Biidaanakwadkwe, The Panoramic Doula
Lindsey McGahey, IFSD, ILC, BE, Ojibwe Mama and Artist
Boozhoo, Biidaanakwadkwe ndizhinkkaaz, ajiijak ndodem. Bahweting ndoonjbaa besho
Gichigami Zagaigan. Ojibwekwe ndow. My name is Lindsey, celtic and Anishinaabe - Ojibwe, Crane Clan of the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians born and raised in Bahweting. I am a direct descendent of the MacLeods of the Isle of Sky, Scotland from my Grandfather Robert Bruce (namesake of “Robert the Bruce”.) I am Anishinaabe of my Grandmabaa, Payment of Sugar Island, MI whose ancestors hail from Garden River, Canada. I am currently residing between Lake Superior and Lake Michigan within Chippewa county and also in Schoolcraft in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
I am an Indigenous Full Spectrum Doula (IFSD,) Indigenous Lactation Counselor (ILC,) Birth Educator(BE,) Mother and Artist servicing all of Chippewa County and virtually abroad. I specialize in unique and comprehensive traditional postpartum doula care, pregnancy release support, lactation counseling, grief, loss and death support. I am The Panoramic doula.
I am a Sacred Waters Collective co- founder and treasurer, An awardee of the Superior Health Foundation Grant and the NACCHO Continuity of Care grant, co contributor of the 2021 and 2024 Michigan Native Breastfeeding Week proclamation, a Great Lakes webinar presenter with the Michigan Breastfeeding network and have worked over 4 years as a breastfeeding peer counselor with WIC My passion is to care for and nurture people in their experiences as a foundation in restoring innate trust in the bodies of Indigenous peoples to heal the future generations. I center BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ families in birth and breastfeeding care that is culturally relevant and evidence-based from a traditional, Indigenous lens.
- Traditional, ceremonial, and spiritual care
- Peer to peer competent mental health/PMAD support
- Pre conception and conscious conception counseling
- Prenatal education and support
- Birth education and postpartum planning
- In home birth support both in person and virtually abroad
- Comprehensive traditional Postpartum Doula support
- Traditional food education and meal support
- Loss and grief support
- Pregnancy release support
- Facilitation, presenting, and education
- Death support
Nooni by Lindsey McGahey, IBC, IFSD, BE
Click the cover circle to access the zine.
Educational zine tool that takes you on a walk through lactation support. This zine is elegantly sorted and thoughtfully designed to pull out and flip through at your convenience prenatally, during immediate needs postpartum and anywhere in between. No need to pack me in your hospital bag - PDF copy availalbe for pocket book reading right on your phone.
To reclaim traditional ways for Indigenous communities,
cultivating traditional birth and parenting practices that build
stronger families and communities from birth onward
Click the logo!
Michigan Indigenous Milk Medicine Week Proclamation
Click the photo to see the proclamation on the Michigan.gov website
WHEREAS, Michigan honors the 12 federally recognized Tribes, and many more tribally recognized Tribes, native to this land and acknowledges the people, land, traditions, and customs stolen by colonial systems through government practices of forced separation and forced assimilation; and,
WHEREAS, Michigan acknowledges the grief of Indigenous peoples and joins in mourning the loss of the Indigenous children whose remains were and are being discovered on stolen land and denied their birthright of the perfect first food; and,
WHEREAS, Indigenous breastfeeding is a sovereign right for Indigenous peoples no matter where they reside; and,
WHEREAS, Michigan celebrates doodooshaaboo (milk) and breastfeeding with Indigenous peoples as a gift from the Creator directly given to birthing parents so they may nourish the next seven generations; Michigan acknowledges that doodooshaaboo (milk) and breastfeeding is also considered medicine, and is acknowledged by Indigenous peoples as the first medicine children receive to live healthy and strong lives; and,
WHEREAS, during this week we are dedicated to broadening public understanding of the critical impact breastfeeding has on improving the health of infants and birthing parents within the Indigenous community; and,
WHEREAS, Michigan is committed to reducing infant mortality and increasing the health outcomes of birthing parents and babies during National Breastfeeding Month; Indigenous maternal mortality is 2 to 3 times the rate of white maternal mortality and Indigenous infant mortality is 2 times greater than white infant mortality; and,
WHEREAS, it is vital to improve health outcomes by providing equitable, culturally appropriate, and respectable care for Indigenous families in the prenatal period through postpartum, as well as in lactation support, as Indigenous birthing persons are 2.5 times less likely to receive prenatal care with 50% receiving zero before birth; and,
WHEREAS, Michigan is committed to creating a safe environment for Indigenous mothers and babies in clinical practices due to Indigenous mothers being coerced into sterilization and/or contraception immediately after birth which can be detrimental to breastfeeding; and,
WHEREAS, Indigenous breastfeeding is vital to counter the inequity and injustice experienced by Indigenous families and their ability to practice their traditions in accordance with their ancestral and Tribal communities; Michigan celebrates diversity and encourages the visibility of Indigenous Breastfeeding experiences; and,
WHEREAS, inherited trauma has had a significant effect on bonding and traditional parenting in Indigenous households; breastfeeding promotes bonding between infant and their birthing parent; and,
WHEREAS, Indigenous birth workers and breastfeeding supporters provide families with support and education to reclaim their right to breastfeed their children freely for however long they desire; and,
WHEREAS, Indigenous Breastfeeding is an act of defiance, resistance, and beauty we should support and protect at every level of society; reactivating Indigenous birthrights will undoubtedly build a strong foundation for Michigan and Tribal Nations to build healthier communities for the next seven generations;