Aanii, Aazheniikwe ndizhnikaaz. Ajiijaak ndodem; Kchiwiikwedong ndoonjbaa. Ojibwe minwaa odawakwe ndaw.

My name is Angie Sanchez and I am Crane Clan Ojibway and Odawa from Peshawbestown, Michigan. I am an Indigenous Lactation Counselor and was awarded the Indigenous Lactation Counselor of the year for 2022. I am currently a PhD student in the Department of Geography, Environment and Spatial Sciences at Michigan State University where I study health & medical geography.  My research focuses on increasing access to breastfeeding support resources in Indigenous communities. 

I had a lot of issues with breastfeeding my son and was consistently dismissed by healthcare providers when I would tell them that something was wrong. Eventually I figured out the issue on my own and we were able to correct the problem and move on, but I realized how much of my success in breastfeeding relied on community members who should have been there for me but were not. I decided to dedicate my life’s work to ensure that nobody else has to face the same issues alone like I did. 

Breastfeeding has been the single most healing thing I could have done for myself and my child, providing breakthroughs on the collective trauma we as Indigenous people face from years of colonization efforts on our people. Although I am capable of providing direct services (lactation and full spectrum doula), my strengths lie in supporting the overall mission of increasing access to our sacred birth ceremonies that are our natural born rights. I like to use my voice to collaborate with other organizations for funding to help our reclamation of Indigenous birth practices. We aim to position Sacred Waters Collective as a single source for birth work support for Indigenous people in the state of Michigan. We are here to support you however we can.