Women's Issues

American Indian and Alaska Native women are the life givers, the culture bearers, and the caretakers of Native peoples, and their interests must be protected at both the tribal and the national level. 

Through its recently established Women’s Caucus, NCAI has provided Native women with a national platform from which their voices can be heard. 

Each Native woman’s journey is a revealing story of strength, courage, and wisdom. For generations, our grandmothers, mothers, sisters, and daughters have played a major role in maintaining our culture, protecting our families, and supporting our governments. Their guidance sustains and equips future generations with the knowledge, support, and resources necessary to achieve success in their personal and professional lives. The NCAI Native Women’s Caucus works to support the interests of women throughout Indian Country, and advocates on their behalf regarding issues that have a significant impact on tribal communities, such as welfare, economic, education, and health issues.

One cannot truly understand Native America without understanding the historical, political, and cultural role that Native women have played and continue to play within Indian Nations. They are healers, warriors, life givers, protectors, lawmakers, leaders, artists that are invaluable contributions to tribal nations. Because women are such an integral part of tribal society, and because they know best the daily struggles, family responsibilities, and political challenges experienced by Native women, it is critical that they have a seat at the table when national policy that impacts them is being developed. 

The NCAI Native Women’s Caucus is dedicated exclusively to protecting the interests of Native women and increasing their participation in both the public and private spheres. Despite the progress that we have made as a nation in recent decades, certain inequalities persist, especially for minority women. Native women face barriers in the workplace, epidemic rates of domestic violence and sexual assault, and difficulty in trying to maintain the appropriate work-family balance. The Native Women’s Caucus has made these issues a priority and will continue to weigh in on matters that impact the lives and families of Native women across the United States.