First Nations Pedagogies Network

Zelda Williams

"Working with children and families for over 20 years has been an honour. I understand parents are the child’s first and foremost teacher. As an educator, my hopes and dreams are to instill culture and language in the children that attend AHS. I believe educators with strong believes and cultural knowledge will give children their Headstart in their path to their best opportunity to grow and flourish as strong Indigenous children. That will keep our traditions alive."

ZELDA WILLIAMS‘ late mother and ancestors belong to the Musqueam First Nation. She works in Mission and resides in Sts’ailes territory. As an indigenous early childhood educator, Zelda is actively involved in implementing diverse cultural celebrations, particularly at the Future 4 Nations Aboriginal Head Start program, where she has been the manager and head preschool teacher for 20 years. Her hope is for First Nations early childhood educators to become proud of who they are and where they come from, to gain experience and knowledge of protocols of the territory they reside in, and to implement culture in a respectful way, showing strong leadership.

Zelda is a founding member of the FNPN. Her leadership brought songs to the Network, the art of weaving that is part of her family’s legacy, and a sense of sisterhood which was a powerful bonding element in the initial stages of our work.

Landmarks in Zelda’s Pathway are:

- Urban Indigenous early learning and care
- Indigenous protocols and ceremonies
- Songs and dances
- Weaving
- Rights frameworks (IELCC, UNDRIP, OCAP)
- Evaluation processes