First Nations people, Metis and Inuit recognize children as their nations' most valuable resource. Thus, the Aboriginal Head Start Initiative will provide comprehensive experiences for First Nations, Metis and Inuit children up to six (6) years of age and their families, with primary emphasis on preschoolers, 3 – 5 years of age. The program will be based on caring, creativity and pride following from the knowledge of their traditional community beliefs, within a holistic and safe environment.

The primary goal of this initiative is to demonstrate that locally controlled and designed early intervention strategies can provide Aboriginal pre-school children in urban and northern settings with a positive sense of themselves, a desire for learning and opportunities to develop fully and successfully as young people.


Principles

Aboriginal Head Start will:

1. support the spiritual, emotional, intellectual and physical growth of each Aboriginal child;
2. support and encourage each Aboriginal child to enjoy life-long learning;
3. support parents and guardians as the primary teachers and caregivers of their children;
4. empower parents to play a major part in planning, developing, operating and evaluating the project;
5. recognize and support the role of the extended family in teaching and caring for Aboriginal children;
6. include the broader Aboriginal community as part of the project throughout all of its stages, from planning to evaluation;
7. make sure the project works with and is supported by other community programs and services; and
8. make sure the resources are used in the best way possible in order to produce measurable and positive outcomes for Aboriginal children, their parents, families and communities.
   
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