I am a medical anthropology student interested in maternal health services in the Canadian North and the ongoing structural racism and social suffering created by colonial health system. I am interested in how mandatory evacuation for childbirth affects both mother and infant’s identity, kinship, and connection to community. My goal is to help support spaces where the needs of Indigenous women are heard, acknowledged, and met.

My research looks at mandatory evacuation for childbirth practices in rural, North Canada. My research aims to contribute to the literature that highlights how Indigenous women and their bodies in Northern Canada are being controlled by colonial policies that support western ideas of health and safety, while ignoring Indigenous beliefs and traditions. My research will look at how Indigenous women feel about evacuation policies, how they would like to give birth, and what methods could be implemented in order to achieve safe, culturally-appropriate, mother-infant oriented childbirth. 

SSHRC CGSM 2021

Dr. Patrick Moore