In recognition of Native American Heritage Month in November, MassLive asked readers to identify people who are leaders from the Indigenous community throughout the state, working to make a difference in their own area of interest, be it politics, education, business or the arts.
MassLive will publish profiles of these leaders through November. These are people our readers have identified as inspirational, who may be doing good acts for their communities. They are being recognized for their accomplishments, leadership and commitment to inspire change.
Feyla McNamara is the co-executive director at Tides for Reproductive Freedom. (Hoang ‘Leon’ Nguyen / The Republican)Leon Nguyen
Feyla McNamara
Age: 37
Community: Holyoke
Her story: Feyla McNamara’s mission as a Mohawk/Mi’kmaw Indigenous advocate and activist for the right to reproductive choice led her to become Co-Executive Director of the first abortion fund in Massachusetts founded and led by people who have had abortions along with queer, Black and Indigenous people called Tides for Reproductive Freedom.
“The right to bodily autonomy and the pursuit of pregnancy, or not, is intrinsic to my people’s beliefs, aligning with the beliefs of many of the other Indigenous Nations across the Americas,” McNamara said.
“This work is important to our community because our people had, and still have, our own beliefs and practices around abortion prior to colonization,” she said of Tides for Reproductive Freedom’s activism.
McNamara, a former high school history teacher, explained her organization financially aids Indigenous communities by paying for abortions with donated funds and provides rides to and from appointments.
She said this gives people the right to “get the healthcare they choose” as abortions can cost thousands of dollars and be a financial strain.
In addition, Tides helps uplift Indigenous voices in the conversation around reproductive rights, McNamara added. She said her community’s healthcare systems, such as the federally-funded Indian Health Services, are “complicated.”
Legislation called the Hyde Amendment stops federal funds for being used for abortions, McNamara said, but Tides’ financial assistance works around the federal law.
“Abortion is just one prong of Reproductive Justice, which states that it is our right to have a child, our right to not have a child, and our right to parent a child or children in safe and healthy environments,” she said.
“To me, abortion is sacred. The right to bodily autonomy is ingrained in I how view the world,” she explained.
From advocating for sex education beyond abstinence in middle school, to driving friends to Planned Parenthood for birth control, to holding loved ones after their abortions and affirming loved ones in choosing pregnancy, McNamara said she was “literally born into this work” as a birthing person and it’s a part of who she is.
In her words: “Do not just remember us in November and forget about us the other 11 months of the year… Seriously, please reach out to local Native communities if there’s work you want to partner with us on or ways you can help us get some land back. That’s also serious; we need powwow grounds for the Odenong Powwow in the Five College area or a little beyond — grounds accessible by bus, flat-ish for dancing, and maybe big enough that we could do a medicine garden on it too.”
We’re always open to hear about more inspiring people. If you’d like to suggest someone else who should be recognized, please fill out this form.
