​​Ga’nigǫhi:yo Indigenous Child Care and Family Centre​ 

Waterloo Region’s first Indigenous childcare centre celebrated its grand opening on Jan. 30, 2025. The Ga’nigǫhi:yo Indigenous Child Care and Family Centre at 30 Christopher Dr. in Cambridge has space for 65 children up to four years of age who are First Nations, Métis or Inuit. The licensed childcare centre is a project of The Healing of the Seven Generations. Applications are managed through the Region of Waterloo’s OneList system.

The centre prioritizes admission for children who are First Nations, Metis, or Inuit. Official status is not required; parents or guardians only need to provide proof of lineage to their band.

Renata Richards, the centre’s executive director, is from the Haudenosaunee Mohawk Turtle Clan of the Six Nations. She said the centre is an important step in reintroducing culture and teachings to Indigenous children and their families.

Richards’ father spent nine years in a residential school, and she
said the loss of cultural identity extended to her and her children.
“Our culture and teachings were never talked about because
the residential schools took that away from him. Then I raised my
children the same way,” she said.

“Now at 50, I’ve spent the last five years reconnecting with my
culture, and I am a firm believer that it’s an inherited right for our
children to their culture—that is why we thought the centre was a
very important thing needed for our community,” Richards said.

The centre includes an infant room, a toddler room and two preschool rooms. Richards said they have taken a community-
driven approach to develop the centre’s Indigenous curriculum
with the support of its staff of early childhood educators (ECEs).
Traditional smudging practices will be part of the initial
teachings offered to children at the centre.

“We’re going to be doing the basics of smudging and circle each morning to say good morning and goodbye or a smudging if they’re feeling anxious,” she said.

The centre’s name, Ga’nigǫhi:yo, means “carry the peace” in Mohawk. However, Richards said Mohawk will not be the only language offered, as the options will depend on the languages requested by families.

“It very well could be multilingual down the road. You have to have a feel for what the community wants their kids to learn,” Richards said.

In addition to supporting the cultural and language needs of its children, the centre will also be a space to train the next generation of Indigenous educators. Six Nations Polytechnic is offering the 16-month Indigenous Registered Early Childhood Educator (RECE) course at the centre.

“The course teaches the Indigenous ways, knowings and beings. It’s a different way of how the classroom is managed. It’s more child-led. If they’re building a house, then they talk about tepees. It teaches them how to bring it back the Indigenous ways,” she said.

Staff worked throughout January to complete the centre’s renovations, including the first phase of its playground. Once its licensing has been finalized, Richards said they hope towelcome the first children and their families to the centre by Feb. 10, 2025. For Richards, those first students are the beginning of a generational change for Indigenous families.

“We want to see our children flourish in the community and know their culture and traditions. We held our culture camp last summer and it was shocking to see how many of our youth don’t actually know their culture,” she said. “Ten years down the road, we’ll see our children knowing their traditions and ceremonies and being proud to say they know them.”