Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care

Together, We Raise Our Children in a Good way

Affirming Our Shared Vision

In early 2025, a remarkable milestone unfolded across the Anishinabek Nation. Over several months, regions came together for transformative sessions designed to inspire visioning and collective learning. Through collaborative circles, communities embraced appreciative inquiry and Indigenous knowledge, shaping a strength-based approach that affirms what truly works in early learning and childcare.

These collaborative circles were part of the Ezhi-Mno-Gshke’ewizing Kognaawsang Nookiijigan (How We Raise Our Children in a Good Way Project) which is an initiative that brought communities together to share knowledge, values, and aspirations for high-quality Indigenous early learning and childcare. From these rich conversations, the Early Learning and Child Care Quality Improvement Project team captured community-driven wisdom and partnered with artist Delaney Cox of Think Link Graphics™ to create a visual story map ‘a dynamic representation of the shared vision and commitment to high-quality early learning’. This visual story map reflects the principles and priorities that emerged from those conversations.

High-quality Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care is:  
  • Rooted in Safety, culture, and Anishinaabemowin  
  • Guided by community engagement, respect for leadership, and policies that uphold sovereignty and cultural revitalization.   
  • Emphasizing land-based learning, mentorship, and the wisdom of Elders  
  • Nurturing Anishinaabe identity through education that honors tradition and innovation  
This vision fosters:  
  • Collaboration and reflective practices  
  • Self-care and ongoing professional development  
  • Respectful relationships among children, families, educators, and communities.  

It celebrates children’s spirit, gifts, rites of passage, connecting them to land, water, and traditions through ceremonies, language, and intergenerational relationships. It is a system led by Indigenous Peoples, flexible, inclusive, and accountable where educators are recognized as essential to nurturing future generations, and communities come together to decide what is best for their children.