A visit with Portland Latina, Mexicana and Xicana Indigenous women, mothers and birth keepers

:: taking place with gratitude on traditional Chinook territory.

Open to all self-identified Indigenous (especially Latina, Mexicana and Xicana Indigena) women interested in the restoration of Indigenous birth and mothering.

RSVP required

My first topic will be Earth Womb Medicine where I discuss the re-matriation water womb and woman within the temazcalli (the mesoamerican sweat house). I will talk about the origins and evolution, near disappearance and contemporary revival and sharing of the temazcalli as it relates to pregnant, birthing and postpartum women, girl’s coming of age, and women entering the blood-pause of Eldership.

I will also offer a sharing I call the Radical Rebozo where I discuss “taking back the rebozo” from its appropriation into North American birth and midwifery culture. I will discuss the rebozo as a mesoamerican Indigenous Technology (IT) and give examples of some of the diverse traditional and contemporary uses of the rebozo. I will also offer a sharing and demonstration of how I perform the postpartum rebozo Closing of the Bones Ceremony that comes from my Mexica relatives and ancestors.

Finally, we will close with a culture share. I ask each attendee to bring a small teaching, that they have permission to share, from their host or ancestral Indigenous lineage about woman, womb, birth, tears, the sweat house, menarche, moon blood, coming of age, mama’s milk or anything to do with Indigenous birth/mothering for a mama/birth centered Indigenous story circle.

I am Krista Arias, Xicana Indigena Euro mixie commited to righting myself and my people. Here is what I want you to know about me and my ancestors/relatives:

“Xicano and MeXicano peoples [are] a pueblo made up of many indigenous nations in diaspora who through a five hundred year project of colonization, neocolonization and de-indianization have been forced economically from their place of origin… Politically, we recognize that we stand with little legal entitlement to our claim as indigenous peoples within America; however, we come together on the belief that, with neither land base nor enrollment card — like so many urban Indians in the North, and so many displaced and undocumented migrants coming from the South — we have the right to “right” ourselves; that is, to attempt to put la Xicana Indigena back into balance with her origins and work vigorously from that site toward the decolonization, economic independence and cultural integrity of our communities.” ~ LaRed Indigena.

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