On Thursday 26th June at 9:00am AEST we heard from Meenakshi Richardson, Cary Waubanascum , Sara Waters & Michelle Sarche on Reclaiming Indigenous ways for the future of Indigenous infant and early childhood mental health. Watch the talk recording here.

Indigenous lifeways, perspectives, and ways of knowing in the field of infant and early childhood mental health are underrepresented, especially given the inequitable and unjust prevalence of removal and separation of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) children from their families and communities by the child welfare system in the United States. Strengthening the infant and early childhood mental health field requires uncovering and addressing the ways in which colonization has intentionally attempted to disrupt and destroy Indigenous family relationships, especially bonds with young children, both historically and perpetuated into the present day. This presentation focused on the recent Infant Mental Health Journal (IMHJ) article which reviews the historical context of Indian child removal as a result of colonization, cultural revitalization efforts, and decolonial frameworks that inform culturally grounded intervention strategies advancing the field of infant and early childhood mental health. Decolonization is highlighted as integral for the reclamation of Indigenous caregiving practices. Community-based and Indigenous-led initiatives such as the Indian Child Welfare Act, Tribal home visiting, and breastfeeding programming are highlighted as diverse strengths-based approaches, informed by Indigenous scholarship to ensure the health and well-being of our future generations.

You can find some links below and additional articles attached that they shared during their presentation: 

Tribal Early Childhood Research Center

Center for Indigenous Research Collaborations and Learning in Home Visiting

Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting

Family Spirit – Tribal Home Visting Model 

LEGO Spirit – At the Center for Indigenous Health (CIH) we are collaborating with international partners to share the Family Spirit program as well as the development of intergenerational playspaces, including the Batchelor Insititue in Australia

Nutaqsiivik Tribal Home Visiting Program

Minnesota Breastfeeding Coalition

Hummingbird Indigenous Family Services 

ZERO to THREE – “Cross-Sector Allies Together in the Struggle for Social Justice: Diversity-Informed Tenets for Work With Infants, Children, and Families” 

Defining Racial Allies: A Qualitative Investigation of White Allyship From the Perspective of People of Color

“So, we’ve been taken away since forever”: Indigenous Relative Caregivers’ Experiences as a Framework for Uncovering Coloniality in the Child Welfare System

Co-creating a conceptual model of Indigenous relational wellbeing in early childhood: Planting seeds of connectedness