Co-creating a conceptual model of Indigenous relational wellbeing in early childhood: Planting seeds of connectedness

The purpose of this article is to share our story of conceptualizing Indigenous early relational wellbeing (ERW), specifically reflecting American Indian and Alaska Native worldviews. Our approach is grounded in Indigenous methodologies and guided by a Community of Learning comprised of Indigenous and allied Tribal early childhood community partners, researchers, practitioners, and federal funders. We describe the steps we took to conceptualize caregiver–child relationships from an Indigenous perspective, center Indigenous values of child development, apply an established Indigenous connectedness framework to early childhood, and co-create a conceptual model of Indigenous ERW to guide future practice and research. This model highlights relational practices as seeds of connectedness and relational wellbeing, and includes the roles of spirituality, culture, and ceremony in nurturing ERW; the manifestations of relational wellbeing across the lifespan; and the interdependence of relational wellbeing within communities and families, across generations, and with the environment. The model also informs the creation of a measure to understand practices that foster relational wellbeing among Indigenous children and families and their relationship to positive development, thus informing research, practice, and policy.