For Episode 8 we interviewed master educator, water protector, language keeper and birth worker Kimimila Locke! Kimimila talks with us about her own steaming practice, the maternal health issues in Native communities, and her vision for the future of birth work in Lakota country.
4:10 I know you as a master educator, culture protector and a justice advocate. I’m less familiar with your work around birth and reproductive health. Will you tell us what links these various areas of work together?
16:38 How and when did you get into birthwork?
23:32 What do you love most about birthwork? What do you find the most challenging?
29:38 I know you’ve lived in cities that are very different from each other — Atlanta, Dubai, Denver — but now you’re back on Standing Rock. What does birthwork look like in a rural area?
33:37 Did you personally use vaginal steaming after childbirth? Do you personally use it now?
34:47 Do you use vaginal steaming in your birthwork practice? Why?
35:18 Have you had a chance to read The Fourth Trimester Vaginal Steam Study? What were your first thoughts after reading the study?
40:35 What do you think are the major implications of this study for women and for the greater society?
44:50 Contact info:
lockekimimila@gmail.com
defendersofthewaterschool.info@gmail.com
46:42 Mansplaining with Mike