Name
Gee’eedoydalno
(great grandmother’s name)
Tribal Nation
Koyukon Athabascan / Dene
Tribal member of Native Village of Ruby
Remember
Margaret was born to Dee Olin of Ruby, Alaska, and David Hoffman of Spokane, Washington. Margaret’s maternal heritage is Koyukon Dene, and she is of the Bedseyh (Caribou) clan. Her father descends from Swiss immigrants. Margaret was raised in rural Alaska and is grounded in her Alaska Native culture and values. Ruby is the place she calls home, and her family spent summers there at her grandparents’ fish camp with many aunties, uncles, and cousins. As a young child, her mother called her Benogetse, Girl With Big Eyes. As an adult, in a naming ceremony, she received the name Gee’eedoydalno to honor her great-grandmother Matilda Paul Olin. She was also given a name by Harry Watchmaker of the Kehewin Cree Nation, Kihew Mekwan Iskwew—Eagle Feather Woman.
In middle school, Margaret met EJ David (Kapampangan and Tagalog). Seven years later, they got married. They have four children who came into the world through midwives at home, a hospital, and a birth center. Both of their daughters were breech and thankfully turned before birth by two Native doctors—Rita Blumstein, Yupik, and Mary Sears, Inupiaq.
Margaret and her family are grateful to be guests on Dena’ina Ełnena in Anchorage, Alaska. Fifteen years of working in community health, volunteering as a doula, and motherhood brought remembrances of traditional ways of knowing and healing. Margaret then realized her calling to midwifery. She believes that wellness is in our power and responsibility and that our communities have solutions to thrive. Margaret’s vision is to midwife the healthy birth of new parents who will be strong foundations for their families. She is dedicating her life’s work to Indigenous birthwork, where there is the potential to heal through the transformation of childbirth.
As a Certified Nurse Midwife, Margaret hopes to expand holistic community health approaches and birthing options for Alaska Native families. She is a founding member of the National Indigenous Midwifery Alliance and the Alaska Native Birthworkers Community. She has had the honor of being a midwife with Native birthing families in the Alaska Tribal Health System since 2017.
