Cook, Katsi

Scope and Contents In this oral history, Cook traces her family roots to the encounters among African, indigenous, and European peoples in the colonial era. She describes her early formal and informal education and her decision in the 1970s to "bail out" of the assimilation track and embrace indigenous culture and political struggle. She details the development of the Mother's Milk Project and its community-based research. Midwifery is the persistent theme of the interview as Cook recalls her attraction to the...

Scope and Contents

In this 2010 follow-up to her 2005 Voices of Feminism oral history, Cook begins in the Sophia Smith Collection, where she comments on selected items in her papers. She then details her paternal and maternal lineage. Cook provides a full discussion of the centrality of birth to her world view and to her practice of midwifery as cultural, spiritual, medical and political work. She assesses the impact of her decades of activism. Cook concludes by singing Mohawk healing songs.

Abstract Midwife, environmentalist, American Indian rights activist. The Papers consist of information about Cook and her midwifery and women's health practice in the Akwesasne Mohawk community on the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation in northern New York State and on the adjacent Akwesasne reserve in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. The Papers also contain information about Cook's activism related to environmental contamination and human health and about indigenous rights and environmental justice. Included...

Abstract

Oral History Project documenting the persistence and diversity of organizing for women in the United States. Narrators include labor, peace, and anti-racism activists; artists and writers; lesbian rights advocates; grassroots anti-violence and anti-poverty organizers; and women of color reproductive justice leaders. Interviews cover childhood, personal life, and political work. Most oral histories consist of audiovisual recordings and transcripts, plus some background information.