Gathering for Indigenous Milk Medicine 2026
Join us for the first Gathering for Indigenous Milk Medicine!
November 8 - 11, 2026 | Oklahoma City, OK
+ + + +
This gathering is a hands-on, community-led convening designed to move participants from learning into action. It emphasizes practical skill-building, peer collaboration, policy and advocacy education, and culturally grounded wellness and healing practices. Participants leave with concrete tools, shared strategies, and strengthened relationships they can immediately apply in their work and communities.
Registration is open -
Are you signed up yet?
Join us at OKANA Resort & Indoor Waterpark this November for our first in-person gathering. We will have a special beading presentation, educational sessions (plenary style), Native Market with local vendors, daily breakfast and lunch provided and more.
November 8 - Pre-event
November 9-11 - Gathering Dates
$250 - General Registration
$150 - Vendors
Priority Registration - Self-identifying Indigenous Relatives
Register before October 31
Open Call for Vendors and sponsors
We are currently seeking vendors and sponsors for this year’s Gathering. If you are interested in either opportunity, please sign up and reach out. We would love to have you in attendance and add to the experience.
ANnouncements
Continue to sUPPORT THE Annual T‑Shirt Fundraiser —
Indigenous Milk medicine Week & Gathering for Indigenous Milk Medicine 2026
T-shirts and hoodies are still available through our annual fundraiser - Bonfire website.
Purchase yours today with this year’s beautiful artwork created by Julianne Denny (Cree, Ojibway, Mi’kmaq) — as a way to commemorate and celebrate this year’s theme, “We Keep the Fires Lit: Rising Through Milk Medicine.”
Proceeds collected go towards supporting virtual and in-person programming.
Thank you in advance for your support!
Indigenous
milk medicineweek 2026
August 8–14, 2026
“We KEeP The Fires Lit: Rising Through Milk Medicine”
Thank you for joining us for Indigenous Milk Medicine Week!
Thank you to everyone who helped bring this year’s celebration to life — from our planners and presenters to those who purchased IMMW shirts and hoodies or contributed through donations. Every effort poured into this movement uplifts Milk Medicine and strengthens our communities.
This year reminded us once again how vibrant and resilient our Milk Medicine relatives truly are. The visibility you’ve created, the programming you’ve led, and the support you’ve extended to Indigenous families all shine so brightly. We see you, we appreciate you, and we’re cheering you on as you continue this work.
May you keep the fires lit in your communities wherever you reside, supporting life givers and families on their milk journeys. We’ve heard powerful feedback about how the stories we highlighted and the virtual programming we continue to offer have encouraged, motivated, and validated so many. Some relatives shared that they now feel inspired to pursue the IBCLC pathway or become Indigenous Lactation Counselors — and we love to see it and hear about it!
Please continue showing up for your communities in whatever ways you can and continue supporting the Collective and IMMW. Your contributions make a real difference.
— Sincerely,
Indigenous Milk Medicine Collective
The Archives
2026 Indigenous Milk Medicine Week Sessions
++++ All Week Long ++++
Indigenous Milk Medicine Week virtual 5K
August 8 - 14, 2026
Anytime - Wherever you are
(at your own leisure)Movement is medicine. Join us for the IMMW Virtual 5K, a free and flexible community event where relatives of all ages can run, walk, roll, dance, or move in whatever way feels good. Complete your 5K anytime during Indigenous Milk Medicine Week and celebrate our theme, We Keep the Fires Lit: Rising Through Milk Medicine, by honoring connection, wellness, and the strength of Indigenous families and communities.
SUPPORTIVE ACTION: Share your photo on social media using the hashtags and tag us on Instagram and Facebook so we can celebrate together. #WeKeepTheFiresLit5K #RiseThroughMilkMedicine5K #IndigenousMilkMedicineWeek5K #IMMW2026
++++ saturday ++++
Rise & Rally Saturday
Self-Care SatuRDAY
Spirit Week Theme Day: “Rise & Rally Saturday”
Supportive Action: Wake up and join us in movement to kick off IMMW 2026! Sign up and participate in the virtual 5K. Don’t forget to post on social media and tag us or use our hashtags!
Daily Post: “Self-Care Saturday”
Self‑care is community care. Today we honor rest or movement, reflection, and the ways we nurture mind, body, and spirit to keep the fires lit. Share your self‑care practices or wellness offerings that uplift balance and healing within our communities.
++++ sunday ++++
Healing Sunday
Spirit Week Theme Day: “Healing Sunday”
Supportive Action: Wear orange. We wear orange to honor the children who never came home, uplift survivors, and stand with the generations rising.
Every Child Matters — today and every day.
Daily Post: “Healing Sunday”
Today. we wear orange to honor the children who never came home, uplift survivors, and stand with the generations rising. Healing asks us to pause, remember, and reflect on the stories, teachings, and truths carried by our communities.
What are you reflecting on today as we honor Healing Sunday? A teaching, a memory, a commitment, a hope — share what’s on your heart as we hold space together.
++++ monday ++++
Mocs & Tees Monday
MOvement Monday - CHair Exercise Session
Spirit Week Theme Day: “Mocs & Tees Monday”
Supportive Action: Rock your mocs and/ or your IMMW or breastfeeding supporting t-shirts! We want to see you in style! Post on social media.
“Movement Monday: Chair Exercises”
Join us for the Chair Exercise Session led by Chebon Gooden (Chickasaw, Creek, Seminole), highlighting accessible movement and the connection between breastfeeding, wellness, and diabetes prevention.
If you watched or plan to watch the Chair Exercise Session, please take a moment to sign in using our short form.
12 pm ET
Posted on our social media
++++ Tuesday ++++
Two Spirit Tuesday
Spirit Week Theme Day: “Two Spirit Tuesday”
Supportive Action: Honor our Two-Spirit relatives with a message of love, solidarity, or visibility. Share affirmations, artwork, stories, or photos that uplift Two-Spirit brilliance.
“Two Spirit Relatives in Birthkeeping & Indigenous Milk Medicine Panel”
Guided by this year's theme, "We Keep the Fires Lit: Rising Through Milk Medicine," this conversation honors Indigenous lactation as a living practice of continuity, collective care, and cultural responsibility. Together, we will explore how Two Spirit relatives carry teachings, relationships, and responsibilities within birthkeeping spaces - and how these experiences shape the ways we nourish our families and communities. This session uplifts the unique perspectives and contributions of Two Spirit birthkeepers and Indigenous Lactation Counselors. Participants are invited to share stories, teachings, and reflections on how Two Spirit relatives continue the work of Milk Medicine for future generations.
+ Panelist #1 - T’Leeuh Antone +(They / them) | Akimel O’odham
A Two‑Spirit indigiqueer birthworker from the Gila River Indian Community. They currently serve as a Birthkeeper and Indigenous Lactation Counselor with Hummingbird Indigenous Family Services, offering full‑spectrum support including harm reduction, death work, and queer fertility care. Outside of birthwork, T’Leeuh enjoys printmaking, bingo, and traveling for music and street art.
+ Panelist #2 - Anthony Johnson + (He/ him) | Navajo
An artist, poet, photographer, and cultural documentarian whose work centers healing through story. A graduate of Harvard University, he has worked across tech, fashion, and consulting, and now serves as a Project Coordinator in Kehewin Cree Nation, supporting the revitalization of Traditional Cree birthing practices and medicines. As a filmmaker and winner of The Amazing Race Canada, Anthony uses his platform to uplift Two Spirit and Trans visibility, recovery, mental health, personal transformation, and Indigenous issues.
Moderator- Jasha Lyons Echo-Hawk (they/them)
is a self-described “Intertribal Love Song,” and Two Spirit relative, belonging to the Seminole, Pawnee, Iowa, Omaha, and Mvskoke Creek Nations. As the Founder of Four Sisters Birth and Health Sovereignty, Founding Director of Indigenous Milk Medicine Collective, and creator of Indigenous Milk Medicine Week, and the recent founder of Rezcycled, they center intergenerational knowledge, cultural expression, and narrative visibility in community-rooted health, policy, and advocacy work.
August 11, 2026
Panel - 12 pm ET
Register for Zoom Webinar
Free
++++ wednesday ++++
BEADS & BLING Wednesday
Spirit Week Theme Day: “Beads & Bling Wednesday”
Supportive Action: Rock your favorite bling or beadwork today! Don’t forget to post your look and tag IMMW — let’s shine together and uplift Indigenous artistry.
“Artist Spotlight Session with Julianne Denny”
Join us for our Featured Artist Session honoring Julianne Denny (Cree, Ojibway, Mi’kmaq), the artist behind this year’s Indigenous Milk Medicine Week 2026 artwork. Her piece beautifully reflects our theme, “We Keep the Fires Lit: Rising Through Milk Medicine,” capturing the strength, connection, and cultural continuity carried through Milk Medicine. In this session, Julianne will share the story behind her artwork, the teachings that guide her creative practice, and the ways visual storytelling uplifts Indigenous families, birthwork, and community care. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about her artistic process, inspirations, and the cultural meaning woven throughout her work. We’re honored to celebrate Julianne’s contribution to IMMW 2026 and to hold space for conversation around art, identity, and the brilliance of Indigenous creativity.
+Julianne Denny Bio+ Julianne Denny (Cree, Ojibway, Mi’kmaq), a multidisciplinary Indigenous artist, lactation counselor, and birthworker who raises her family in the Rocky Boy community. Juliannes roots stem all the way to Membertou First Nation in Nova Scotia, Canada. Her artwork for IMMW 2026 beautifully captures the essence of connection, kinship, and the strength of Indigenous families. Julianne holds degrees in Fine Arts and Human Services. She currently is working on her certification as a Community Family Support Worker.
Moderator: Jasha Lyons Echo-Hawk (They/them) is a self-described “Intertribal Love Song,” and Two Spirit relative, belonging to the Seminole, Pawnee, Iowa, Omaha, and Mvskoke Creek Nations. As the Founder of Four Sisters Birth and Health Sovereignty, Founding Director of Indigenous Milk Medicine Collective, and creator of Indigenous Milk Medicine Week, and the recent founder of Rezcycled, they center intergenerational knowledge, cultural expression, and narrative visibility in community-rooted health, policy, and advocacy work.
August 12, 2026
1pm ET
Register for Zoom Webinar
Free
++++ THursday ++++
TIti Thursday
Spirit Week Theme Day: “Titi Thursday”
Supportive Action: It’s Virtual Latch Day! Share a photo, your milk journey story, or a message about how you uplift others on theirs. Celebrate the aunties, caregivers, and milk medicine supporters who keep our families strong.
“Ask an Indigy IBCLC Panel Session”
Join us for this special live Q&A session during Indigenous Milk Medicine Week 2026! Out of more than 39,000 International Board-Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLCs) across 137 countries, a little over 25 IBCLCs identify as Indigenous. This makes the work and leadership of Indigenous IBCLCs not only rare, but profoundly impactful.
This year, four panelists will share their journeys into the field, the investment and support, and offer insights on what it means to support families through a lens of identity, culture, and sovereignty.
2026 Panelists
✦ Ashley Renee Sayers (She/Her) — Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
✦ Sam Gann (She/Her) — Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa
✦ Naomi Defoe (She/Her) — Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa
✦ Kylee Graham (She/Her) — Cherokee Nation
Moderators (Indigenous IBCLCs)
✦ Camie Goldhammer (Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyaté)
✦ Kimberly Moore-Salas (Diné/Navajo)
August 13, 2026
Panel - 1pm ET
Register for Zoom Webinar
Free
++++ Friday++++
Firekeeper friday
Spirit Week Theme Day: “Firekeeper Friday”
Supportive Action: Celebrate the beauty and diversity of Indigenous peoples across Turtle Island and beyond. Wear your cultural attire or share items that represent your identity and tell us how you keep the fires lit.
Daily Post: Today we celebrate Unapologetically Indigenous Day by uplifting the beauty, diversity, and strength of Indigenous peoples across Turtle Island and beyond.
Wear something that represents your culture — regalia, beadwork, ribbon skirts, kapa, lei, shells, textiles, colors, patterns, or any item that carries meaning for your people. If cultural attire isn’t part of your practice, share an item, symbol, or teaching that reflects your identity and the ways you keep your fire lit.
Tell us the significance of what you’re wearing or sharing.
Your stories help uplift the brilliance of our Nations, our languages, and our lifeways. Drop a photo, a teaching, or a reflection below and help us celebrate the many ways Indigenous identity shines.
#UnapologeticallyIndigenous #IMMW2026 #WeKeepTheFiresLit
“Weaving Mātauranga Māori/Māori wisdom, Whānau experience and Primary Health Settings in Aotearoa” with Carmen Parata”
Join Ngāti Kahungunu researcher Ms. Carmen Parata (Ngāti Kahungunu), RN, MA Nursing, for a powerful session on "Weaving Mātauranga Māori, Whānau Experience, and Primary Health Settings" in Aotearoa. Carmen will share her work in Whāngai ū/breastfeeding as a public health researcher, highlighting the strength of hapori/community in normalising breastfeeding through collective values, whānau/family support, and socially accepting environments free from stigma. Breastfeeding success needs to be reframed beyond duration or volume, recognising Whāngai ū as a taonga/special gift when understood through a whānau/family-centred lens. As we continue to “Keep the Home Fires burning bright” we ensure that our Indigenous knowledge is transmitted into the future to benefit our generations ahead.
August 14, 2026
3pm CT
Zoom Webinar
(Not streaming on Facebook Live)
Free