Court of Canada supported the Federal Court and NWAC was excluded from the negotiations. In 2004, the Women's Court of Canada, a group of feminist / equality 'Charter' activists, lawyers, and academics, reconsidered the case of Native Women's Association of Canada v Canada. The WCC remembered that Aboriginal women were historically equal in decisions. They also reproached the "patriarchal structure and discrimination" (reference: The Court) of the Canadian law. The Women's Court of Canada maintained that the federal government failed to include Aboriginal women in constitutional decisions, or at least Aboriginal women's interests. Because of this failure, the WCC announced that the federal government violated Aboriginal women's rights. Past presidents Bertha Clark-Jones served as the organization's first president, in 1974. In 2004 Beverley Jacobs was elected president. During her tenure she was best known for launching the Sisters in Spirit Campaign to raise awareness about the high number of missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada. She was re-elected in 2006. Jacobs chose not to run in the 2009 election. Her own niece/cousin had been murdered in early 2008. In September 2009 Jeannette Corbiere Lavell was elected for a three-year period. As an activist for Indigenous people, she wants the recognition of the Aboriginal history, traditions and culture. In August 2012, Michèle Audette was elected for a three-year period. Being half-Native herself by her mother, Michèle Audette felt very soon concerned about Native women's rights. She is an activist for Native women's rights, especially engaged in violence against Indigenous women and poverty in Indigenous communities. In July 2015, Dawn Lavell-Harvard was elected for a three-year period in NWAC's former board of directors, was elected in Montreal, Québec. She decided to resign in September 2016 for family reasons. With a PhD in education, she has been advocating for Indigenous women in Canada since 1994. Before working at NWAC, she worked as president for the Ontario Native Women's Association (ONWA) for eleven years. Francyne Joe was elected in September 2016 for a three-year period. As former president of BC Native Women’s Association, she accessed funding for education and career development, advocated with families for a National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, and fostered partnerships with BC Aboriginal agencies to address issues pertaining to Indigenous peoples, their families, and their communities. Lorraine Whitman was elected president in September 2019. Prior to her presidency at NWAC, Lorraine was elected president