#followfriday- Four Indigenous Motherhood Mentors
By Rebekah Elkerton
The importance of raising the next generation is incalculable. As Indigenous people we have long let love lead the way as we honour our bodies and relationship to the land while we parent. And while ancestral teachings about motherhood vary nation to nation, each of the following Indigenous Motherhood pages creates a place for powerful and inspiring knowledge sharing. These mentors in motherhood are part of a movement reviving the sacred aspects of childbirth and mothering as they pay homage to the ways motherhood has bonded them with their children and ancestors.
Indigenous Motherhood
Andrea Landry’s Indigenous Motherhood page is a hub for thought provoking parenting content and visuals that show the infinite ways Indigneous motherhood is experienced.
Between her powerfully written posts Andrea shares images of Indigenous mothers, linking the creator of the original image so that viewers have consistent access to new Indigenous voices and experiential knowledge. She captions each of these posts with ‘Today, we honour __,” naming each creator with kindness, gratitude, and respect.
Andrea acknowledges colonially caused traumas and their impacts on Indigenous families. She advocates for returning to the land and precolonial kinship systems that nourish the healthy development of all family members. Her words inspire reflection and change.
She reminds us that motherhood is an evolution in the experiences necessary to fulfill our roles in Indigenoous matriarchy. Andrea is a proponent for breaking harmful cycles in our communities by living in alignment with what she calls our original instructions. She says that to live our most beautiful and loving lives is to honour our ancestors and the importance of their hardships.
Follow Indigenous Motherhood on Instagram or Andrea's Twitter
Lalita Medicina Femenina
Lalita is a teacher of reproductive and sexual health from Ayuveda and traditional medicine. Sharing from her own ancestral knowledge along with her research of how sacred femininity is practiced cross-culturally, Lalita’s page offers rich knowledge about gynecological health in connection to the land.
Her page links to online trainings taught by Indigenous knowledge keepers for everything from baby massage using the Shantala technique to Virtual Aroma Therapy camp, where she advocates for reclaiming feminine medicine and ancient science to support the health of the mind, body and spirit. Lalita’s feed is a well-rounded and visually impactful mirage of wholistic health tools. You’ll find information about traditional medicinal practices that aid in childbirth on an energetic and spiritual level. She speaks to the impacts of food and nutrition on reproductive health and guides us through understanding the body as intrinsically linked to the land. She opens discussions about childbirth as ceremony, transitioning baby onto earth.
Lalita invites us to question where our practices come from and reclaim the knowledge our ancestors held about the earth and the cycles we experience throughout life. She reminds us of the powerful ways wisdom has travelled through stories, chants and prayers, noting that children are able to teach us more than many of the teachers we will meet throughout our lives.
Follow Lalita on Instagram or check out her website
Sacred Sequoia
Steph, creator of Sacred Sequoia, is a mother, reiki teacher, and holistic doula in training. She shares her personal motherhood journey and how she finds ways to treasure the moment while navigating life’s challenges. She is vulnerable, inspiring and encouraging as she talks self-acceptance in her role as a mother.
She writes about the lessons she’s learned with breastfeeding, and moving through the waves of emotion that it ignite between mother and child. Steph is open about her story of pregnancy loss after her first child was born, opening up about the times her feelings of loss have bubbled up and spilled over while highlighting the ways she’s been spiritually guided through release and healing. Steph honours the power of her support system. She acknowledges the ways she’s been nourished by her family members who are on this journey with her, penning letters to both her children and her partner to express gratitude for the ways they’ve added to her life.
Sacred Sequoia sets an example for honouring our bodies and emotions while we parent. She says: “Postpartum is MUCH more than just recovery from a baby… it is multi-dimensional integration of ceremony that is never ending…because Motherhood is never ending so postpartum healing is continuous.”
Follow Sacred Sequoia on Instagram
Tatiana Dahteste
Tatiana Dahteste brings us along on her motherhood journey as she connects with her daughter and commits to reviving her ancestral ways. Most of her content is made on the land, creating beautiful visuals and warm energy for her viewers. She models unapologetically cleaning up traumas and returning to source..
A long standing force on Native instagram, she has documented her transition into parenthood since her journey began. She has shared her reflections about the many cycles she’s experienced from pregnancy to motherhood and everything in between as life has thrown curveballs her way. Her commitment to healing and surrendering to change shines through the screen as a beacon of inspiration.
Tatiana opens up about decolonial love partnerships, and how her and her partner honour and appreciate the ways their feminine and masculine energies compliment one another. On TikTok she gives us a glimpse into more of their experiences as a young family and the ways they practice decolonial parenting daily. Tatiana believes that it is her duty to raise her child the best way that she knows how and that is through reclamation of Indigenous value systems.
