Where Are We?

While our primary location is southern Wisconsin, our leadership team is spread across three American states. Anyone anywhere is eligible for Doulaing The Doula Trainings and Certification.

Currently, Wisconsin is home to eleven recognized indigenous tribes, the most of any state east of the Mississippi river.  Madison is in the DeJope (Four Lakes) area that was settled and stewarded by the Ho Chunk nation. The DeJope area has been continuously inhabited for over ten thousand years.  White peoples colonized this area in the mid 1800’s, killing thousands of indigenous peoples in order to claim and farm the land.  Doulaing The Doula (my home) is on a high ridge that overlooks two of the four main lakes and near another spring fed lake – a prime spot for setting up a home or lookout site.

I am inspired by all those beings who lived here for so long: making food, getting into arguments, making love, having babies, tending to their sick, mourning their dead.  Exactly the same things we still do today.  I imagine all the doulas tending to the people birthing their babies: all the cool cloths on foreheads, the supportive words, the massages, and joy when both parent and child emerge healthy and whole.  Thinking about their lives inspires me. Thinking about how short we actually have here to make a difference keeps me energized and moving forward.

May you also have the gift of connection to a place that gives your life meaning.

-Dr. Amy L. Gilliland, Founder