We are an Indigenous social purpose enterprise on a mission to fuel social impact through human-centred design, innovation, and Indigenous-led research.
What Was the Okwaho Network?
The Okwaho Network was a project of Okwaho Equal Source. The Okwaho Network was first launched in November 2014. As an Indigenous-inspired online social network, it connected Canada’s First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people to the greater global Indigenous community. As of 2021, the Okwaho Network had Indigenous and non-Indigenous members from Canada, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. The Okwaho Network was proudly created by Indigenous peoples, for Indigenous peoples. The Okwaho Network was permanently shut down on September 7, 2021 (see notice below for more details).
Notice – Okwaho Network Shutdown (September 7, 2021)
After almost 7 years, we have decided to permanently shut down the Okwaho Network. Since our inaugural launch in 2014, our company, Okwaho Equal Source, has evolved, and we have moved in a different direction. What started as an Indigenous communications and social networking company, is now an Indigenous consultancy and design thinking firm.
In the past few years, our company has been part of national Indigenous projects, including the modernization of Indigenous procurement (research and design thinking facilitation), and the development of a national Indigenous climate change platform (https://indigenousclimatehub.ca). We are also leading and facilitating the Kwe-Biz program for Indigenous women entrepreneurs (https://kwebiz.ca), in partnership with WE-CAN (Queen’s University). We regularly assist First Nations communities with community-building initiatives, and we are regularly called upon as guest speakers, consultants, advisors, and facilitators with the public and academic sectors. We are proud of the projects that we have worked on as they have all had positive social impacts for Indigenous peoples regionally and nationally.
We would like to thank our members, supporters, and advocates of the former Okwaho Network. Your support means the world to us, and we hope you will stay connected through our Okwaho Equal Source website and social media channels. We look forward to continuing our current programs and initiatives and are excited to see what other initiatives and projects will unfold in the coming years. Chi Miigwech and Nia:wen for being with us on this exciting journey.