2014 NECE Conference – Spirit of Home

Last week, the Native Early Childhood Education Conference was held at the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino Resort. The annual conference has been going on for about 20 years and is held in different First Nations communities, and this year was Akwesasne's turn. "Spirit of Home" was the theme of the conference as educators hope to recreate the sense of comfort and confidence home provides, within the classroom. Lani Sunday, MCA Ottawa Region Representative of First Nations Child Care Supervisors, and 2014 NECE Conference Planning Committee Chair, said early childhood educators from all over Ontario attended, and they also invited Eastern Quebec and New York educators and local staff. "It is a large support network. We share ideas and help each other out," said Sunday. There were almost 200 people registered for the conference, which served as professional development.

The conference was a three-day event, which opened on Tuesday July 15 with the Ohenton Karihwatehkwen done by Skahwatsira Program students who also sang three songs beginning with Skennen. Master of Ceremonies was David Jones, also a speaker at the conference, who enthusiastically introduced speakers and got the crowd laughing. There were three keynote speakers to open the conference, and all conference attendants gathered in the Winter Ballroom to listen. They were Thomas Porter, Dr. Jean Clinton and Dr. Carol Anne Wien.

Tom Porter was the first to speak and talked about his life and how he came to write his books and why. He talked about growing up in a 20 by 20 one-room house, about his mother and grandmother especially. He gave several good pieces of advice. He said, "Children are not born Cree, Ojibwe or Mohawk. Their blood is, but they are not. You have to teach them how to be a good Cree, Ojibwe, Mohawk. You start when they are babies." He explained that experiences, like residential schools, are why we cannot show each other affection easily. He told the crowd, "Find the courage to tell your mother and father you love them." He declared that the cycle can be broken.

Dr. Jean Clinton holds many titles, among them an Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences at McMaster. She expressed the value of bridging science with First Nations teachings, such as Tom Porter's.

Clinton emphasized the importance of relationships and connections in early childhood education and said the goal is that "every single child will have at least one adult whose eyes light up when they enter the room...It's not flash cards or ipods that build brains, it's interaction." She added, "Brains grow the most in early years, so really, early years programs should be getting the most money in the education system," which drew applause from the crowd.

Dr. Carol Ann Wien was also a keynote speaker and is a professor with a specialty in Early Childhood Education in the Faculty of Education at York University in Toronto.

She talked about the history of early childhood education and answered the question "How does learning happen?" with belonging, well-being, engagement and expressiveness.

Wien explained the values of emergent curriculum, which is not management and control, but rather listening to the children. She noted, "Children have tremendous receptiveness," and said "We need to learn how to have conversations with children while being respectful." She showed case studies and told real-life stories of emergent curriculum successes.

All three keynote speakers gave excellent speeches which were sure to give educators new tools for their centers and classrooms. Over the three days there were break out sessions featuring many speakers on a variety of topics like Lindsay Buset, Autumn Morningstar, Rachelle Blanchette, Lynne Besner, Kim Menna and many more. The conference also included a tour of Akwesasne and an Artist Stream in the Comfort Inn. Lani Sunday offered a tour of the community to show attendees the various issues faced in Akwesasne like the border issues. Sunday said the Art Stream, which included several local Mohawk artists, was meant to help educators bring art into the classroom.