Ihduwiyayapi: Advancing Indigenous
Early Childhood Education
2021 – 2029
About The Program
The American Indian College Fund (College Fund) has supported programming in Indigenous Early Childhood Education (IECE) since 2011. The Ihduwiyayapi Advancing Indigenous Early Childhood Education program centers on building Indigenous strengths-based systems of care and learning in Native communities, the College Fund is guided by five domains that are critical to IECE across tribal communities. These domains are:
The Ihduwiyayapi: Advancing Indigenous Early Childhood Education program at the College Fund supports engagement with tribal college and university (TCU) partners to build the capacity of their early childhood education degree programs and improve teacher education.
The term 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 and future of Indigenous Early Childhood Education.
This program encourages TCU grantees to participate in and support the following six-part program components:
2024 Ihduwiyayapi: Advancing Indigenous Early Childhood Education Program Convening in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Ihduwiyayapi
They are getting ready.
Grantees 2024-2027
Aaniiih Nakoda College (Ft. Belknap)
Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College
Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University
Little Priest Tribal College
Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College
Nebraska Indian Community College
Sitting Bull College
Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute
Tohono O'odham Community College
Grantee 2023-2025
College of Menominee Nation
Grantees 2023-2024
Aaniiih Nakoda College (Ft. Belknap)
Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College
Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College
Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University
Little Priest Tribal College
Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College
Sitting Bull College
Tohono O'odham Community College
Grantees 2022-2023
College of Menominee Nation
Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College
Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University
Navajo Technical University
Stone Child College
Sitting Bull College
Ihduwiyayapi 2021-2022 Pilot 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.
Grantees 2021-2022
Pilot Cohort
Blackfeet Community College
College of Menominee Nation
Diné College
Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College
Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University
Little Priest Tribal College
Navajo Technical University
Northwest Indian College
Sitting Bull College
Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute
Stone Child College
Related Blogs
Professional Learning Community Supports Graduating Students
Author: Kim Owen, Graduation Coach Co-Author: Nahrin Aziz, Project Director For the past academic year, eight graduates-to-be and Northwest Indian College’s (NWIC) Graduation Coach, Kim Owen, met once a month to provide support toward successful course completion and...
SIPI Engages a Virtual Dialogue to Improve Early Childhood Teacher Education Programming
SIPI Engages a Virtual Dialogue to Improve Indigenous Early Childhood Teacher Education Programming
The Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute utilized its Ihduwiyayapi grant to consult community and Indigenous thought leaders to improve the Indigenous Early Childhood Education program curriculum and develop a virtual dialogue series of 4 guest lectures featuring Indigenous scholars and teachers.
American Indian College Fund Receives $5.315 Million to Support Indigenous Early Childhood Education
Denver, Colo.—October 6, 2021– The American Indian College Fund’s Indigenous Early Childhood Education program is poised to continue its work at tribal colleges and universities over the next four years thanks to a $5,315,000 grant from the Bezos Family Foundation.
Indigenous ECE Family Engagement Webinar with Janice LaFloe
The American Indian College Fund’s Strategic Planning and Building TCU ECE Family Engagement Grant provides TCUs support for family engagement and wellness in Native communities during the pandemic. This may include sending families early childhood learning kits, organizing virtual story time or language lessons, or assisting families with meals and basic needs.
