The Wakanyeja Sacred Little Ones and K’é Family Engagement Initiatives presents Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute “YDI Community Planting Event” held on Tuesday April 28th, 2015 from 4:30-6:00pm. This event took place just west of the SIPI/YDI center in the YDI heritage garden.
you give a pig a pancake — oh, the adventure you will have! Maple sugaring was the theme for this Saturday’s College 4 Kids session. Children and their families attending the College of Menominee Nation’s College 4 Kids on March 21 enjoyed the adventures in Laura Numeroff’s book titled If You Give a Pig a Pancake.
Things are moving fast at the Northwest Indian College and the Lummi community. For the last three and a half years of collaboration and planning on behalf of the Wakanyeja “Sacred Little Ones” Early Childhood Education Initiative by the American Indian College Fund, the leadership and partnerships have created many exciting new opportunities for families and children in the Lummi community.
Our first Family Engagement activity was an Ey’ Snat Family Fun Night in September held in conjunction with Sacred Little Ones partner site Lummi Head Start. We wanted families to get to experience a salmon barbeque with salmon cooked in the traditional way.
The College of Menominee (CMN) December Family Engagement Saturday morning activities were every bit as busy as Santa’s workshop would be on the 6th of the month! This semester the CMN Family Engagement grant staff along with our pre-service Teacher Education students designed, developed and delivered all aspects of College 4 Kids, our Saturday morning workshop for parents and their children.
Thanksgiving is a time of sharing and community bonding. The Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI) Youth Development Incorporated (YDI) families engaged with one another during our Native Harvest Feast on November 24, 2014. SIPI YDI families and Wakanyeja “Sacred Little Ones”/Ke’ staff worked together to provide a Native inspired meal to share in honor of the “giving thanks” season.
In July 2014, The American Indian College Fund launched expanded efforts to support tribal colleges and universities in strengthening early childhood education through family engagement. The early childhood initiative, the Ké’ Family Engagement Early Childhood Initiative: Strengthening systems of shared responsibility among Native families, schools and communities seeks to deepen engagement with Native families across four tribal college communities
Every year for Halloween, families and communities come together to give children an experience of laughter, festivities, and pumpkin carving! Halloween is an opportunity for our children to have fun dressing up in costumes, but more importantly celebrate the fall season!
The American Indian College Fund’s Wakanyeja Early Childhood Education Initiative project director at Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, Danielle Lansing, will be presenting a research poster at the Native Children’s Research Exchange (NCRE) at CU-Denver this week.
This fall marks the final year of the initiative; reflection on the accomplishments of the four tribal college grantees spurs new hope and healing amongst the grantee institutions and their respective project partners. Engaging in collective inquiry to impact and change systems within and among tribal communities is complex work.
