Mewinzha Ondaadiziike Wiigaming

Mewinzha Ondaadiziike Wiigaming — Long Ago Women Birthing in Lodge, Home, or Hospital — exists because Native families deserve care that is reflective of our knowledge, relationships, teachings, and protocols.

We are a Native-led nonprofit walking alongside families across Red Lake, Leech Lake, and White Earth Nations in Northern Minnesota — from the first days of pregnancy through new parenthood. Through doula and midwifery support, traditional healing, prenatal care, and cultural community, we offer care that reflects who our relatives truly are. Here, families have real choice. They are empowered to lead a good life — one that holds the richness and wholeness of everyday Anishinaabe life.

Grounded in Community Leadership

Mewinzha is led by Native women, knowledge-keepers, and community advocates who have lived the experiences our families carry. Their leadership is rooted not in titles, but in relationship — to the land, to the Nations we serve, and to the generations we are working to protect. They bring together traditional wisdom and lived experience to ensure that every decision we make reflects the communities we belong to.

We are accountable to our relatives. That has always been our guide.

The work of Mewinzha is growing — and so is our responsibility to the families and communities who depend on us.

We are deepening our reach within the Nations we serve, strengthening the circle of care we offer, and building the capacity to walk alongside more families with the same intention and cultural grounding that has guided us from the beginning. This means investing in more birthworkers and healers, expanding access to traditional healing and support services, and bringing our model of care back into relationship with the land. 

Every step forward is rooted in relationship. Every dollar invested in Mewinzha is invested in the future of our communities — in healthier births, stronger families, and generations raised in the fullness of who they are.