Our families and communities today are bombarded with fragmented information, contrasting views and a myriad of approaches regarding children and development that can feel overwhelming and disempowering. The majority of professionals serving Indigenous families, whether they are educators, mental health workers, or other helping professionals have been trained in predominantly Western world views where behavioural and medical approaches underpin and guide their practice. These approaches, while useful in some cases, focus on measuring and treating symptoms and fixing problems. 

Root causes of developmentally and emotionally rooted problems where the solution may lie within the kinship circle’s sphere of influence in their relationship to the child can easily be overlooked. These approaches also fail to include a child’s spiritual and cultural development in the context of being an Indigenous person living in a community with a long lineage of sacred teachings and life ways.