Abstract
As more Xicanas and Xicanos revitalize their Indigenous lifeways, the health questions and wellness practices those families face concerning raising their children becomes central. There are no easy responses and the conditions that Xicana/o families face differ from household to household. In this essay, we parent-authors write about the role altars and obsidian played in the restoration of our family’s health and well-being. In Part I, mom describes her altar as a model for reconciling her feelings and emotions toward her former life and her new life as an aspiring mother. In Part II, dad describes the use of obsidian in the role of a therapeutic mirror and home-birth tool. Our sources of knowledge stem from the ancestral and the familial, as well as from our own work as educators and mental health workers. To close the essay, we present a healthcare kit for the Indigenous Xicana/o family to reclaim and sustain their native lifeways in their own homes where life matters the most.