Last year, we announced the launch of our new giving-focused program, the Knix Fund. Inspired by our desire to be the change we want to see in the world, we built a community that supports initiatives in the realm of period equity.
Among the recipients of a Knix Fund grant is Moon Time Sisters, a flagship project of True North Aid and organization supporting Northern menstruators.
As the only Indigenous-led period equity group in Canada, Moon Time Sisters — soon to be Moon Time Connections — takes a decolonized and menstruator-centered approach to addressing the unique challenges facing Northern and remote communities by providing cost-prohibitive period products to those in need completely free-of-cost.
Most recently, we had the pleasure of sitting down with organization founder, Nicole White, to chat everything from gender equity to Indigenous wisdom.
Can you tell me more about Moon Time Sisters, your mission, and what inspired you to found the organization?
We've been around since January, 2017 and that was as a result of reading a story about menstruators in Northern Saskatchewan missing school because they didn't have access to menstrual products.
When you read stories about the North, there’s a deficit lens to it and I didn’t want to add to that. I started calling my community across Saskatchewan. What started off as a small one-off project has manifested into a national organization, which I’m so proud of.
We’re one of the only Indigenous-led menstrual equity groups in Canada. Part of our mission that is quite unique is that we provide the full spectrum of products. I’m just thrilled to have Knix on board in such a meaningful, powerful way and to be able to provide a reusable product.
I feel like a central part of menstrual equity is empowering people to make whatever choice works best for their body or circumstances. What are some of the unique period-related challenges facing Indigenous and Northern communities?
I’ll lay out a few things that we hear often from our communities. Access to clean water is a major issue and a number of communities have been under water advisories for, sometimes, their whole lifetime depending on where they live.
So having that full spectrum [of products] is really important. I know sometimes donors reach out and say, “you know what these girls really need,” and there’s this kind of paternalistic nature to it. So we have focused on hearing the needs of the community and have really strived to meet those needs.
During the pandemic there were tampon shortages we had to navigate. We had major issues with transport to Northern communities because a number of airlines were no longer running North during the pandemic. So, we’ve strived to pivot when we can and focus on different ways to get product North.
I guess the other piece when it comes to Northern and remote communities, we frequently hear about food costs being three, four, or five times what we pay in Southern communities. That [applies to] period products, too.
I talked to one mom, she picked up some pads at their shelter and said, “you know, my girls and I have never actually had [period] products before.” They only ever used socks. The idea that we are giving [period products] is a simple and powerful way to provide people dignity.
There may be different challenges they’re navigating every single day, and if one thing they don’t have to worry about is a period product, I’m very proud to be a part of offering that to them.
Do you see period equity and gender equality as going hand in hand?
It’s deeply interwoven. When we talk about body autonomy and somebody’s personal journey around menstruation, it’s all interconnected with gender equity. I think you actually hit the nail on the head because when somebody is missing school, that reduces their ability to graduate and their ability to get a great job down the road.
There’s all sorts of things connected to deep isolation that I think all of us have navigated these last few years. We have just finished up a study — for the first time ever — on menstrual equity [that involves] hearing the voices of Northern menstruators in Canada.
I’m really excited to showcase some of the things Northern menstruators are navigating. I think we need to have a deeper conversation around menstruation and how it impacts our quality of life every single day. I think I'm passionate about talking about it and de-stigmatizing menstruation anytime we can.
What do we stand to gain from integrating Indigenous wisdom into discourse surrounding period equity?
As an organization, we’ve really tried to look at the call to action and try to incorporate our mission statement into a medicine wheel of support. I do have Elders I access and ask questions to. We don’t have a formal [elder] connected to our organization yet, but hopefully that will come in the future.
Really honoring people’s journey — I think that is at our core. Because of the personal nature of menstruation, we prioritize body autonomy in asking communities, “what do you need?” Saying “this is the only product we’re going to send to you because we know best,” that’s paternalistic and colonial in nature.
We really strive to work for community and with community. If you check out our social media, I think we’ve really strived to create a bridge to provide education to settlers and provide education in a meaningful way that connects menstrual equity and Indigenous ways of knowing.
One of the things we’re working on internally is looking at a rebrand and renaming. I worked closely with a group of two-spirit Elders and down the road, within the next year, we’ll be changing our organizational name to Moon Time Connections to honor our two-spirit and trans menstruators.
It’s been a really intentional journey and we have been doing some deeper work to decolonize our organization. I live, I learn, and we always strive to do better.
With "Moon Time" in mind, I’d love to know more about Indigenous wisdom surrounding the connection between menstruation and the natural environment — which is often obscured in colonized discourse around periods.
A lot of Indigenous cultures have rights of passage ceremonies — moon time — that honor the coming of age. When you first start to menstruate, there’s a ceremony that occurs where everyone in your life surrounds you with a circle of support and helps you transition to this next phase of life.
I think it’s a really beautiful way to honor that rite of passage and honor the fact that we are supporting young menstruators, increasing educational outcomes, and helping them continue to be connected to community and support while they’re navigating menstruation.