Indigenous Student Coordinator
Evelyn George is a Nbissing Anishnaabe/French-Canadian Registered Midwife (non-practicing) who completed her midwifery education at Ryerson University in 2009 following a Bachelor of Arts in Health Studies at McMaster University in 2005. After being trained in a busy urban Indigenous practice, Evelyn went on to work in diverse settings including in Saskatoon, Nunavik, Haiti, Penticton and Kelowna. Evelyn has also worked in a variety of midwifery models, including primary call, team call, and physician-midwife collaborative. During her time at Ryerson, Evelyn took a position as a Research Assistant and experienced the success of the Inuit-led midwifery programs in Nunavik, and since then her work has increasingly focused on the return of Indigenous midwifery and birth in Indigenous communities. This is the primary focus of the National Aboriginal Council of Midwives (NACM), of which Evelyn was Co-Chair from 2014-2017. Evelyn continues to work with NACM to support Indigenous communities and Indigenous midwives to bring birth back meaningfully and sustainably.
Evelyn greatly enjoys supporting and learning alongside students, and is glad to be along the educational pathway of the Indigenous midwifery students as the Indigenous Student Coordinator.
Education
Publications and Presentations
Publications
Nihaya Daoud, Kristen O’Brien, Patricia O’Campo, Sarah Harney, Evelyn Harney, Kerry Bebee, Cheryllee Bourgeois, Janet Smylie. Postpartum Depression Prevalence and Risk Factors Among Indigenous, Non-Indigenous and Immigrant Women in Canada. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 2019. https://doi.org/10.17269/s41997-019-00182-8
Brenda Epoo, Jennie Stonier, Vicki Van Wagner, Evelyn Harney. Learning Midwifery in Nunavik: Community-based Education for Inuit Midwives. Pimatisiwin: A Journal on Aboriginal and Indigenous Community Health. Volume 10 #3 2012. Prioritizing Indigenous Maternal and Infant Health. http://www.pimatisiwin.com/online/?page_id=1086.
Vicki Van Wagner, Claire Osepchook, Evelyn Harney, Colleen Crosbie, Mina Tulugak. Remote Midwifery in Nunavik: Outcomes of Perinatal Care 2000-2007 for the Inuulitsivik Health Centre. BIRTH, 2012 Sep;39(3): 230-7.
Vicki Van Wagner, Brenda Epoo, Julie Nastapoka, Evelyn Harney. Reclaiming birth, health and community: midwifery in the Inuit villages of Nunavik, Canada. Journal of Midwifery and Women’s Health, 2007 Jul-Aug; 52(4):384-91. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1526952307001122?via%3Dihub
Presentations
Canadian Association of Midwives annual conference, Gatineau, QC. Bringing Birth Home: NACM and Save the Children Canada’s 2017-18 project successes. With Carmen Barrientos Martinez, October 19, 2019.
Canadian Association of Midwives annual conference, Gatineau, QC. Bringing Birth Home poster presentation. October 18, 2019.
International Congress of Midwives, Toronto. National Aboriginal Council of Midwives: Who We Are, Our History and Vision. With Melissa Brown, June 21, 2017.
International Congress of Midwives, Toronto. Making a Difference through Partnership: A Story of the CAM-NACM Journey. With Tonia Occhionero, June 21, 2017.
International Congress of Midwives, Toronto. Shifting Landscapes of Midwifery- Innovations in Midwifery Care for Aboriginal Communities Poster Presentation. June 21, 2017.
Canadian Association of Midwives annual conference, Montreal, QC. BC’s First Nations Health Authority Funds On-Reserve Midwifery: The Seabird Island Experience. November 5, 2015.
Indigenous Midwifery Ancestral Knowledge Keepers, Albuquerque, NM. The National Aboriginal Council of Midwives as an Organization. October 15, 2015.
First Nations Health Authority Maternal Child Health Teleconference. Aboriginal Midwifery and Working with Midwives. March 11, 2015.
Canadian Association of Midwives annual conference, Saskatoon, SK. The Decolonization of Reproductive Knowledge: Our Indigenous Right. November 6, 2014.
Gathering Our Voices Aboriginal Youth Conference, Penticton, BC. Life as a Registered Midwife. March 20, 2013.
Maternal Health Gathering, Lillooet BC. Interior Health and Association of BC Friendship Societies. IDLE NO MORE and the Restoration of Birth. Aboriginal Midwifery in 2013. February 21, 2013.
British Columbia Pregnancy Outreach Programs annual conference, Richmond, BC. Aboriginal Midwifery. August 24, 2012.
Prince Albert Grand Council Celebration of Birth! The Decolonization of Our Lifecycle: Our Indigenous Right. Prince Albert, SK. June, 2010.
International Conference on Circumpolar Health in Yellowknife, NWT. Birth outcomes for the Inuulitsivik midwifery service in Nunavik, Quebec 2000-2007. July 7, 2009.
Canadian Association of Midwives conference, Quebec City, QC. Birth Outcomes for the Inuulitsivik Midwifery Service in Nunavik, Quebec. November, 2008.