Maddie Amyotte

With her Masters in Nursing – Midwifery, Maddie sits on the Board of Directors for the Alberta Association of Midwives. YMM: In your opinion, in what areas could Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo improve? MA: Fort McMurray needs to improve the wellness of our Indigenous families, particularly around perinatal health care. We are currently under an evacuation policy that requires our people to leave their home communities to have their babies. We need to work to bring birth back to the land and back to the community. YMM: What do you consider the best things about our community? MA: We love Fort McMurray! We love the sense of community and the activities put on for families. You can really feel the deep connection to Indigenous culture and tradition here, and I love being able to raise my children with that connection to culture. YMM: What does community mean to you? MA: Community is about a sense of belonging and support; surrounding yourself with people who will support you through the hard times and celebrate your successes with you. YMM: What accomplishment are you most proud of? MA: I am most proud of the family I have built. When I look at the qualities my young children possess, I remember that even though being a mother is hard work, it is rewarding. YMM: What is the best advice that you ever received? MA: The best advice I have ever received was to not live down to expectations. YMM: What is the worst advice that you ever received? MA: The worst advice I’ve ever received was being told that people can’t be loved by others until they love themselves. People NEED to be loved even when they don’t love themselves. We need our people to love on us and support us when we need it most. YMM: What are you best at? MA: Catching babies! YMM: Who is your hero, and why? MA: I am my own hero. I have learned that you can’t count on anyone but yourself, and I’m proud of what I have accomplished. YMM: What would you say to your 12-year-old self? MA: I would tell my 12-year-old self to slow down! I was so eager to grow up. Of course, looking back I would try to savour my youth. YMM: What is the biggest challenge you’ve taken on this year? MA: Growing our non-profit! We have taken lots of risks, and have followed Creator’s path for us. It has been lots of work, and very difficult at times, but it has all been worth it! YMM: How should success be measured? MA: Success should be measured on a personal basis. No one should be creating the scale by which success is measured except the person themselves. We all have different measures of success, and that is ok! YMM: What motivates you? MA: My family and my community motivate me. My family motivates my home life, and my community motivates my work life.