BEMIDJI — It’s been about 10 years since the incorporated as a Native American, female-led nonprofit organization focused on health and wellness throughout the region.
However, its effects could be felt long before it registered for its 501(c)3.
ADVERTISEMENT
With a mother-daughter duo at the helm, co-founder and traditional midwife Millicent Simenson and family nurse practitioner Natalie Nicholson have spent the past several years working in the areas of childbirth education and public health nursing.
They have continued doing so together once Nicholson joined Mewinzha, which currently operates out of the McKenzie Place complex in Bemidji, as a board member in 2017.
“I was excited because I wanted to be back working with my mom,” Nicholson said. “I was working in primary care in an outpatient clinic setting and I wanted to focus more on prenatal care and women’s health, being able to deliver care in a non-traditional clinic setting.”
Simenson had worked extensively with mothers in surrounding tribal nations prior to Mewinzha’s official start and has considered it her role to offer maternal health support along with Mewinzha’s current seven-member staff.
“This is our role to take, to do the work,” Simenson said. “We are all of different backgrounds and we complement each other in the work that we’re doing.”
Reimagining health care
In Ojibwe, Mewinzha translates to “long ago,” Ondaadiziike to “birthing” and Wiigaming to “in birthing lodge, home or building.”
ADVERTISEMENT
According to its website, Mewinzha is the region’s only Native provider that braids western and traditional Indigenous knowledge of health, wellness and community into its practices.
“We really try to have the foundation of our work as Anishinaabe, then blending in Western medicine,” Nicholson said, expounding on several Anishinaabe care methods. “We have staff that work primarily with harvesting plant medicines and offering a wellness clinic where it’s just traditional medicines. It’s really important for us to make sure that our Anishinaabe community is feeling empowered to speak up about their needs in what health care looks like to them and having us be responsive to that.”
As part of its clinic — Gaa-giigishkaakaawasowaad, or “a place where pregnant women gather” — birth workers referred to as “doulas” provide support to clients during pregnancy, labor, pregnancy loss, postpartum, lactation and parenting.
Along with Simenson, Pearl Walker-Swaney is a dedicated doula who offers emotional support and advocacy for patients throughout their pregnancies. Part of Walker-Swaney’s support comes with being a 200-hour certified yoga instructor and leading prenatal yoga classes every week.
The clinic also provides the same prenatal and postpartum medical care as an OB/GYN, which Nicholson offers through her role.
In addition, the clinic is staffed with a registered dietitian, certified diabetes instructor and lactation counselor.
“Being able to support our families through things like nutrition, dietetics and connecting to ancestral foods... we have a really cool, diverse team,” Nicholson added, “and we have other partners that we contract with to help us deliver the best care that we can.”
ADVERTISEMENT
As just one outside resource, Mewinzha collaborates with Arnold Dahl-Wooley who provides a support group for people who are two-spirit, or those who are LGBTQ within the Native American community.
In the Mewinzha building, a two-spirit flag is displayed along with tribal flags representing the various Native lands of which Mewinzha employees are members — ranging from Leech Lake to White Earth to Standing Rock.
Simenson also noted the help of seven male helpers who assist with a variety of tasks whenever needed.
“Their role is just as important as the role that we do within this place right now,” Simenson said. “We rely on them just as much as they rely on us.”
Such a conglomeration of backgrounds aiming to fulfill Mewinzha’s vision of Mino-bimaadiziwin — “live well, have good health and lead a good life” — Nicholson credits as shared leadership.
“We have a really unique, great team of people that we can trust,” Nicholson noted, “so as part of our culture of who we are and how we run as an organization, we try not to have a hierarchy.”
Moving into the future
As the clinic has operated out of the McKenzie Place complex for more than two years, hopes to eventually expand Mewinzha’s services are on the horizon.
ADVERTISEMENT
Still in its early planning stages, the organization is looking to acquire 100 acres of land to place a permanent location as well as build walking trails, space for water and fire teachings, ceremonial spaces and cultivating areas for medicine and food.
“Care doesn’t have to be in a four-wall room necessarily,” Nicholson said. “We would love to be able to have some of our time spent outside. Group care doesn’t have to be inside. I envision us having trails in the woods to be able to do counseling in that way.”
Mewinzha recently started a which has a $50,000 fundraising goal.
With whatever changes the future brings about, Nicholson hopes to offer the same positive atmosphere for those who may visit Mewinzha’s future location as it does in its current space and emphasized Mewinzha’s commitment to being good stewards of all donations.
“When securing the land, it has to be right. It has to be reasonably priced. Even if we fundraise for it, we take those donations very seriously,” Nicholson said. “We’re always mindful of our resources and making sure that we're using them in a way that doesn’t just serve one purpose, but can impact in a lot of different ways. I don’t want it to be a big facility. It’s really important that it’s comfortable and welcoming, and a place that people feel good coming to while being able to have the space for each service that we offer.”
Simenson shared similar sentiments as Mewinzha continues building upon community connections — having served clients throughout the United States and Canada — while preparing for big changes.
“The community needs to know that we’re here to support them,” Simenson left off, “to help guide them and be available to them when they need us.”
ADVERTISEMENT
More information can be found at or on the
The Trust Project
