5 years on, Maskwacis, Alta., early childhood program celebrates community connections and benefits

Five years ago people in Er‐ mineskin Cree Nation, one of four First Nations in Maskwacis, Alta., launched a child development pro‐ gram called Early Years to fill a need.

Annette Morin, currently a recruiter for the Early Years program, said the Indigenousled program doesn't tell par‐ ents what to do. Instead, it follows their lead and works to meet their unique needs.

When she first started her work with the program as a family visitor, Annette said one of her families "was not in a good place."

After listening to the mom over several visits, Morin said she learned what the woman wanted and set out to help her achieve those goals.

"That's what's so amazing about this job … We've given them that confidence that they can go forward, they can do whatever they want to do," she said.

The connection between staff and families has become so close, parents who attend‐ ed the anniversary party at Maskwacis said their chil‐ dren sometimes call their visi‐ tors "kohkum" (grandmother in Cree.)

"We never expected that Early Years visitors would be helping parents go back to school or find employment, but once they become that trusted person, it's truly wraparound [care]," said Chloe Ferguson, vice-presi‐ dent of the Martin Family Ini‐ tiative (MFI), which helped Er‐ mineskin develop its pro‐ gram.

That care often extends to include things like food ham‐ pers, cultural and language supports, child care and learn‐ ing how to co-parent after a breakup.

"Children are sacred and our people know best what to do for them," said Treaty 6 Grand Chief Leonard Standin‐ gontheroad.

Entire family benefits The program has shown other benefits. Immunization rates for program participants was five to six times higher than for non-participants, Fer‐ guson said, referencing data from Maskwacis Health Ser‐ vices.

Visitors — who do every‐ thing from helping families find housing to offering a lis‐ tening ear to parents who need it — were a key part of that effort, she said.

Visitors often helped with transportation for families and raised awareness of the importance of immunization during their visits. They work with families until the children "graduate" to kindergarten.

Christy Crane's four-yearold son Maverick attends Ear‐ ly Years and Crane is the preschool co-ordinator, working with kids two to four years old, and their parents.

She said she wished she had had Early Years sup‐ port when she was raising her two older teens, who she had at a young age.

"I didn't have someone to teach me my language, my culture and so I didn't really get to do that with my older children," she said.

Ermineskin's Early Years program includes a variety of cultural teachings, like lan‐ guage and beading.

Crane said she's been able to take the Cree she's learned through the program and share it with her older chil‐ dren, adding that "it's never too late to learn."

While moms and kids are "the number one focus," John Morin, a visitor who works with dads, said it's also impor‐ tant to help fathers find their way.

"Here at Early Years, we are ready, willing and able to go and do above and beyond work with the men around here," said John Morin, who also works as a cultural helper with the program.

"We play a big part in… teaching them the right ways of our culture, how we treat people, how we take care of our elders."

He has plans to do more with fathers in the future, in‐ cluding drum making, hunting trips and healing circles.

While the program works with moms, dads and babies, Annette Morin said parents take what they've learned in the program and share it with their extended families.

"In working with one fami‐ ly, we might improve a whole family of 50," Annette Morin said.