In 2011, the American Indian College Fund (College Fund) began the work of ensuring all Native children reach their greatest potential by launching the Wakanyeja "Sacred Little Ones" Tribal College School Readiness and Success by Third Grade Initiative, placing powerful resources in the hands of tribal college early childhood teacher education programs (and faculty), tribal college and university (TCU) early learning centers (and partners), teachers, families, and children.

This report is a visionary reflective document of the first six years of a movement to transform early childhood education in Native communities, starting with TCUs as the incubators of the work and the beacons of change. The story of the College Fund's work on ECE is the story of a project, that grew to become an initiative (multiple projects), that has now become a movement, in which this work has expanded to draw interest from communities outside of TCUs, including nationally and internationally. The purpose of this report is to focus on the process, the ways in which building systems and structures in Native communities provides a foundation for successful and sustainable ECE programs.