Engaging with Families in the Wiikwedong ECD Collaborative – Indigenous Visiting

The relationship between early learning programs and families is critical. In many systems, family engagement is prescribed through home visits and checklists and observation protocols. The Wiikwedong Early Childhood Development (ECD) Collaborative in the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community has asked the question: How do we visit Ojibwe families in ways that draw upon Native cultural practices of relationship, connection, and care? Out of their inquiry into this question has emerged the concept of Indigenous Visiting. In this episode, members of the Wiikwedong ECD Collaborative will join us to discuss these questions: What is Indigenous Visiting within the practice of early childhood development? What is the Wiikwedong ECD Collaborative’s process of developing Indigenous Visiting practices across four early childhood development programs and family services? And what are examples of learning kits that parents, families, and teachers can engage in creating together? Register now

Turtle Talk: Collectively Raising Indige-babies is a free conversation series convened by the Indigenous Early Learning Collaborative (IELC) Institute as a fun way to engage parents and families in thinking forward about how we collectively raise Indigenous children and babies in a contemporary and fast-growing technological, global Indigenous society. The series is moderated by Tarajean Yazzie-Mintz, EdD, IELC Institute Director and Co-Founder and Principal Consultant at First Light Education Project. All episodes are free and open to all — register today!

The 60-minute conversations run on four Fridays, beginning on May 2 and ending on November 7. Each webinar has live Spanish language translation and captioning available.