The Return of Traditional Indigenous Midwifery Practices in Quebec

If the expression "Indian time" means anything, it should signify this history of temporal multiplicity.

This paper focuses on a series of cookbooks published by Indigenous Australian groups. These cookbooks are typically produced with government funding, and are developed by nutritionists, dieticians, and health workers in consultation with local communities. They are designed to teach Indigenous Australians to cook healthy, nutritious, low-cost meals. In this paper, Fredericks and Anderson identify the value of these cookbooks as low-cost, public health interventions. However, they note that their value as health interventions has not been tested. Fredericks and Anderson question the value of these cookbooks within the broader context of the health disadvantage faced by Indigenous Australians. They argue that the cookbooks are developed from a Western perspective of health and nutrition that fails to recognise the value of traditional Indigenous foodways. They suggest that incorporating more Indigenous food knowledge and food-related traditions into cookbooks may be one way of improving health among Indigenous peoples and revitalising Indigenous knowledge.

Reviewed by: Reproduction on the Reservation: Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Colonialism in the Long Twentieth Century by Brianna Theobold Abigail Markwyn Brianna Theobold. Reproduction on the Reservation: Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Colonialism in the Long Twentieth Century. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2019. 288 pp. Paper, $29.95. Brianna Theobold's excellent new book, Reproduction on the Reservation: Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Colonialism in the Long Twentieth Century, shows in vivid detail the effects of colonial policy on the reproductive lives of Indigenous women in the United States. The depth [End Page 302] and breadth of Theobold's research is extraordinary and is a significant contribution to both women's and Indigenous history. She deftly interweaves a comprehensive case study of reproductive health on the Crow reservation with the experiences of other Indigenous women across the United States to uncover the myriad ways that the long hand of the Office of Indian Affairs (OIA) extended across the nation to affect the reproductive practices of Indigenous women both on, and off, the reservation. Reproduction on the Reservation convincingly argues that the regulation of reproductive health and family structure was fundamental to assimilation policy and must be understood as a key part of US colonialism. The imposition of the reservation system in the late nineteenth century put the bodies of Native women under increased surveillance and regulation, which ranged from the coerced (birthing in a hospital and scheduled breast feedings) to the forced (unwanted sterilization). Theobold reveals that, despite this surveillance, Native women remained agents of their own lives. Some women willingly embraced the opportunity to birth in a OIA hospital, for instance, while others resisted. Some women sought sterilization procedures, but far more woke up from childbirth to find themselves subject to this invasive and unwanted procedure. And throughout the twentieth century, Indigenous women worked together to combat abuses and to gain access to the medical care they wanted and needed. This innovative and thoroughly researched narrative reveals the deeply intertwined relationship between federal Indian policy and women's reproductive lives and demonstrates the longterm effects of colonialism on Indigenous communities. The book consists of six chronologically organized chapters, which trace Crow women's lives from the late nineteenth century to the present. It focuses on the time period from roughly 1880 to 1980, but the epilogue does an excellent job of pulling the story together, recounting the decision of Zintkala Mahpiya Wi Blackowl (Lakota), a water protector, to birth her baby at Standing Rock in 2016, as well as that of Nicolle Gonzales, a Navajo nurse-midwife dedicated to founding a birthing center for Native women. Although the core of the narrative traces the histories of Crow women, particularly those of the Yellowtail family, Theobold expands her view to include the experiences of women from across the country. Her narrative reveals that Native women experienced many of the same historical changes as did their non-Native [End Page 303] contemporaries, such as the medicalization of childbirth, the flourishing of women's clubs, debates about birth control and eventually abortion, but these issues played out in sometimes radically different ways when set within the confines of colonial policies. After a brief introduction, the first chapter explores the reproductive lives of Crow women after their removal to the reservation along the Little Bighorn River. Here, the author lays out some of the themes that will recur throughout the book: the significance of "flexible childrearing," in Crow society and the ways in which government employees viewed, and intervened in, Native women's reproductive practices. Chapters 2 and 3 focus on the implementation of early-twentieth-century assimilation policy. Here, Theobold focuses on the significance of the OIA's "Save the Babies" campaign, and argues that it must be understood as "a cornerstone of early twentieth-century federal Indian policy" (45). Chapter 3 examines one goal of this policy, which was to transition Native women into giving birth in hospitals rather than at home. Theobold traces the uneven adoption of this policy through the life story of Susie Walking Bear Yellowtail, the first Crow registered nurse. Here we see the varieties of ways in which women navigated the OIA health system, at times acquiescing to...

Indigenous women in Mesoamerica experience disproportionately high maternal mortality rates and are less likely to have institutional deliveries. Identifying correlates of institutional delivery, and satisfaction with institutional deliveries, may help improve facility utilization and health outcomes in this population. We used baseline surveys from the Salud Mesoamérica Initiative to analyze data from 10,895 indigenous and non-indigenous women in Guatemala and Mexico (Chiapas State) and indigenous women in Panama. We created multivariable Poisson regression models for indigenous (Guatemala, Mexico, Panama) and non-indigenous (Guatemala, Mexico) women to identify correlates of institutional delivery and satisfaction. Compared to their non-indigenous peers, indigenous women were substantially less likely to have an institutional delivery (15.2% vs. 41.5% in Guatemala (P<0.001), 29.1% vs. 73.9% in Mexico (P<0.001), and 70.3% among indigenous Panamanian women). Indigenous women who had at least one antenatal care visit were more than 90% more likely to have an institutional delivery (adjusted risk ratio (aRR) = 1.94, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.44–2.61), compared to those who had no visits. Indigenous women who were advised to give birth in a health facility (aRR = 1.46, 95% CI: 1.18–1.81), primiparous (aRR = 1.44, 95% CI: 1.24–1.68), informed that she should have a Caesarean section (aRR = 1.41, 95% CI: 1.21–1.63), and had a secondary or higher level of education (aRR = 1.36, 95% CI: 1.04–1.79) also had substantially higher likelihoods of institutional delivery. Satisfaction among indigenous women was associated with being able to be accompanied by a community health worker (aRR = 1.15, 95% CI: 1.05–1.26) and facility staff speaking an indigenous language (aRR = 1.10, 95% CI: 1.02–1.19). Additional effort should be exerted to increase utilization of birthing facilities by indigenous and poor women in the region. Improving access to antenatal care and opportunities for higher-level education may increase institutional delivery rates, and providing culturally adapted services may improve satisfaction.

I am grateful for the financial contributions provided by the Canadian Indigenous of Health Research (CIHR), Institute of Indigenous Peoples Health and Gender and Health, with First Nations Health Authority, the Canadian Nurses Foundation, and the University of Victoria.

Cervical cancer in Indigenous women: The case of Australia

17P - Distance related outcome in indigenous and non-indigenous breast cancer women of Western Australia

Introduction Both critical intellectual property studies and feminist legal scholarship seldom address the gendered dimensions of patent law or its implications for women and women's rights. This lack of attention raises awareness of the need to broaden our approach to studies of patent law and the public domain. During recent fieldwork in South Africa, I began to consider patent law as a feminist site of inquiry and to think through the difficulties of such an examination. [double dagger]Khomani San women in the northern Cape express concerns over the patenting of biological and genetic materials derived from their indigenous traditional knowledge. Maintaining control over their knowledge and resources is important for feeding their families and safeguarding their intellectual histories and heritage as female plant gatherers. The [double dagger]Khomani San peoples are currently engaged in political struggles against patent law and the ownership of their indigenous knowledge, but such organizing has not been explicitly gender-based. Although some [double dagger]Khomani San women articulate patent law as a women's rights issue, other women in the community consider issues of patent law to be genderneutral. Concerns arising from patent ownership of indigenous knowledge are also not the main priority. [double dagger]Khomani San women committed to gender-based political organizing explain the difficulties of mobilizing and educating indigenous San women in their communities. Political organizing takes money and resources, and San communities are spread out over great distances within South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia, making meetings difficult to arrange. Issues of patent law are also not as significant or pressing as the material conditions of domestic violence, substance abuse, and poverty facing San women and their families right now. Thus, [double dagger]Khomani San men and women are involved in struggles against patent law, yet their political work does not explicitly address the connections between patent ownership and gendered social relations. Indigenous women elsewhere, however, have begun to address patent law from a gender-based perspective. The 1995 Beijing Declaration of Indigenous Women and 2004 Manukan Declaration of the Indigenous Women's Biodiversity Network explicitly argue that intellectual property rights threaten indigenous women's lives. I The Indigenous Peoples' Permanent Forum also highlights patent law as an issue of concern for indigenous women. (2) Local women in India have taken up the issue through with the Diverse Women for Diversity Campaign in connection with Vandana Shiva. (3) Patent law as a gender-based issue therefore emerges within some international forums, and may also circulate at the local level such as with Diverse Women. On the other hand, as with the [double dagger]Khomani San, discourses of indigenous rights around patent law are seemingly framed in gender-neutral terms. Or are they? San struggles related to the patenting of Hoodia may appear gender-neutral as read through the narrow registers of liberal feminism. Yet, as will be further discussed, the masculinized discourses and gendered social relations at work within political struggles related to Hoodia become visible when scrutinized through a lens of transnational, indigenous, African feminisms. Addressing the complex gender relations that shape and are shaped by patent owernship is a complex task. it requires careful consideration of the interactions, relationalities, and hierarchies within social relations of gender, indigeneity, ethnicity, race, and histories of colonialism. Legacies of liberal, western feminism must also be confronted and continually interrogated. Yet, I contend that studies of patent law struggles and complex gendered relations can help push the boundaries of critical intellectual property scholarship and feminist legal scholarship, by asking new questions and defining the fields in new ways. …

Indigenous peoples in countries with similar colonial histories have disproportionate burdens of disease compared with non-Indigenous peoples. We aimed to systematically identify and collate studies describing the prevalence of pre-existing diabetes and gestational diabetes, and compare the prevalence of these conditions between Indigenous and non-Indigenous pregnant women in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the USA. For this systematic review and meta-analysis, an information specialist did a comprehensive search of eight databases (Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid Embase, Ovid Global Health, CINAHL [EBSCO], Scopus, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global, PROSPERO, and the Wiley Cochrane Library) in June, 2019, for studies published between inception and June 25, 2019, without restrictions on language, publication type, or year of publication. Database searches were supplemented by grey literature searches of the Bielefield Academic Search Engine and Google Scholar, and the reference lists of relevant articles were also manually searched. We included observational epidemiological studies comparing the prevalence of pre-existing diabetes or gestational diabetes in Indigenous and non-Indigenous pregnant women in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the USA. Two independent reviewers assessed study eligibility and risk of bias. We used a standardised data extraction form to collect information from the published reports of eligible studies, and, if needed, we contacted authors for further information. We did a Mantel-Haenszel random-effects meta-analysis to obtain the pooled unadjusted prevalence odds ratios (PORs) of pre-existing diabetes and gestational diabetes in Indigenous women compared with non-Indigenous women. We stratified meta-analyses by country and type of diabetes. The study is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42018095971. Our search identified 1348 studies, of which 43 studies with 32 952 441 participants from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the USA were included in the systematic review, and 39 of these studies were included in the meta-analysis. 40 of the included studies used a cohort design. Pre-existing diabetes was more prevalent in Indigenous women than in non-Indigenous women, with pooled PORs ranging from 1·81 (95% CI 1·53-2·13) for women in the USA to 3·63 (2·35-5·62) for women in Australia. Similarly, gestational diabetes was more prevalent in Indigenous women than in non-Indigenous women, with PORs ranging from 1·42 (1·24-1·63) for women in Australia to 2·04 (1·46-2·84) for women in Canada. Risk of bias was low in 37·2% of studies, unclear in 34·8% of studies, and high in 27·9% of studies. Heterogeneity between studies was predominantly high (I2=97-100%), with one exception of moderate heterogeneity (I2=48%); however, the magnitude and direction of the PORs from individual studies indicated an association between pre-existing diabetes or gestational diabetes and indigeneity among pregnant women. The prevalence of pre-existing diabetes and gestational diabetes was higher in Indigenous pregnant women than in non-Indigenous pregnant women in four countries (Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA) with similar histories of colonialism. These findings have implications for prenatal care services and the monitoring of Indigenous women in industrialised countries. Canadian Institute of Health Research and the Women's and Children's Health Research Institute.

The plight of Mexico's Indigenous women

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the personal profile and entrepreneurial activities of indigenous Ghanaian women and to provide updated research to raise awareness about the significant impact of the indigenous women‐run small to medium‐sized enterprises on Africa countries' economies.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed a mixed methodology research design where both qualitative and quantitative methods were used. Mail surveys were used to collect data from 241 indigenous Ghanaian women and in addition, 20 of these women were purposefully selected and interviewed.FindingsIndigenous Ghanaian women were found to exhibit many similarities with their counterparts in other countries in terms of their personality traits. However, they differed in other aspects such as their educational backgrounds and modes of entrepreneurial skills acquisition. Through their entrepreneurial activities the women have made substantial contributions to the economic growth of Ghana in terms of innovation, job creation, and reduction in poverty and unemployment.Research limitations/implicationsThe main limitation is the restricted locale of the sample. The sample however is a reasonably representative of all the ten municipalities and indigenous communities in Ghana, and as a result the findings can be generalized to all indigenous women entrepreneurs in Ghana.Practical implicationsThe paper shows that the indigenous women's small businesses are very important to economic and social development. Indigenous women's entrepreneurship, properly harnessed, has great potential as a tool for transforming African economies.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the literature due to the scarcity of publications about indigenous women's economic activities in Africa. The paper is useful for policy makers in Africa and researchers wishing to pursue indigenous entrepreneurship and gender studies.

ABSTRACT: This is the report of stage three of a three stage project. The aims of the overall project were to seek advice from expert Indigenous women on how to gather information from birthing Indigenous women while in hospital. Information was gathered from Indigenous women who gave birth in hospital or were admitted after the birth of their baby. The opinions of healthcare professionals on the care of these women were investigated. This paper describes the opinions and concerns of healthcare professionals regarding identified cultural, social and economical issues for Indigenous women at a large acute care hospital in the Northern Territory, Australia. The opinions of healthcare professionals are vital if the needs and concerns of Indigenous women are to be considered within the hospital setting.Stages one and two of this project have been presented previously. Stage three, reported here, describes a survey of 18 non‐Indigenous and one Indigenous healthcare professionals regarding their opinions of the maternity experiences of Indigenous women admitted to an acute care setting. The consultative process for designing the questionnaire and reflections on issues raised by Indigenous women during their interviews in the previous two stages is presented. The methodology of the survey, demographics and perceptions of healthcare professionals who participated in the project are examined and the similarities and differences between the issues raised by the healthcare professionals and the Indigenous women in stage two of the project are discussed. Suggestions made by the healthcare professionals regarding improving quality of care for Indigenous women when admitted to an acute healthcare setting are presented.

This is the report of stage three of a three stage project. The aims of the overall project were to seek advice from expert Indigenous women on how to gather information from birthing Indigenous women while in hospital. Information was gathered from Indigenous women who gave birth in hospital or were admitted after the birth of their baby. The opinions of healthcare professionals on the care of these women were investigated. This paper describes the opinions and concerns of healthcare professionals regarding identified cultural, social and economical issues for Indigenous women at a large acute care hospital in the Northern Territory, Australia. The opinions of healthcare professionals are vital if the needs and concerns of Indigenous women are to be considered within the hospital setting. Stages one and two of this project have been presented previously. Stage three, reported here, describes a survey of 18 non-Indigenous and one Indigenous healthcare professionals regarding their opinions of the maternity experiences of Indigenous women admitted to an acute care setting. The consultative process for designing the questionnaire and reflections on issues raised by Indigenous women during their interviews in the previous two stages is presented. The methodology of the survey, demographics and perceptions of healthcare professionals who participated in the project are examined and the similarities and differences between the issues raised by the healthcare professionals and the Indigenous women in stage two of the project are discussed. Suggestions made by the healthcare professionals regarding improving quality of care for Indigenous women when admitted to an acute healthcare setting are presented.

Background and Objectives: Indigenous Peoples (IPs) have a unique and vast wealth of traditional knowledge, practices, and beliefs. However, IPs from across the globe continue to experience discrimination, environmental destruction, deprivation, exploitation, and other problems. Therefore, this research aims to identify the extent to which indigenous knowledge has been practiced among the Ifugaos, specifically those who are parents of children at the elementary and high school levels. The study examines both past and present generations about the practice of indigenous knowledge in the areas of family, education, agriculture, and forest conservation. Consequently, the problems encountered by these parents in the promotion and preservation of indigenous practices were determined. Methodology: The survey method was used and data were collected through a questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, such as mean, were utilized to determine the extent of the parents’ indigenous practices in the areas of family, education, agriculture, and forest conservation. Significant differences in the use of indigenous practices between the past and present were accounted for by the use of the t-test. Main Results: Findings revealed that the Ifugao families practice their indigenous marriage and parenting roles frequently in both the past and present. Children in the past often observed traditional practices, however children today only sometimes practice them. A decline in indigenous practices in education, agriculture, and forest conservation is evident today. Factors contributing to the abandonment of cultural traditions include diminishing family values, children’s disinterest in education, fading traditional agricultural practices, and the denuding and destruction of forests. Discussions: The Ifugaos are family oriented and concerned with maintaining relationships. At the same time, they would like to ensure that new couples are economically secure. Children help their parents and siblings perform agricultural tasks and rituals, which indicates they are values-oriented. However, there is a need to strengthen this orientation in order to preserve it. Parents now send their children away from home for school, unlike before. Indigenous agricultural and forest conservation practices are vanishing as the Ifugaos embrace the use of modernized farming technologies. Family problems, the disappearance of traditional agricultural practices, forest destruction, and the balding of mountains continues. Conclusions: The Ifugao people live in harmony with the environment and have a profound cultural heritage. Their indigenous knowledge and practices have directly contributed to both biological and cultural preservation and promotion. Parents and children have distinct cultural roles to play in perpetuating the family. Education, which was a challenge in the past, has now become a priority for parents. Evidence of agricultural and forest conservation practices like the Ifugao Rice Terraces (IRT) and the ethnic muyung system showcase the best practices of the Ifugaos in conserving biodiversity, reforestation, and environmental protection. However, evidence suggests that indigenous practices among the Ifugaos in the areas of family, education, agriculture, and forest conservation have changed in recent generations. These practices have become threatened by social and economic changes, modernization and technology, and the dwindling interest of the younger generation. This implies there is a need to safeguard indigenous practices that are relevant to today's generation. Careful attention needs to be paid to the inclusion of traditional knowledge and practices in the elementary and secondary levels.

Minimal detailed research has been conducted into gambling by Indigenous women, despite indications from previous studies that they tend to be highly involved gamblers and a high risk group for gambling problems. This quantitative analysis investigates key aspects of gambling by Indigenous Australian women and determines risk factors underpinning problem gambling. Study participants were 687 Indigenous women recruited from Indigenous sports and cultural festivals. The survey instrument focused on socio-demographic characteristics, age of first gamble, gambling motivations, gambling behaviour, substance use while gambling, problem gambling severity, harms arising from gambling and help-seeking efforts. The findings reveal elevated rates of gambling participation, especially on poker machines, and a high prevalence of gambling problems when compared to the general population. Indigenous women who are motivated to gamble to socialise with friends and family are significantly less likely to be problem gamblers. However, risk factors for problem gambling include gambling on a greater number of gambling forms, high gambling expenditure, early onset of gambling, escape-based gambling motivations, self-reported addiction to gambling, and using alcohol and drugs while gambling. Findings point to an urgent need for culturally appropriate treatment for Indigenous Australian women with gambling problems. Culturally appropriate community education and harm minimisation measures should also be available for Indigenous women who gamble given the seemingly high proportion likely to experience at least some harm from gambling. The cost of such approaches would be returned in the enhanced health and wellbeing of Indigenous Australian women, their families and communities.