‘It’s a big relief for every family on the reserve’: Muscowpetung opens new daycare

The new Lil Knowledge Seekers Daycare has opened at Muscowpetung Saulteaux Nation. (Sierra D'Souza Butts)

Parents are feeling at ease now that a new daycare has opened on Muscowpetung Saulteaux Nation.

On Monday, the community opened its doors to the new facility – Lil Knowledge Seekers Daycare – inviting families and people for a tour and community barbecue.

“It’s a big relief for every family on the reserve and for the working moms, for myself too because I have a little one that will be joining us here at the daycare,” shared Jessica Keepness, a parent and the director of Lil Knowledge Seekers Daycare.

“It’s about time. We haven’t had a space of our own, and now we have a space that we can call our own.”

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The daycare will provide a safe environment for toddlers, incorporating cultural activities and teaching Indigenous languages such as Saulteaux and Anishinaabe along the way.

“It’s exciting to be able to bring these little things that communities have had for so many years back into our community,” said Chief Melissa Tavita.

“It’s exciting for us even though we’re kind of late to the game, it still means a whole lot to have this in our community.”

For more than a decade, families have been travelling outside of their home community seeking alternatives for childcare.

With many parents working on the reserve, Tavita said the new space will fill a gap in the community, while opening up new job opportunities.

“We’ve been waiting for this for a very long time. Some of our people don’t have the means to have daycare in our community,” she shared.

“Now, we’re able to provide that for our community. It’s something that’s important and something that’s needed because this is the first step before going into school.”

Although the project has been years in the making, due to COVID-19 disruptions and other challenges, leaders shared their enthusiasm for the next generation of Indigenous youth.

“We didn’t grow up with this type of facility when we were young,” shared Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) Vice-Chief David Pratt.

“Our daycares were kôhkom’s yard or hanging out at kôhkom’s or whoever’s house. Hanging out with their parents, or one parent worked and the other parent did babysitting duties, but now we have a facility that’s able to provide and meet the needs of our families so that’s important.”

In addition to the daycare, a separate building is being planned by the nation’s council to provide a culturally rooted space for children - with hopes of someday launching a pre-school.