Powerful reclamation of birth and culture in new APTN Lumi and Rezolution Pictures series
SPIRIT OF BIRTH host Rebeka Tabobondung embarks upon a journey to Indigenous communities across Canada, and into the sacred world of Indigenous midwives and birth workers as they care for pregnant mothers and families in order to restore birth in their communities. – Photo by Sara Cornthwaite
TORONTO (July 14, 2025) – Birth is sacred. Birth is resistance. Birth is reclamation. These are the guiding truths at the heart of Spirit of Birth, a groundbreaking new unscripted series from Rezolution Pictures, now streaming in English and James Bay Cree on APTN Lumi.
Created, written, and hosted by Anishinaabe filmmaker and MUSKRAT Magazine publisher Rebeka Tabobondung, Spirit of Birth brings viewers into the intimate and powerful stories of Indigenous birthers and the birth workers revitalizing ancestral practices.
Across eight 30-minute episodes, the series weaves together personal journeys, cultural resurgence, and community healing. From urban midwifery collectives to remote northern territories, Spirit of Birth introduces audiences to the Indigenous midwives and families reclaiming traditional roles as life-givers, caregivers, and Nation-builders.
“We were urban Indigenous women, dislocated from our traditional territories, seeking out birth knowledge that had been silenced by colonization,” says Tabobondung, whose own birthing experience sparked a deep and personal journey. “I’ve witnessed a resurgence of midwives and families actively bringing that cultural wisdom back into their lives – and it’s transformational.”
Filmed in six Indigenous communities across the country, the series features:
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Seventh Generation Midwives Toronto (SGMT)
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The James Bay Cree community of ChisasibiT
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K’tigaaning Midwives in Nipissing First Nation
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Kehewin Cree Nation
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Tsi Non:we Ionnakeratstha Ona:grahsta’ Maternal and Child Centre, Six Nations of the Grand River
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Wasauksing First Nation, Tabobondung’s home community
Based on Tabobondung’s 2016 short documentary The Spirit of Birth, this new series expands that vision into a vital resource for families and health care providers, and a compelling portrait of cultural revitalization in action.
Produced by Rezolution Pictures, Spirit of Birth was funded by the Canada Media Fund; the TELUS Fund; APTN, including its Lumi platform; the Quebec Production Services Tax Credit; the Canadian Production Tax Credit; and Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC).
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Media Contacts:
Amy Ede, Stories First
amy@storiesfirst.ca | (613) 294-1408
Shantae Gibson, Rezolution Pictures
shantae@rezpics.com