Innu and Atikamekw women’s connection to the land through pregnancy and birthing practices

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In an effort to offset the marginalization of Indigenous women’s knowledge, we used a qualitative participatory approach to co-construct the meaning of the pregnancy and birthing knowledge of Innu (Indigenous people in Quebec, Canada) and Atikamekw (Indigenous people in Quebec, Canada) women in terms of connection to the land. Through thematic analysis of interviews, we show that the women have maintained a deep connection to the land, even though they may not be practicing land birth anymore due to restrictions imposed by governments and the medical profession. Despite the invisibilization of their connection to the land, Innu and Atikamekw women still perceive it as essential to the expression of their identity and the well-being of their communities. They emphasized the importance of rematriation, which is restoring sacred matrilineal relationships between people and land, as a way to restore their roles and leadership within their communities.