Healing of the Seven Generations to Open First Indigenous-led Child Care Centre in Waterloo Region

The Healing of the Seven Generations

“A Community Healing Strategy & Support Program”

Waterloo Region – The Healing of the Seven Generations "A Community Healing Strategy & Support Program" will open the community’s first Indigenous-led licensed child care program called Ga'nigǫhi:yo Indigenous Child Care and Family Centre at 30 Christopher Drive in Cambridge.

The program will provide culturally responsive child care for up to 65 children, ages zero to four years old. Focused on holistic and accessible programming that responds to the needs of Indigenous children and families in our community, Healing of the Seven Generations will prioritize access for Indigenous children.

“While the Region of Waterloo focuses on creating more child care spaces across the community, prioritizing culturally responsive child care is essential to meet the needs of all children and families who call Waterloo Region home,” said Regional Chair Karen Redman. “The Region is excited to be able to offer a high-quality space to the Healing of the Seven Generations to support the creation of this important licensed child care program in our community.”

Healing of the Seven Generations approached Regional staff about starting this program, and envisioned what this program could become. The local Indigenous community also expressed the importance of having child care that reflects traditional culture, knowledge, and wisdom.

“Ga'nigǫhi:yo Indigenous Child Care and Family Centre is a vision rooted in our responsibility to heal the next seven generations,” says Donna Dubie, Executive Director of Healing of the Seven Generations. “It’s an act of reclamation and resurgence, a way to restore what was stolen through residential schools and colonization. By nurturing our children, we honor them as sacred gifts who carry the wisdom of our ancestors and the potential to teach us. They are not only our future but our greatest teachers, guiding us all towards healing and transformation. Through them, we have an opportunity to awaken our spirts and reignite the fire of our blood memory.”

Ga'nigǫhi:yo Indigenous Child Care and Family Centre embraces the standards set by the province under the Child Care Early Years Act 2014 and centers on Indigenous ways of knowing and being. The centre will provide a safe, nurturing and culturally attuned environment designed for children, with nourishing meals, programming designed to reconnect children and families with their Indigenous roots, and an inclusive Indigenous team. This will ensure children grow in a space that reflects their identify, is safe, nurturing and wrapped in community support – where all families can thrive together.

The centre will also have a family visiting room, designed for families to meet and connect, providing an alternative to Family and Children’s Services. The licensed child care centre, Ga'nigǫhi:yo Indigenous Child Care and Family Centre,is set to open in early 2025.

Increasing access to high quality, safe, affordable and culturally responsive licensed child care is essential to the Region’s strategic plan Growing with Care, and provides benefits to the community as a whole.

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