Changing Woman Initiative Newsletter
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Ensuring access to decolonized , Indigenously centered, healthy , tradition childbirth options for Native American Women
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Cultural Advisory Council
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As a Native American women’s-lead organization, we respect traditional teachings, values, and perspectives that are the core to health and wellness in our communities. It is for this reason we have created a Cultural Advisory Council.
Over the weekend of November 18 & 19, Changing Woman Initiative hosted a 2-day gathering at the IAIA campus, with Indigenous representatives across the Nations. Over the course of 2 days, cultural protocols, cultural appropriation, and cultural calendars were discussed. A mission, vision and core values were developed from our weekend together.
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It is the mission of the CAC that through ceremony, community inclusiveness, and our belief in self-determination, we are an arrowhead; offering guidance to reclaim pathways to family and community wellness.
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Our vision is to be accountable to our diverse indigenous communities by honoring cultural protocols, and offering guidance and direction for culturally-centered programming with a foundation in core values.
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We believe in these core values….
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To Honor Our Relations
Language
Land
Ceremony
Traditions
Humility
Responsibility
Fortitude
Compassion
Generosity
Respect
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We are excited to announce that we have received grant funding from Every Mother Counts to do program development for our developing birth center. Our unique women’s health program will focus on integrating language, plant medicines, lactation, and stories of birth & wellness from our Native American communities. The $80,000 grant will allow us to hire contractors, go to communities to do talking circles around birth, lactation, and nutrition, as well as consult with plan medicine healers in Northern NM.
Every Mother Counts is a non-profit organization founded by Christy Turlington-Burns dedicated to making pregnancy and childbirth safer for every mother, everywhere. You can check out there website here.
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Outsiders Experience in the Midwifery and Birth Center World
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I have completed a full year of working with the Changing Woman Initiative and have learned so much on this journey. I believe one does not truly know the passion these women in the field of Midwifery, Birth Justice, Women Empowered Organizations and Duala’s, go through. I have learned so much in such a small span of time and have seen CWI change and become more real in the past few months. I have seen the tireless work my sister, Nicolle Gonzales, Founder/Executive Director of CWI, has done. Creating a dream and seeing it flourish is an inspiration for many young Native Women because coming from a small community in Waterflow, NM, where the only job you could really have to support yourself is working for a Coal Mine. I now see that just because it’s never been done doesn’t mean that it can’t be done. There is room in this world to create your job. You can still be Native and professional. Success is the people you surround yourself with.
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Traveling to Anchorage, AK was a wonderful adventure and a place I have studied as an undergraduate at UNM. I studied the Indigenous culture and land. I had always dreamed of coming to a place like Alaska. We traveled there to attend the American Association of Birth Centers conference. There I had realized the difference between CWI’s Birth Center ideas to the general Birth Centers. CWI has a unique set up in being a Non-Profit organization with Native traditions and values incorporated in revitalizing Indigenous birth practices. Our birth center is so much more than just a center but the ultimate goal is to create a Native American-Centered Women’s Health Collective and not just to profit and make a business. Going to the AABC Conference has made me aware of these differences and how important our work with CWI is.
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Traveling to New York City was another interesting adventure. Changing Woman Initiative got to meet the Every Mother Counts team, their inspirational work made a wonderful fit. We presented on the work CWI will be doing and received 80 thousand in grant money from Every Mother Counts.
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Our very own,
Nicolle Gonzales, ran in the NYC Marathon and finished the race after a 6 and half hour run. The whole experience was a test of her mental and physical endurance. I was there to support and encourage her in this monumental experience. The morning sta
rted off in,
Níłtsą́ bi'áád
, a beautiful female rain (Navajo’s believe there is female and male rain. Female rain being light and gentle) which blessed Nicolle in her run and kept her safe.
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CWI attended the
“Keeping the Homefires Burning” conference sponsored by one of our grant funders, 7
th Generation Fund. The conference was a 3 day conference at the beautiful We-Ko-Pa Resort & Conference Center, Ft. McDowell Yavapai Nation. Keeping the Homefires Burning, was a gathering of influential Indigenous people making a difference in their communities. They had topics like, Coming Back into the Circle: Restoring and Reclaiming the Role of Two-Spirit People in Traditional and Contemporary Native Communities, Bay Area American Indian Two Spirits Affiliate (BAAITS) to Indigenous Women & Empowerment. I believe this conference was geared to empowering these visionaries and important people to continue their work.
By: Kansas Begaye
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Changing Woman Initiative Profiles
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We are honored to work with 2 amazing Indigenous women to help develop our unique women’s health program. Rhonda and Kim come to Changing Woman Initiative with outstanding experience and dedication to serving Native American communities. They will be meeting with tribal communities over the next year.
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Kimberly Moore-Salas, IBCLC
Lactation Consultant
Phoenix, Arizona
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Kim is born for Naakaii Diné (Mexican People) and from Tsi’naajinii
P
(Black Streak People) clans. Born in Tuba City, Kim is maternally from Tolani Lake, AZ located in the southwestern area of the Navajo Nation. Kim has over seven years of experience in peer-counseling and lactation education. Kim’s work has been inclusive of Tribal and culturally diverse communities serving the needs of prenatal, newborns, and post-partum mothers and families. Her current work with Maricopa Integrated Health Services extends nearly five years, and is clinically intensive. Growing up on and off the Navajo Nation, and residing in various tribal communities throughout her life, Kim is passionate about utilizing her education and experience to promote healthy living through kinship values for Native American Communities through collaboration, education, and advocacy. In October 2016 Kim joined Arizona Breastfeeding Center as a private lactation consultant. This allowed her to expand her skills in working with mothers and babies after they are home from the hospital. As of recently, Kim will be co-teaching the CHAMPS Indigenous Breastfeeding Counselor training course geared towards American Indian/Alaska Native tribal communities throughout the nation.
Kim enjoys spending time with her husband of twenty years and three daughters of whom she breastfed until they were 2 years old. She also loves early morning runs, hiking and yoga.
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Rhonda Lee Grantham is a member of the Cowlitz Nation of SW WA, which translates to “Seeker of the Medicine Spirit”. She is a direct-entry midwife, herbalist and founder of the Center for Indigenous Midwifery. For over two decades, she has been actively catching babies and teaching within Indigenous communities, both at home and globally. By combining the practical skills of midwifery and plant healing, with her experience in social services, cultural anthropology and global health- she has engaged with Indigenous communities as they work together to create culturally-centered programs that encourage family & community wellness.
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Check out some writing from Founder & Executive Director Nicolle L. Gonzales, CNM is doing about Indigenous Midwifery.
You can read about Indigenous Midwifery monthly on the
Indigenous Goddess Gang
on-line publications. Look out for the December 2017 issues due out later this month.
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Changing Woman Initiative Blog
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ACNM Member Magazine Fall 2017 Issue:
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Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women
4600 Montgomery BLVD NE suite B202
Albuquerque, NM 87109
505-243-9199
Indigenous Women Rise
Tewa Women United
912 Fairview Lane
Espaniola, NM 87532
505-747-3259
Young Women United
309 Gold st SW
Santa Fe, NM 87102
505-831-8930
Planned Parenthood
730 st Michael’s dr Suite 4B
Santa Fe, NM 87505
505-982-7204
resources.
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First Nations Community Healthsource
Zuni Clinic
5608 Zuni RD SE
Albuquerque, NM 87108
505-262-2481
Truman Clinic
625 Truman ST NE
Albuquerque, NM 87110
505-248-2990
New Mexico Breastfeeding Coalition
122 Tulane Dr SE
Albuquerque, NM 87106
505-395-6455
1807 2nd st Suite 76
Santa Fe, NM 87505
505-750-1732
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[505-989-4212 ext. 11]
[assistantED@changingwomaninitiative.org]
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