advocacy and culturally grounded programme delivery, with a mission centred on the safety, healing and leadership of Indigenous women and girls.

ONWA delivers programming and direct services at 26 sites across Ontario, focused on the safety and healing of Indigenous women and girls and on supporting leadership roles in families and communities. In 2023-2024 the organisation provided over 186,000 direct services and reached 372,700 community members. It represents more than 35 Indigenous women's organizations and groups across Ontario and employs over 200 people.

Alongside service delivery, ONWA conducts research and develops policy to drive systemic change, amplifying Indigenous women's voices at provincial, national and international levels, including recognition at the United Nations. Governance is women-led and Indigenous-led, and the organisation retains the grassroots orientation of its origins while uniting isolated Indigenous women's organizations for collective change.