Fawn YoungBear-Tibbetts: Centering Indigenous languages and foods with young children
My father taught me to butcher deer, harvest berries and greens, and catch walleye and whitefish growing up near Leech Lake, as a member of the White Earth Band of the Minnesota Ojibwe Tribe. By age 10, I could butcher a deer or fillet a fish on my own. We spoke Ojibwe at home and in the community. Today I share my knowledge with children and families connected to the Minneapolis-based Wicoie Nandagikendan, the first urban Indigenous early childhood immersion program.
The Indian Relocation Act of 1956 pushed many Native people in the United States to urban areas, disconnecting us from our land, culture, languages, and food systems. Today Minneapolis is leading urban efforts around reintroducing Indigenous foods and revitalizing languages such as Ojibwe and Dakota, the languages Wicoie Nandagikendan includes in our two immersion classrooms. Since our start in 2006, we’ve helped develop 75 language immersion teachers using a master/apprentice model. Plus, we’re currently training seven licensed language immersion early childhood teachers, among the first in the state.
Thanks to the Better Way Foundation, we’ve strengthened professional development for our lead teachers and apprentices. We’ve also increased student scholarships so more children and families can benefit from our culturally rich early childhood experience. To further boost scholarship funding, we rented the commercial kitchen at Little Earth Residents Association, and catered local events to generate revenue. In 2024, we raised $9,000 for student scholarships.
This past year at a community event, I saw one of our apprentices and her daughter, Jordan, who is a Wicoie Nandagikendan student. While waiting in the feast line, Jordan spoke only Ojibwe, a moment that deeply resonated with me
In education, we often think about measuring cultural competence in children. For me, this is embodied in seeing a young child only speaking her Native language in the community, a little boy putting his tobacco on the fire depicted on our classroom rug, or the children clamoring for me to “make them bones” as they eagerly anticipate the ribs we prepare for lunch.
As my role at Wicoie Nandagikendan has evolved from Indigenous Food Coordinator to Executive Director, I have appreciated the guidance, training, and mentorship our foundation and community partners offer. Together, we’re strengthening Wicoie Nandagikendan’s capacity, helping us make an even bigger impact in the lives of our children and families.
Fawn YoungBear-Tibbetts is the executive director of Wicoie Nandagikendan Early Childhood Urban Immersion Program and leads its work with Our Sacred Foods Project, a community food sovereignty initiative