EEYOU ISTCHEE PIMAATISIIWIN CHISKUTIMAACHAWIN (EIPC) UTINAAUSUWIN (MIDWIFERY) TRAINING PROGRAM

The Eeyou Istchee Pimaatisiiwin Chiskutimaachawin (EIPC) started in July 2024 with 4 chiskutimwaakanch (learners) in Chisasibi. In January 2024 the program is expanding to Waskaganish. Openings for positions will be announced here as they become available.

The Cree Health Board has an education program to train Eeyou/Eenou midwives. 

The training is consistent with the standards of university programs in the South but adapted for a remote, Northern and Eeyou/Eenou setting. The first cohort will start in July 2024. Four trainees were selected to start, with others put on a waiting list. As soon as a trainee leaves the program, or there are more births on territory, or the program expands to other poles, the program will start more trainees. 

This program is:  

• A mix of old and new. Learned skills will be a blend of modern, medical skills and traditional and cultural skills.  
• On-territory. The program will start in Chisasibi then expand to Waskaganish and Mistissini. People can apply from across the region. The program has one 4-bedroom house and will see how it can best house applicants from outside Chisasibi who are chosen. There will probably be some placements in the South in the future. 
• Community-driven. An Advisory Group made up of community representatives oversee the program. Community members are consulted at every step.   
• Competency-based. Most of the learning is hands-on, starting day one. Mentors will be mostly kaa utinaausuuch (midwives). Indigenous kaa utinaausuuch from across Canada will visit to teach.  
• The Canadian Midwifery Regulators Council, the Ordre des Sages-femmes du Québec and the National Council of Indigenous Midwives outline the competencies midwives must achieve. The Cree Health Board has added clinical and cultural competencies important for the Eeyou-Eenou kaa utinaausut (midwife) to have. Once chiskutimwaakanch (learners) achieve all the competencies, they will be eligible for a provincial license from the Ordre des Sages-femmes du Québec and can work anywhere in the province.  
• Laddered. Chiskutimwaakanch (learners) will work at their own pace and achieve competencies in different orders. Chiskutimwaakanch need to attend 60 births to graduate. 
• Integrates traditional waapimasusuwin knowledge. Training will stem from Eeyou/Eenou traditional and cultural knowledge and practices. Elders and knowledge keepers will mentor chiskutimwaakanch (learners).  
• Accessible. Chiskutimwaakanch (learners) are hired full-time as Midwife Trainees with on-call/over-time hours and benefits. Cree Health Board policy regarding holidays and sick days applies.  

We are not accepting new applications at this time. More information will be shared when new positions open up. 

Traditionally, every Eeyou/Eenou family had a kaa utinaausut (midwife). With colonization, Indigenous kaa utinaausuuch (midwives) were outlawed and pregnant people were evacuated for waapimaausuwin (birth) in hospitals in the South with doctors. 

Since 2004, the Cree Health Board and Eeyou Istchee communities have worked hard to return waapimaausuwin (birth) to the territory. Midwifery Services began in Chisasibi in 2017 with Québecoise kaa utinaausuuch (midwives) providing care. Over 100 babies have now been born in Chisasibi. Expansion of services to Waskaganish and plans for expansion to Mistissini are underway. Birth Homes are being built in the three poles. 

Most kaa utinaausuuch (midwives) in Canada train in university programs in the South. Université des Trois-Rivieres du Québec is the university midwifery education program in Québec. Cegep Sciences are required for admission and it is taught in French. The program is full-time over four years and is a mix of classroom and hands-on learning.  

Graduates are licensed by the Ordre des Sages-femmes du Québec and hired by the Ministry of Health.   

Indigenous communities in Quebec can train and license their own midwives. These programs are home-grown. Graduates can be licensed by the Band Council and only work on territory OR they can be licensed like the university graduates. 

The oldest community-based, Indigenous midwifery education program is in Nunavik and has been running since 1985. Inuit kaa utinaausuuch (midwives) take care of all the pregnant people on territory throughout all the life stages. 95% of Inuit births are on-territory, and they have excellent outcomes.