Traditional Midwifery Day

Traditional midwives, known as parteras tradicionales, gather in San Juan Bautista Cuicatlán, Oaxaca to honor the ancestral wisdom, birth keeping practices, and legacies of traditional healers at the forefront of reproductive justice care and resistance movements. They gather around the tlamanalli, an offering of mangos, flowers, seeds, copal, and smoke to honor the ancestors guiding their journeys and offering ongoing protection and blessings.  This photo was taken by a 5th year Indigenous PhD Student curating a critical ethnographic project exploring Indigenous healing practices and knowledge exchange across the US-Mexico state sanctioned border.