Do Dis Seem Way Win: Traditional Birth Knowledge and Experiences in the Shibogama First Nations

(January 2020 – Present)

Traditional midwives have been providing care to Indigenous women and their families long before the arrival of European settlers. These practices were taken from Indigenous communities as a result of colonization and the illegitimization of traditional midwifery practices in Indigenous communities by the Canadian health care system and led to the Federal policy of birth evacuations. In effort to return traditional birth knowledge and practices back to the communities and improve maternal and infant care, this project will document traditional midwifery practices and experiences necessary for culturally important knowledge to be retained and applied to pregnancy, birthing, and postpartum care within the Shibogama First Nations. Practices the communities deem appropriate to share may be used to develop prenatal education modules appropriate for Anishinabe parents and educate providers outside the community on culturally appropriate obstetrical care for Anishinabe women evacuated for birth.