Assignment task:
The purpose of this discussion is to explore how the government viewed birthing as a way to assimilate and civilize First Nations peoples and how Aboriginal midwives and communities are now attempting to reclaim birth as part of healing and self-determination.
Background:
Although midwifery was an integral part of traditional Indigenous cultures, as Lawford and Giles (2012) explain, the introduction of the Euro-Canadian biomedical model approach to First Nations' pregnancy and childbirth undermined, marginalized, and made irrelevant the Indigenous knowledge, practices, and practitioners that sustained their existence for hundreds of years. The federal government successfully shifted from a policy that supported home and community birthing to the current blanket evacuation of all pregnant Indigenous women for birthing in hospital. Women are flown south at 36 weeks' gestation or earlier, spending weeks and sometimes months away from home. Canada's existing evacuation policy for pregnant Indigenous women living in rural and remote locations is the realization of the federal government's intention to alter Indigenous practices in pregnancy and labour. Through the appropriation and relocation of First Nations' pregnancy and birthing practices, the Canadian government infiltrated Indigenous ways of knowing and well-being and replaced them with a knowledge base grounded in the Euro-Canadian biomedical model, thus promoting colonial goals of civilization and assimilation for Indigenous peoples.
Instructions:
After watching the online videos, Aboriginal Midwifery (Isuma 6:01) and Return of Birth (Isuma 7:21), and reading the article "Marginalization and Coercion: Canada's Evacuation Policy for Pregnant First Nations Women who Live on Reserves in Rural and Remote Regions" (Lawford and Giles 2012), please consider some of the following questions and post your response to this discussion forum.
As discussed in the article (pp . 331-334), how did the federal government view birthing as an influential way to assimilate and civilize First Nations into the colonial world?
How do biomedical and Aboriginal views of birth differ?
How may Aboriginal birth at home be seen as healing? How may it be seen as self-determination?
What stood out the most for you in the videos and the assigned reading?