For the last two and a half years, Kaija Longcrow has spent Wednesday afternoons with her baby, Sunflower, and a group of other mothers, making crafts, learning Native wisdom and practices, and “breaking generational cycles of dysfunction and trauma,” she said.
She didn’t grow up practising or even knowing much about Dakota traditions. But she’s learning now. She has made moccasins, rattles, medicine bags of animal leather that contain sacred items of spiritual significance, and ribbon skirts for herself and Sunflower, who turns 3 in August.
“I’m trying to do as much self work as I possibly can, so it’s as watered down as possible for her [Sunflower], and for the next generations too,” Longcrow said. “I’m just trying to be a good relative in that way, and have the intention of not harming people, just changing the cycle of dysfunction and trauma.”
The Women of Traditional Birthing group, housed at the Division of Indian Work (DIW) in south Minneapolis, has been a healing space for Native mothers like Longcrow for over a decade. At the weekly meet-ups, which last year drew as many as 53, first-time mothers get to learn from more experienced peers and in turn share wisdom with expectant moms. For many of those who attend, this is the only time to get out of their homes with their babies, socialize, learn and be in community.
Bringing up a child takes a village. Because these moms get together every week, said program supervisor Sierra Villebrun, “they become really good friends, and they are essentially becoming that village for one another.”
The group meets every Wednesday for an hour and a half. From nutritional support to breastfeeding guidance, making crafts for their kids, to learning about Native American ceremonies and traditions, every activity is rooted in Native American culture, traditions and wisdom.
For example, crafts are seen not just as individual expressions of creativity but also as a vital rite of passage that connects children to their ancestors, instills a sense of community and belonging, and teaches cultural skills.
Villebrun said she hopes the group will not only create a support system for the mothers but also put “tools in their toolbox to feel confident in motherhood.”
Systemic inequities
A recent report from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) also found that maternal mortality among Native American women is 12 times higher than the overall statewide rate. Researchers, health care workers and community members say the statistic reflects the ongoing impact of trauma, a lack of access to care and other systemic inequities.
Sahan Journal reported in early May that the majority of Minnesota’s pregnancy-related deaths occur postpartum and stem from mental health factors. Oftentimes women stop using substances when they are pregnant to protect the health of their baby, but then return to substance use after the baby’s birth.
“When someone returns to use postpartum, that’s a really, really dangerous time … That return to use is often related to coping or to manage mental health symptoms,” said Rachael McGraw, a women’s health consultant with the Minnesota Department of Health who worked on the MDH report.
Since the beginning of the 20th century, Native mothers were wrested away from the community and traditional birth practices due to forced assimilation policies by the federal government, and home births were discouraged on reservations. The changes meant that they were pressured to give birth in hospitals.
This group is trying to fix an aspect of this disparity. “We bring in people from our community, so you’re being taught by people that look like you, that have the same shared experiences as you, because they come from the same community as you,” Villebrun said.
The program is funded by a Community Solutions Grant from the Minnesota Department of Health.
‘Something to look forward to’
After having her baby, Longcrow said, she struggled with postpartum depression. Her immediate family was in active addiction and she didn’t want to be around people who weren’t sober, and she was shuttling between her mother-in-law’s and her sister-in-law’s houses.
She found support at the Women of Traditional Birthing Group. Her cousin, who was attending a different program at DIW, suggested she join the group.
At a recent meeting, there were big glass jars, strawberries and tea sachets laid out. June is the strawberry moon month in Ojibwe, Dakota, Lakota and Algonquian calendars, and the mothers were learning how to make strawberry tea and little strawberry-themed trinkets.
The room, littered with toys, Lego blocks and play tunnels, reverberated with children’s laughter.
Longcrow was making little strawberries out of felt with medicine put inside. Crafting is important to her, and every Wednesday at DIW, she gets to be the artist she’s always been, not just a mother.
“I felt like I could express myself in ways that I forgot … all my thoughts and intentions went towards raising my baby now, so the room for me was kind of just gone,” Longcrow said.
Another attendee, Amber Foss, 29, remembers when she had her first son 10 years ago, She felt isolated and was struggling with postpartum depression. “I didn’t have people to do stuff with, or talk to, or have anything to look forward to,” she said. “[I] didn’t get to express creativity, and I feel like in this group it’s been a lot more options to be creative.”
Foss comes weekly with her second baby, 11-month-old Ameleo. She’s made him a rattle which he loves. She has done beadwork and made a spirit doll, things she said she didn’t know to do for her first son.
Finding sisterhood
Different tribes have their own traditions, customs, and practices and Villebrun, who is Ojibwe, tries to incorporate that diversity in the group’s activities. She has had Dakota, Lakota, Blackfeet and Seneca elders come to share their knowledge.
For Foss, the group has become one big sisterhood.
“I know we’re not related by blood, but it still feels like we’re like a big family, you know, whether we’re from different tribes or not,” she said. “It still feels like we’re growing up with the same things we want for our kids.”
