Although the Wakamow Aboriginal Community Association (WACA) has made some changes in the past year, Lorie Deets, chair of the board, says she was hoping for more. 

It's been a year since WACA moved into an office space at 461 Athabasca St. E., sharing space with the Wandering Market, and Deets says taking the steps to move in was definitely in the right direction for the organization.

"Having a consistent spot has definitely been good for us," said Deets. "So we always know where we're meeting now, and it's not a question anymore. We used to move around a lot, so that has been really nice." 

However, Deets admitted that she was hoping to receive more funding for the organization this year. She says they've applied for national funding, but nothing has yet came back. 

"We were unfortunately unsuccessful. There is definitely more that we can apply for, but then we're stuck in that constant cycle of we don't actually have a person that's employed to do all that stuff; we're still strictly a volunteer organization."

Over the past year, WACA hosted Family Nights, a weekly get-together for families to share a meal, tell and hear stories. Deets said that it made a positive impact on those involved. 

"Oh so much benefit. The bonding... we were very close. We were able to share a lot. We did talking circles sometimes, and a lot of people talked about their struggles. The connection we built with one another, it was actually pretty powerful."

However, that has to change this year. Deets said a lack of funding means finding someone to run the event is no longer possible.  

"Again, lack of finding somebody employable. That is a large undertaking for anyone to take." 

Moving into the fall the WACA weekly event instead will be a drum circle at Riverview Collegiate on Monday nights beginning at 6 pm. Deets said they will also be introducing a new women's shawl beading class. 

"We have a wonderful group of core women that are working together and doing some teaching. So the women are going to actually learn how to make traditional shawls, which was traditional clothing that women danced in. Our women are quite excited about that." 

Deets said if the association received funding right now, she'd want to make a drop-in centre available for anyone in the Indigenous community of Moose Jaw to access. 

"You know, having a full-time centre open, like a drop-in center for our indigenous community to come out and visit, get to know them better. Coming out to these groups, the ones that are coming, we have built relationships. For new people to come in, that's hard for new people to do because of so many different things, from people having anxiety in large groups, or the anxiety of getting to know new people. It's hard for a lot of people to do that."