indigenous Reconciliation
Region of Waterloo Children’s Services welcome you on a journey of discovery. As part of this journey, we offer you this video to view and consider how Truth and Reconciliation connect to the early years sector.
Professional learning with six nations polytechnic
As part of ongoing commitments to Truth and Reconciliation in the early years, Children’s Services has partnered with Six Nations Polytechnic to offer 8 in-person professional learning sessions on Indigenous ways of knowing and being, land-based learning, and Indigenous pedagogies. Asynchronous online videos will also be available to support learning on Indigenous histories, worldviews, and responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action in early years contexts.
Expressions of interest for the fall/winter sessions are open until September 4th, please speak with your supervisor to register your interest.
- Thursday May 7th - KAIROS Blanket Exercise
- Tuesday June 16th - Woodland Cultural Centre
- Friday September 18th - Indigenous Identity and Cultural Safety in Child Care
- Thursday October 8th - Reconciliation & the Two Row Wampum in Child Care (for leaders/administrators)
- Wednesday October 14th - Embedding Indigenous Pedagogy into Ontario Curriculum
- Tuesday October 27th - Intentional Land Based Learning in the Early Years
- Thursday November 5th - Cultural Games
- Monday November 23rd - Trauma Informed Practice
Expressions of interest for the fall/winter sessions are open until September 4th, please speak with your supervisor to register your interest.
College of early childhood educators:
Reconciliation Action Plan
The College of Early Childhood Educators’ Reconciliation Action Plan is a guiding publication that sets out clear commitments to reconciliation for everyone working in the early learning and care sector. It reinforces that reconciliation is a collective responsibility, calling on educators to learn continuously, build respectful relationships, and meaningfully integrate Indigenous perspectives into practice. This document provides direction and accountability for how we all can contribute to reconciliation in our work.
Reflection resources
Land Acknowledgement
truth and reconciliation
local community resources
podcasts, blogs, Books & articles
- Kiwew | CBC Podcasts | CBC Listen
- Edge of the Bush – Where Worldviews Meet
- How I Use Indigenous Teachings to Help My Kids Respect the Earth | Learning
- This Mohawk woman is translating nursery rhymes to share her language with kids — and caregivers, too | CBC News
- Educator Stories | Natural Curiosity
- Identity and Knowledge in Indigenous Young Children's Experiences in Canada
- First Nations 101 - Lynda Gray’s Guide to Indigenous Issues
additional resources
- Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework
- A Sense of Belonging: Supporting Healthy Child Development in Aboriginal Families
- A Child Becomes Strong: Journeying Through Each Stage of the Life Cycle
- The Sacred Space of Womanhood - Mothering Across the Generations (EN - web).pdf
- First Nations Early Learning Collaboration
- Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework
- Ontario Aboriginal Head Start Association (OAHSA)
- The Canadian Child Care Federation – Indigenous Child Care
- Children’s Book Activity Sheets for Home-Based Learning
- ELCC Métis-Specific Resources
- What is Reconciliation? (CBC Kids)
