Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation Breastfeeding Coalition

11/12/2025

💜

We are honored to work alongside Angie Sanchez, ILC, IFSD, MBA (soon-to-be PhD) - an advocate, educator, and Co-founder of Sacred Waters Collective. 🌿

Angie’s work honors the connection between healing, bodyfeeding, and restoring Indigenous traditions. Through her leadership, she uplifts families and helps reclaim practices that center wellness, community, and support. 🌸

Angie shares, “Breastfeeding my son was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. At the same time, it was the single most healing thing I have ever done for myself. I do this work because I want to help others heal in the same way; this work is undoing hundreds of years of cultural genocide being committed against Indigenous people one baby and mama at a time. It is healing hundreds of years of generational trauma one family at a time.” 💛

Learn more about Sacred Waters Collective:
🔗 sacredwaterscollective.co

Support Angie’s work:
💸 Venmo: -Said
💸 PayPal:
💸 Zelle: angie_shinos@hotmail.com

Thanks so much, Angie, for your leadership, care, and dedication to reclaiming birth, bodyfeeding, and Indigenous healing for generations to come. 🌱

11/11/2025

Happy Veterans Day!

11/10/2025

******NOT ABOUT INFANTS WHO NIGHT WEAN NATURALLY ON THEIR OWN*******

Night weaning before 12 months isn’t generally recommended because nighttime feeds serve more than just nutrition. They help regulate your baby’s hormones, maintain milk supply, and provide comfort and security, all essential for healthy emotional and physical development.

🌙 Here’s why night feeds still matter:
- Caloric needs: Many babies under one still rely on breast milk for a significant portion of their daily intake.
- Milk supply: Prolactin (the milk-making hormone) peaks at night, which means those nighttime sessions help sustain your supply.
- Emotional regulation: Night nursing provides comfort, reassurance, and bonding, especially during developmental leaps or teething.
- Sleep cycles: Babies wake frequently as a biological protection mechanism , it’s developmentally normal, not a “bad habit.”

While some babies may naturally drop feeds earlier, most benefit from waiting until closer to 18 months before fully night weaning. At that age, nutritional needs, emotional regulation, and attachment are more mature.

If you do begin night weaning later on, it’s best to approach it gradually and gently, with reassurance, physical closeness, and understanding that every child’s readiness is different.

🤍 Night feeds are not setbacks, they’re part of a healthy, normal rhythm of infancy.

11/08/2025

11/08/2025

👼🏼🥰🫶🏻

11/08/2025

Benefits of breastfeeding

Research shows immune changes after breastfeeding could prevent cancer
Written by: Mie Hermansen
Date: November 1, 2025

"A new study suggests that breastfeeding may leave lasting immune protection in mothers, lowering their risk of breast cancer later in life.

Sleepless nights, early mornings, and endless feeding sessions — breastfeeding can feel like a marathon for new mothers.

But science now shows that those long months may leave behind more than memories and midnight feedings. They might also give lasting protection against one of the most feared diseases.

A hidden immune advantage
Researchers from the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne have found that breastfeeding doesn’t just benefit the baby — it also appears to strengthen the mother’s immune system in ways that could lower her risk of breast cancer later in life.

Published in the journal Nature, the study reveals that women who have breastfed may retain specialized immune cells in their breast tissue for decades.
These cells seem to act as sentinels, monitoring for abnormal activity that could develop into tumors.

Scientists believe this discovery could transform understanding of how the immune system adapts after pregnancy and why mothers tend to have a lower lifetime risk of certain cancers.

Traces of pregnancy that protect for years
Until now, the protective link between childbirth and reduced breast cancer risk was thought to stem mainly from hormonal changes.

But the new research suggests that the body’s immune response may play a much bigger role than previously realized.
The team analyzed breast tissue samples from both healthy women and breast cancer patients, comparing those who had given birth with those who had not.

They also conducted experiments on mice to confirm the immune mechanisms at work.

Results indicated that women who had breastfed retained more immune memory cells — a possible biological shield developed to protect mothers during the vulnerable postpartum period.

These cells may continue to safeguard tissue long after breastfeeding ends, potentially explaining the lower rates of aggressive cancer types such as triple-negative breast cancer among mothers.
What scientists observed
Researchers noted several consistent patterns across both human and animal samples:

Breastfeeding mothers had a higher concentration of immune-related T cells in breast tissue.
These immune cells remained active for many years after lactation ended.
The cells appeared to detect and respond more quickly to cellular changes that can lead to cancer.
The findings could help guide future prevention and treatment strategies, focusing on how to replicate or enhance this natural immune protection in women who haven’t given birth.

While more studies are needed, experts say the research adds to growing evidence that breastfeeding can have powerful, long-term benefits — not only for the child but also for the mother’s health."

https://welltica.com/research-shows-immune-changes-after-breastfeeding-could-prevent-cancer/

11/08/2025

11/07/2025

is currently open because of emergency funds released earlier this week, but these funds are only temporary. It is long past time for Congress to do its job and pass a full FY26 spending bill.

✏️ Write to your reps: bit.ly/FUNDWIC26

11/06/2025

Each and everyone of you!!!

Thank you for showing up, for the late nights, the cracked ni***es, the tears, and the quiet victories no one else saw.

Thank you for choosing to do something ancient, powerful, and sacred in a world that often tells you it’s unnecessary, inconvenient, or outdated.

Thank you for trusting your body when society made you doubt it. For saying no to pressure and yes to biology, even when the world around you questioned it. You’ve heard the comments: “It doesnt matter either way” “You’re still breastfeeding?” “All kids eat nuggies off the floor anyway.” And still, you kept going.

You fed your baby with your body, in parking lots, bathrooms, supply closets, hospital chairs, and sleepless nights. You pumped between shifts, packed milk in coolers, and whispered “just one more ounce” through exhaustion and grace.

You weren’t doing “what’s best”, you were doing what’s right. What nature intended. What every mammal before you has done to sustain life.
And you did it in a culture that praises everything artificial and questions everything biological.

You breastfed through mastitis, clogged ducts, tongue ties, postpartum anxiety, and the endless noise of people who don’t understand.

You breastfed when you were told your milk wasn’t enough, but it was. You breastfed when your letdown burned, your baby cried, and your patience thinned, but love remained steady.

You didn’t just make milk, you made antibodies, comfort, and connection. You regulated your baby’s heartbeat, temperature, hormones, and emotions, with nothing more than your presence.

And even if no one ever said it, thank you.

Thank you for showing other women that breastfeeding isn’t weakness, it’s resistance. Thank you for proving that nurture and nature still belong in the same sentence. Thank you for being the quiet revolution, for every mother who was told she couldn’t, shouldn’t, or didn’t need to.

You are the proof that the system is what’s broken, not your body. Your milk is medicine. Your effort is advocacy. And your baby is thriving because you did what you were designed to do.

Breastfeeding isn’t easy, but you made it possible.
And for that, you deserve to be thanked, celebrated, and protected. 🩷🤱🏼

11/06/2025

We dont call it liquid gold for nothing!!!

Something most people never realize… your body is a living pharmacy.

Every time your baby latches, you’re not just nourishing them, you’re delivering customized medicine: antibodies, anti-inflammatories, hormones, enzymes, stem cells, and comfort all in one. Your milk shifts with your baby’s age, time of day, and even their saliva signals, fine-tuning itself to meet their exact needs.

No prescription can match that kind of precision.
No lab can replicate that kind of intelligence.

The most powerful pharmacy in the world doesn’t have walls, it has you. 🤱🏼💫

11/05/2025

‼️‼️UPDATE!!!!! LYNNAYA HAS BEEN SAFELY LOCATED‼️‼️

🚨 MISSING CHILD ALERT – PLEASE SHARE 🚨
Name: Lynnaya Bullen
Age: 15 years old
Race/Ethnicity: Native American
Height: 5'5"
Weight: 160 lbs
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown
Lynnaya Bullen has been reported missing after running away from her residence in Topeka, Kansas in the early morning hours of October 31, 2025 (around 2:00 AM). She has not been seen or heard from directly since that time.
Although Lynnaya’s current location is unknown, recent activity on her phone and app usage suggests she may be in the Topeka, Kansas area. It’s possible she may be with friends or individuals she met online. Her family, friends, and community are deeply worried about her safety and well-being.
Lynnaya is a member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, and the Prairie Band Potawatomi Tribal Police Department is actively investigating her disappearance.
Please keep an eye out for anyone matching Lynnaya’s description and report any possible sightings or information immediately. Even the smallest tip could help bring her home safely.
📞 If you have any information, please contact:
Prairie Band Potawatomi Tribal Police Department
Phone: 785-966-3024
You can also call your local law enforcement agency if you believe you’ve seen her or know where she might be.
🙏 Please share this post widely to help bring Lynnaya home. Every share increases the chances that someone who knows something will come forward.