Wakanyeja
2011 – 2016
About The Program
Wakanyeja “Sacred Little Ones” was the first ECE program at the American Indian College Fund. The program worked to bring together tribal colleges, communities, educators, and families to address early learning disparities in Native communities during the years of 2011 to 2016. The initiative addressed the following five domains:
- Improve cognitive and non-cognitive skill acquisition among American Indian children
- Improve early childhood teacher education quality in Native communities by partnering with post-secondary teacher education programs at tribal colleges
- Bridge early childhood education Pre-K transition to K-3 schooling
- Integrate Native language(s) and culture(s) into curriculum development and instruction for teacher preparation programming, early childhood education centers, and K-3 settings
- Empower families and communities to act as agents of change in education for their children
In 2011, four tribal colleges were selected through a competitive process to participate in the Wakanyeja program, and received up to $935,000 over four years to develop and strengthen early childhood education programs at tribal colleges.
Location
In 2011, four tribal colleges were selected through a competitive process to participate in the Wakanyeja ECE Initiative and received up to $935,000 over four years to develop and strengthen early childhood education programs at tribal colleges.
Program Gallery
Grantees
College of Menominee Nation
Ilisagvik College
Northwest Indian College
Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute
Related Blogs
College of Menominee Nation Big Day in Pre-K
College of Menominee Nation’s (CMN) Sacred Little One’s project hosts an early childhood teacher institute on their campus in the Community Technology Center. Twenty-two lead teachers from the Menominee...
Sacred Little Ones program event brings tribal educators to Lummi
By Shelley Macy, NWIC Early Childhood Education Director On June 7, Lummi elders and community leaders, along with the Northwest Indian College Early Childhood Wakanyeja Sacred Little Ones (WSLO) program, welcomed WSLO teams from the College of the Menominee Nation...
Sacred Books for Little Ones
Nestled between the Lummi Bay and Bellingham Bay in Northwest Washington State, four tribal college early childhood education programs brought their knowledge together among the thicket of tradition and scenery on the Lummi Indian reservation. The Wakanyeja Early Childhood Education Initiative tribal college grantees of Northwest Indian College, College of Menominee Nation, Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI) and Ilisagvik College gathered last week for their annual Sacred Little Ones convening on the Lummi reservation.
SIPI Early Childhood Student is accepted into the Charles Carl Program at Yale University
Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI) is proud to announce that Andrea Vicente, a student in the Early Childhood Education program, has been awarded the opportunity to participate in the Charles Carl Program for Students and Faculty at Yale University’s Child Study Center.
