JUNE’S CREATIVEMORNINGS THEME IS MATRIARCHY

We often return to the CreativeMornings manifesto as a compass that guides our work. At the heart of the manifesto, there are these words: Everyone is creative. Everyone is welcome.

Each month, a different CreativeMornings chapter picks the global theme, including this month’s theme, Matriarchy. To discuss matriarchy is to discuss women, from across the vast spectrum of identities and experiences of what it means to be a woman in our society. CreativeMornings/Rotterdam chose June’s Matriarchy theme, and Xaviera Altena created the accompanying illustration.

This month we are honoring women and reimagining the systems and structures embedded in our societies. It is a way focusing attention on swathe of the population whose have historically been suppressed and whose voices have been silenced.

Imagine a society in which women make all the key decisions that shape the safety, health, education, opportunities, and culture of the community. What would your town or city look like if the systems and structures were re-envisioned and women held the majority of the positions of power and leadership? What would change? What would it feel like? Or maybe you already live in such an environment; societies led by powerful women exist today, including Indigenous communities around the world.

The experience of women supporting women, children and families during pregnancy, childbirth and post-partem is one of the most powerful opportunities for the sharing of knowledge, support and cultural transmission. Therefore, when CreativeMornings Winnipeg was considering our CreativeMornings speaker for June, there was no more perfect match than the first Indigenous midwife to be the President of the Canadian Association of Midwives: Nathalie Pambrun!

Nathalie Pambrum is a mother of three children and currently lives in Treaty One Territory.

Nathalie is a Franco-Manitoban Métis midwife who has practiced for 17 years in urban, rural and remote communities across Canada and the world. Committed to midwifery care that is accessible, equitable, and culturally safe, Nathalie works primarily in Winnipeg with Indigenous teens and newcomers to Canada.

As the Past-President of the Canadian Association of Midwives (2018-2020), Nathalie is CAM’s first ever Indigenous midwife to serve as President of the organization and served on the board for 9 years.

A founding member of the National Aboriginal Council of Midwives (NACM) for the last 16 years and served a two-year term as the organization’s co-Chair between 2011-2012. Nathalie has been instrumental in building a unique partnership between these two midwifery associations that respects self-determination, reciprocity and humility.

Currently Nathalie is NACM’s Advocacy and Policy Advisor focusing on federal files related to eliminating anti-Indigenous racism in the Canadian health care system through Indigenous-led education initiatives to grow the Indigenous midwifery primary health workforce.

Nathalie is a board member of Grand Challenges Canada with a cross appointment to the Indigenous Innovation Council empowering First Nation, Inuit and Metis innovators and communities to identify and solve their own challenges, transform lives and drive inclusive growth and health through innovation.

Our Musical Guest: DIAPHANIE

We are also pleased to be joined by the musician Diaphanie!

Diaphanie means “the art of recreating stained glass on translucent paper”. its tremulous nature defies genre and makes each song part of the ephemera, never permanent. Led by writer/singer Heather Thomas (ATLAAS, Bunny), Diaphanie was born out of a desire to slough off the shackles of a high risk/low reward music industry system and forget that music is a business. Every song is an exploration of styles and moods, and a meeting of different minds, bound together by the throughline of Thomas’ expressive and ethereal voice.