Ihduwiyayapi: Advancing Indigenous
Early Childhood Education

2021 – Ongoing

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About The Program

The Ihduwiyayapi: Advancing Indigenous Early Childhood Education program partners with tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) to build the capacity of their early childhood education programs and improve teacher education through family and community outreach, enhanced child developmental pedagogy, pathways development, enhanced capacity, and engagement in national conversations about ECE best practices and lessons learned.

The program piloted in 2021 through $600,000 and $350,000 grants from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and Heising-Simons Foundation, respectively. The Bezos Family Foundation has since committed a $5.3 million grant over four years of a broader $11.3 million program plan.

Ihduwiyayapi can be translated from Dakota to “they are getting ready.” Its meaning conveys that those involved in the programming are preparing themselves and their programs for what will come next, they are preparing a foundation for the advancement of Indigenous Early Childhood Education.

Grantees

2021-2022 Pilot Cohort

Blackfeet Community College

http://www.menominee.edu/

College of Menominee Nation

Diné College

Diné College

Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College

Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe College

Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University

Little Priest Tribal College

http://www.navajotech.edu/

Navajo Technical University

http://www.menominee.edu/

College of Menominee Nation

Northwest Indian College

Sitting Bull College

Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute

Stone Child College

Related Blogs

Building the Capacity of Early Childhood Education through Innovative Indigenous Approaches: Integrating Indigenous Culture, Philosophy, and Pedagogy into ECE Programming

Building the Capacity of Early Childhood Education through Innovative Indigenous Approaches: Integrating Indigenous Culture, Philosophy, and Pedagogy into ECE Programming

Aug 22, 2023 | , , ,

The 2022-2023 Ihduwiyayapi: Advancing Indigenous Early Childhood Education program grant from the American Indian College Fund at Little Priest Tribal College, titled Building the Capacity of Early Childhood Education through Innovative Indigenous Approaches, supported the Early Childhood Education (ECE) program at Little Priest Tribal College (LPTC) in a variety of ways to help indigenize ECE programming, curriculum, instruction, pathways, and the total educational experience of early childhood students.

Building the College of Menominee Nation’s Capacity through Culture, Community, Connections, and Collaboration

Building the College of Menominee Nation’s Capacity through Culture, Community, Connections, and Collaboration

Mar 15, 2023 | , ,

In the spring of 2022, the American Indian College Fund awarded the College of Menominee Nation (CMN) the Ihduwiyayapi: Advancing Indigenous Early Childhood Education Grant for its teacher education program, which is a community-centered and multi-faceted approach to early childhood education that builds on CMN’s current capacity to teach and train early childhood educators to graduate with the skills to be fully equipped to teach the Menominee Nation’s littlest learners.

Our Program Areas

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Computer Science

Environmental Stewardship

Indigenous Education

Infrastructure

Native Arts

The Iñupiat family engagement event was held at the Aimaaġvik Assisted Living Center to celebrate the season with the elder residents.

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