Cheryllee Bourgeois is a mother of three, aunty to many and an Indigenous Midwife working with Seventh Generation Midwives Toronto. She is from the Metis Nation, with roots in the Red River District and the Missouri River Basin in North Dakota. Cheryllee teaches in the Ryerson Midwifery Education Program sits on the Core-leadership of the National Aboriginal Council of Midwives and has been involved in multiple projects supporting Indigenous communities in Canada to bring birth closer to home.
Her work includes international Indigenous partnerships to support the knowledge transmission, skill development and practice of traditional Indigenous midwifery in Peru and Mexico – including advocating for Indigenous Midwifery at the United Nations. Cheryllee worked as co-lead in the establishment of the midwife-led and Indigenous governed Toronto Birth Centre, where she continues to serve as President of the Board. She has dedicated her work as a midwife to supporting Indigenous midwifery students, working to both change systems to provide better access to Indigenous knowledge and create approaches to midwifery education grounded in cultural integrity. Cheryllee believes wholeheartedly that the practice of self determination supports the health and wellbeing of Indigenous Nations.
