Reclaiming Indigenous Birthing Practices: A Journey Back to Our Roots
Across Turtle Island, a powerful resurgence is taking place—one that honors the sacred traditions of Indigenous birthing practices. In a time when Western medicine often eclipses ancestral knowledge, many Indigenous communities are returning to the teachings of their matriarchs, midwives, and knowledge keepers. At the heart of this movement is Rebeka Tabobondung, Anishinaabe filmmaker, writer, and founder of Muskrat Magazine, whose new APTN docu-series “Spirit of Birth” centers the wisdom of Indigenous midwifery and matriarchal leadership.

The Power of Traditional Knowledge and Matriarchy
Rebeka’s journey began as a personal effort to reconnect with her cultural roots and deepen her understanding of Indigenous ways of knowing. In that search, she was guided by the stories of Indigenous midwives who are reclaiming birthing practices in their communities. Spirit of Birth follows six Indigenous communities as they reclaim birthing teachings rooted in cultural safety, connection to land, and the central role of matriarchy.

A Celebration of Life & Ceremony
Traditional Indigenous birthing practices are ceremonial, relational, and deeply spiritual. From cedar baths to welcoming songs, every aspect of birth is grounded in reverence for the local territory, protocols and teachings. In many Indigenous worldviews, both elders and newborns are considered close to the spirit world, bringing sacred teachings from the realms before and after life. Through storytelling, Rebeka shows how birthing is not just a physical process, but a spiritual passage carried out in community and ceremony. These teachings uplift the role of women, two-spirit, and birthing people as sacred life givers and knowledge carriers.

Restoring Autonomy Through Matriarchal Leadership
Reclaiming Indigenous birthing is about more than preserving tradition. It is about restoring sovereignty over our bodies, families, and futures. Indigenous midwives offer culturally informed, safe, and empowering birthing experiences that counter the systemic harms of colonization. The series highlights midwives from six nations, each guided by their own teachings but united in a shared vision of healing, resurgence, and matriarchal leadership.

A Call to Reconnect
For those seeking to learn more, Rebeka encourages connecting with the National Council of Indigenous Midwives and reaching out to elders and knowledge keepers within your own nation. Ask questions, listen deeply, and share stories. This is how we keep the fire lit and ensure that this sacred knowledge is not only remembered but lived.

Honoring the Spirit of Birth
APTN’S “Spirit of Birth” is more than a documentary. It is a movement. A call to remember, reclaim, and reimagine birthing through the lens of matriarchy and Indigenous birthing knowledge. As we continue to witness and uplift these stories, we honor the resilience of our ancestors and plant seeds for future generations to be born into a world of ceremony, sovereignty, and Spirit.

🎧 Listen to the episode now on the Matriarch Movement podcast.

More About Rebeka Tabobondung and the Spirit of Birth:
Spirit of Birth is a groundbreaking new unscripted series from ⁠Rezolution Pictures⁠, now streaming in English and James Bay Cree on APTN Lumi.

Created, written, and hosted by Anishinaabe filmmaker and ⁠MUSKRAT Magazine⁠ publisher Rebeka Tabobondung, Spirit of Birth brings viewers into the intimate and powerful stories of Indigenous birthers and the birth workers revitalizing ancestral practices.

Based on Tabobondung’s 2016 short documentary ⁠The Spirit of Birth⁠, this new series expands that vision into a vital resource for families and health care providers, and a compelling portrait of cultural revitalization in action.

Currently available on⁠ ⁠⁠APTN Lumi⁠
Watch the Trailer (2MIN): ⁠HERE⁠
Website: ⁠rezolutionpictures.com⁠
Facebook: ⁠@spiritofbirth⁠
Instagram: ⁠@spiritofbirthtv⁠
Learn about the Spirit of Birth App: ⁠spiritofbirth.ca⁠
⁠⁠https://indigenousmidwifery.ca/⁠⁠