Interview: Faith Dew, Lower Fraser Valley Aboriginal Society

Photo by Rashid Sadykov on Unsplash

We recently interviewed Faith Dew, Indigenous Early Years Family Navigator at Lower Fraser Valley Aboriginal Society (LFVAS), about their Mímele program, offering a culturally supportive space for parents and their young children.

A CAPC program, previously called Little Feathers Aboriginal Playgroup, which had been designed and delivered in collaboration and cooperation with LFVAS by one of the Langley Neighbourhoods Coalition’s non-Indigenous coalitions agencies to meet community needs, has been passed on successfully by its former host agency to LFVAS operation. LFVAS, through several years of transition and capacity building in collaboration with the CAPC Coalition, have adapted and re-launched the program, now known as Mímele. MCFD are offering support to the program, and Langley School District #35 has provided space for the program at two of their elementary schools.

Mímele (which means little child in Halq’emeylem) is a culturally safe space for expectant moms, new moms and caregivers with Indigenous children ages 0-8. This playgroup is for both children and parents/caregivers. It is a place to gather and build a strong community for raising children, providing a safe place for all to share and learn together.

The impact of COVID meant that the program has had to be re-structured even further after lockdown. Because children have been shut in for so long, the program focus is now on interaction and building school-readiness skills. There is lots of space for unstructured communal play opportunities within a safe environment and maintaining boundaries.

0-5 is the primary age range, but children up to 8 years old are allowed as well on pro-D days. The program staff have also collaborated with the Indigenous Support Worker in the schools where the program is located to bring in some of her kindergarten or grade 1 students to experience cultural supports within the program and free-play interaction with the younger children.

The program offers parents and caregivers the opportunity to seek out resources for spiritual, social or cultural connection, family time, making new friends, finding a safe space, and having time with their little one(s). Snacks, arts and crafts, singing and drumming take place during each session. There is a little something for everyone.

The program incorporates presentations by community specialists such as a dental hygienist, and practicum nursing students offer presentations on topics such as the Indigenous Food Guide and hand-washing technique. The presenters focus on the kids in their presentations, but the parents very much take it in. Elders are also a significant part of the program, although COVID issues are still making safety issues for Elders attending the program more difficult to plan at the moment.

The new program was slow to take off initially, but it is growing now. New people are coming in for the program who have heard by word of mouth or by referral. Staff started off with a lot of 1-on-1 with the initial attendees, and asking what would they like to get from the program – their needs and wants. It offered an opportunity, too, to get to know some people better who had been attending other programs previously. Now more new attendees are blending into the program.

Faith’s recommendation to other who are starting off a new or redesigned program, is to be prepared for it to be a slow start, especially in the up-and-down current situation with COVID. She says, “Don’t be discouraged – persevere. Word of mouth is a good way of getting word out.”

Faith’s colleague, Amanda McKeigan, confirms that it is about making relationships. As the word is getting out, the program is building. People are reaching out from within the community with cultural connections to offer support to the program, including a previous worker who is a walking book of knowledge and who has given lots of advice on how to build for families. Families identified cultural identity as a major piece that has often been missing in their own lives and that they would like for their children but lack confidence to provide themselves. The staff bring people in to answer questions and offer support and are building relationships with Knowledge Keepers, although COVID has impacted availability, so this is an aspect of the program that they are looking to develop further as the pandemic recedes.

The agency has a wide geographical spread from Langley to Aldergrove. The Mímele program is running twice a week, once at Shortreed Community Elementary School in Aldergrove on Wednesday and once at Blacklock Fine Arts Elementary in Langley on Friday, to make it accessible to a wider range of families. Supports are in place to assist families who have transportation issues.