Lesley Paulette | Mohawk – Smith’s Landing First Nation – Treaty 8

Empower

Born and raised in Montreal, Lesley Paulette is a Haudenosaunee (Wolf Clan) midwife, mother, grandmother, and auntie. At an early age, she connected with her mother’s family from the Upper Mohawk Nation of the Six Nations of the Grand River in Southeastern Ontario. Her relationships with relatives, elders, communities, culture, and language shaped her emerging identity as a young Mohawk woman. Lesley later moved north and became a member of Treaty 8 Smith’s Landing First Nation in Alberta, where she and her Dene husband have raised their family for the past forty years.

Lesley always knew she would play a role in helping to restore health and wellness in Indigenous communities. She considered the medical field but feared she might lose herself while pursuing a conventional education. She turned to ceremony for guidance. In time, the midwifery path was revealed to her. She met Mohawk midwife Katsi Cook, who inspired her to commit her life to helping restore the sacred ceremony of birth to the circle of women, family, and community.

Lesley forged her own educational experience at a time when midwifery education programs did not yet exist in Canada. She sought the guidance and teachings of traditional midwives in Haudenosaunee territory and her new home of Denendeh—among them, her clan mother, Elizabeth Silversmith, and mentor, Annie Catholique. Her learning journey encompassed distance education, apprenticeship, and internship with contemporary midwives. Lesley became licensed to practice midwifery in Texas in 1992 and later was among the first group of midwives to become registered in Alberta in 1998. In 2005, she became one of only two registered midwives in Canada’s Northwest Territories and continued to practice for three decades.

Before midwifery was legalized in the territory, Lesley empowered women to resist the oppressive medicalization of pregnancy and birth and to reclaim sacred lifecycle ceremonies in their communities. This renewal of community midwifery was the catalyst for midwifery legislation. Through her work as the Senior Midwifery Consultant for the N.W.T., Lesley played a major role in expanding fully funded services there.

As she embarks on her retirement, Lesley’s commitment to the future of midwifery remains unwavering. She anticipates supporting the education and growth of a future generation of northern and Indigenous midwives and birthworkers, leaving a lasting legacy in the field.