Inawendiwin
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Public overview · Manitoba

Inawendiwin Trust

Indigenous Stewardship Partner Program

Nation-authorized partnerships that turn recurring business contributions into transparent, locally directed stewardship.

  • Nation-authorized partnership
  • Recurring contributions
  • Public accountability

Inawendiwin Trust connects First Nations and aligned Manitoba businesses through place-based stewardship programs. Each participating Nation or authorized Indigenous body defines the relationship, protocols, priorities and public claims. Businesses commit to those terms, complete orientation, make a recurring contribution and renew annually. The Trust safeguards program funds, supports administration and publishes clear evidence of how contributions are used.

Founding pathway | Written authorization required | 4–5 businesses | Return to Nations | Businesses gain relationship

Awaiting first authorized program

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Purpose

Nation-led by design

First Nations carry enduring responsibilities for lands, waters, culture and community. Businesses often benefit from the same territories and local economies, yet practical pathways for ongoing contribution are limited. Inawendiwin creates a credible, repeatable mechanism for relationship, accountability and Nation-led action.

Programs begin only with written Indigenous authorization. The partner approves the program name, geographic or issue focus, protocol, contribution formula, eligible uses, participation criteria, public claims and annual reporting.

The program authority is a First Nation, tribal council, Indigenous-owned development corporation, Guardian program or other authorized Indigenous stewardship body.

Participating businesses and organizations may include tourism, hospitality, retail, transportation, construction, agriculture and food, resource suppliers, professional services and major employers.

How contributions work

  • 1% of defined participating revenue, or a customer-facing stewardship contribution; or
  • a fixed annual tier suited to smaller firms, professionals, suppliers and founding individuals.

Contributions are tracked separately by program. Contributors receive no units, ownership interest, repayment right or financial return.

What contributions support

Guardian and land-based work; water and habitat monitoring; restoration; cultural and ecological education; youth field training; community care; planning; local staffing; and other partner-approved priorities. A program may also acquire and retire verified environmental assets where that action directly supports its approved stewardship plan.

How the program works

Authorize. Steward. Report.

  1. 01

    Authorize

    An Indigenous partner approves the program, priorities, protocol and public claims.

  2. 02

    Design

    Workshops, market testing, budget, criteria, agreements and independent program identity.

  3. 03

    Join

    A business signs the protocol, completes orientation and selects an approved contribution method.

  4. 04

    Verify

    Participation and contributions are verified; time-limited recognition is issued.

  5. 05

    Steward

    Funds are safeguarded and released only to partner-approved priorities or authorized retirements.

  6. 06

    Report & renew

    Results are reported publicly and participation is renewed against the program requirements.

Public register

What the Trust holds

Each program maintains a current participant register and publishes a clear record of aggregate contributions, approved uses, administration and impact. Where verified environmental credits are retired, registry evidence is made public.

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First authorized program will appear here with the partner, protocol and public claims.

Use of funds

Contributions and approved uses

If a program retires verified environmental credits, the registry serial will appear here.

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Founding cohort

Who signed up

Founding businesses and individuals awaiting the first authorized program. Status is not certification until a partner protocol is met.

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What participating businesses receive

  • Time-limited participation status and an approved program mark
  • Onboarding, orientation and approved educational materials
  • Public participant listing and communications support
  • Ongoing liaison, relationship support and networking
  • Annual proof of contribution and program impact

What participation does not mean

  • Indigenous ownership or blanket endorsement
  • Consent, a social licence, or a universal sustainability rating
  • An offset or carbon-neutrality claim
  • Preferential access to land, permits or procurement
  • A substitute for consultation, accommodation, taxes or Nation decision-making

Program roles

Who does what

  • Indigenous partner

    Rights-holder and program authority. Approves the terms, priorities, representatives, eligible uses, expenditures, claims and public reporting.

  • Inawendiwin Trust

    Purpose-bound stewardship vehicle. Receives and segregates contributions, maintains records, authorizes disbursements under the agreement and publishes program accountability.

  • Program administrator

    Waaseyak administers the Trust under a written mandate: planning, outreach, onboarding, verification, liaison, communications, reporting and funding support, for a published administration fee.

  • Participating business

    Signs the protocol, contributes, completes orientation, uses the participation mark accurately, renews annually and does not overstate its status.

What Inawendiwin delivers

  1. 01Planning & visioning. Community and stakeholder workshops, feasibility, market assessment, stewardship priorities and capital planning.
  2. 02Program design. Nation-specific protocols, participation standards, contribution formula, agreements, program identity, claims and renewal rules.
  3. 03Business engagement. Founding cohort recruitment, onboarding, orientation, staff education, events and relationship building.
  4. 04Administration & liaison. Contribution tracking, verification, records, renewals, participant support and ongoing coordination with the Indigenous partner.
  5. 05Communications & public proof. Participant registry, approved messaging, media support, contribution summaries and annual impact reporting.
  6. 06Funding & project development. Funding strategies, grant applications and implementation support that build on predictable local contributions.

Financial integrity

Ring-fenced by design

Waaseyak administers the Trust under a written service agreement. Its fee is capped at 10% of stewardship contributions — enough to run records, liaison and reporting. At least 90% is ring-fenced for Nation-approved uses. The fee is disclosed before enrolment and reported annually on this register. Separate ledgers, contribution records and approval controls support traceability.

Startup governance includes a trustee or small trustee group, a partner-approved steering function, independent bookkeeping and written conflict, procurement, contribution, claims and disbursement policies. Contributors do not control Trust assets or Indigenous partner decisions.

A trust structure ring-fences contributions around a continuing stewardship purpose, separates protected program assets from ordinary operating revenue, and supports continuity and public accountability. Program services may be delivered directly or by an appointed administrator under contract.

How to verify

Founding pathway

  1. 01Secure written Indigenous partner authorization.
  2. 02Define the stewardship priority, protocol, budget and claims.
  3. 03Confirm a founding cohort of four or five aligned businesses.
  4. 04Receive the first verified contribution and fund an approved action.
  5. 05Publish the participant register and first impact record.

On this register

  1. 01Confirm a written Indigenous authorization exists for the named program.
  2. 02Match the participant register to the current period — status is time-limited.
  3. 03Check aggregate contributions, approved uses and administration on this register.
  4. 04If credits were retired, open the public registry record and match the serial. No serial, no retirement claim.

Certification confirms only that a participant met the named program’s protocol, contribution and reporting requirements for the stated period. It is not blanket proof that the business or every product is sustainable, Indigenous-owned, carbon neutral or compliant with every Indigenous law. Contributions do not purchase consent, satisfy consultation or accommodation, waive rights or replace regulatory and commercial obligations.

No outside raise. No tokens. No investment return. No offset-as-a-service pitch.

Join

Next founding cohort

Businesses: request a seat in the next founding cohort. Indigenous partners: inquire to authorize a program. This is a contribution and a relationship — not an investment.

First Nations and authorized Indigenous stewardship bodies seeking stable, locally generated stewardship revenue and program capacity; and Manitoba businesses seeking a credible, relationship-based and publicly verifiable way to contribute.

Create a profile to be ready for a Nation-authorized program. This does not make you a trustee or a beneficiary.

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