Our Theory of Change

Nourishing the Soil for Transformative Growth: Our collective work across all partners is to nourish the soil for family transformation. We do this through cultivating a growing community of Indigenous leaders and practitioners whose collective knowledge and connections enhance our shared abilities to serve and advocate for Indigenous families. Further, while Family Spirit was the original soil, the soil composition has been enriched by the distinct cultural streams from our four partner contexts - Māori approaches, First Nations Australian methods, British Columbian First Nations protocols, and US Indigenous practices. Each cultural stream contributes unique nutrients that create optimal growing conditions for Indigenous family transformation.

Seeds of Transformation: Indigenous families carry the strength and wisdom of many generations. They are the seeds that hold the past and promise of the future. When families engage with culturally-grounded "home" visiting and intergenerational play spaces, we till the soil to promote reflection, reclamation, and possibility. This nourishment begins to sprout moments of genuine reconnection within families, reawaken cultural memory, and shift families from survival mode to remembering their inherent strengths and dreaming of different futures.

Growth and Flourishing: As seeds grow in this enriched soil, families demonstrate strengthened connections to community, culture, land, and traditions alongside improved caregiver and youth wellbeing. Children and their caregivers express joy through culturally-grounded play; as they interact with thoughtfully created play spaces consistent with each community’s values, families engage in ritual and storytelling and intergenerational learning flows naturally.

Harvest and Re-seeding: The harvest reveals tangible transformation - children thriving in their identity and reclaiming joy, families finding their voice and place in community, and systems beginning to reflect the power of Indigenous early childhood and family development. This community-driven systems reform increases recognition of Indigenous play's importance across diverse cultural contexts. Most importantly, this harvest creates new seeds - as transformed families become models for other communities, their success stories flow downstream to nourish future generations, ensuring the cycle of Indigenous flourishing continues beyond our project's timeline.