Native Women's Association of Canada Scholarships & Bursaries

Every year, NWAC hands out scholarships and bursaries to young Indigenous women, Two-Spirit, or gender-diverse students.

Michael Melancon-Koffend Awards 13 awards valued at $1000 each
The Michael Melancon-Koffend Awards are coordinated by NWAC’s Business, Employment and Social Development (BESD) Unit. Indigenous youth manage the selection process. The annual Michael Melancon-Koffend Award will go to 13 young Indigenous women, Two-Spirit, or gender-diverse students from each province and territory. Each award winner will receive $1,000 to pursue their post-secondary studies.

Nellie Makokis Carlson Commemorative Student Award 3 awards valued at $1000 each
The Nellie Makokis Carlson Commemorative Student Award honours indigenous activist Nellie Makois Carlson and all she has done for Indigenous rights. We celebrate her memory by awarding three hard-working mothers and/or primary caregivers who are working towards making a better future for their children.

Helen Bassett Commemorative Award 4 awards valued at $1000 each
Every year, NWAC hands out the Helen Bassett Commemorative Award to four young Indigenous women, Two-Spirit, or gender-diverse students in the amount of $1,000 each. The awards are made possible by the generous donation of Helen Bassett, an Ontario artist and passionate advocate for the advancement of Indigenous women and for fair solutions to Indigenous land claim issues. She directed open letters to Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau and his cabinet in 1980 and again in 1983, proposing that a tax be levied on all land transactions in Canada, with a royalty paid to Indigenous people. She outlined her ideas in Native Rights. In her selflessness, she specified NWAC as one of the beneficiaries of her estate. This has helped to sustain our post-secondary student awards program to this day.