Today we’d like to introduce you to Brook LaFloe.
Hi Brook, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Niniijaanis One of Ones has two components: Niniijaanis and One of Ones. Niniijaanis is the product of a 2019 community project that piloted production of high-quality culturally relevant (some Montessori inspired) learning materials and curriculum for Indigenous children birth-six. A collective of Indigenous artists and educators combined unique skills & knowledge to develop and pilot the Niniinaanis children’s materials. Niniijaanis meaning “my child” in Ojibwe. The mission of Niniijaanis is to bring a culturally relevant early childhood education to American Indian children to build a strong foundation for self-identity and narrow the achievement gap. The social benefit to communities is being able to reclaim our children’s education and development through culturally relevant materials and curriculum, Niniijaanis also includes a 1:1 sale benefit model, for each item sold, one is donated to an Indigenous child or early learning environment, providing more access to high-quality learning for our children.
At the conclusion of the Niniijaanis pilot, we incorporated into an LLC in 2020 & created an additional component to our business- One of Ones. One of Ones is an expansion of the Niniijaanis collective and includes other Indigenous artists ranging from novel to developed careers. One of Ones will further support Indigenous artists in their careers by offering a platform that will directly buy and upsell their most unique items, contributing 25% of proceeds to support Niniijaanis giveaways. One of Ones includes more than children’s materials and is inclusive of what artists have to offer (beadwork, woodwork, quillwork, fashion, jewelry, etc.) catering to a larger market looking for Indigenous made items while offering more supplemental income opportunities to our artists with additional financial aid towards our educational equity goals and Niniijaanis giveaways. We are actively building a business & community centering on our children.
In 2021, our original founder Brook LaFloe was awarded a FINNovation Business Fellowship & developed a full business & expansion plan for Niniijaanis One of Ones. We still create, sell, and give away Niniijaanis learning materials, and fundraise with our one-of-a-kind handmade item. Currently, we sell online but we are ready to hit the road- literally, pairing our products with statewide educational services through our Niniijaanis War Pony! We launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds to purchase and refurbish a minibus, our “War Pony” to transform into a dual-purpose mobile school/store. With an intergenerational and collective approach, we seek to build an ecosystem supporting early childhood efforts in and across the Indian country, connecting artists, educators, culture bearers and our children/families. Our LISC grant is contributing to our radical expansion to make the Niniijaanis War Pony a reality. Our War Pony motto is “Let us put our minds together and see what life we can make for our children.” (Chief Sitting Bull)
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Struggles along the way were & continue to be funding for further development. Our Founder Brook LaFloe had self-funded a majority of Niniijaanis One of Ones prior to the radical expansion plan and Niniijaanis War Pony Campaign. Although we have greatly diversified our funding, we still need financial supports towards our destined growth.
Another struggle along the way has been the limitations of our founder & sole operator, Brook LaFloe. Being a content expert in culturally relevant education but not at all versed in operating a business, there was much to learn. The FINNovation fellowship was designed for social entrepreneurs & provided 9 months of intensive learning and business plan development. Brook is still taking opportunities to develop her leadership skills in business especially oversight & development of finances, marketing, growing & measuring social impact, & building community.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Most contemporary art materials I create are diverse in materials, purpose & use but the one vision they all have in common is that they are made with young children in mind. I was inspired to create children’s materials when my baby brother was born & have come to practice Indigenizing Montessori materials since my training in 2016. Not only do I practice Indigenizing Montessori learning materials but have acquired methods in some traditional Anishinaabe materials as well including the cradleboard & creator’s game sticks (traditional Lacrosse sticks) for children. I call this body of work my “Niniijaanis” materials, Niniijaanis translating loosely to “my child”. This body of work has been my primary focus for my creations in addition to beadwork & sewing which is intertwined in how I’ve come to decolonize early learning practices for our youngest community members. My goal is to pass on my cultural knowledge to others through an intergenerational approach working with young children, educators & families.
In doing so, I hope to build an early childhood ecosystem & new learning opportunities for our youngest community members all through modes of handmade artwork. My artwork intersects with my early learning work & is a combination of my cultural, intellectual, & spiritual energies physically manifested for the next generation. My goal is to pass on my cultural knowledge to others through an intergenerational approach working with young children, educators & families. In doing so, I hope to build an early childhood ecosystem & new learning opportunities for our youngest community members all through modes of handmade artwork.
My artwork intersects with my early learning work & is a combination of my cultural, intellectual, & spiritual energies physically manifested for the next generation. My goal is to pass on my cultural knowledge to others through an intergenerational approach working with young children, educators & families. In doing so, I hope to build an early childhood ecosystem & new learning opportunities for our youngest community members all through modes of handmade artwork. My artwork intersects with my early learning work & is a combination of my cultural, intellectual, & spiritual energies physically manifested for the next generation. I’m known best for my Niniijaanis materials/business.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
One of my favorite childhood memories, also one of my first memories was waiting for my big brother to get off the bus that first year he went to school & I was still too young to attend. I had this round plastic yellow chair that I would sit in front of the doorway looking out the lower window. I wasn’t too familiar with time yet, as I was 4 years old when my big brother started kindergarten. However, what I know now of child development is that children need routines & order. Although I didn’t even know how to read a clock or the time, I would put my chair near the door & wait for my brother every day after lunch. My brother coming home was a part of my routine that provided me a sense of order & security in my childhood as I had already developed a healthy attachment to my life-long playmate from the day I was born, my big brother.
This is one of my favorite childhood memories because it was the first time that I got to watch my big brother “go first”. First one to go to school, first one to play basketball, first to get a license, first to graduate, first one to go to college, the list goes on. I think of all the courage & security my big brother provided me, not just in my childhood but in my life. The courage to go first & normalize almost everything that has allowed me to be independent & successful as an adult. I watched him do it & I wanted to do it too & therefore nothing was scary for me in life. My biggest role model, my greatest life-long friend.
Pricing:
- $30 – Indigenous Montessori Powwow Mobile
- $50 – Primary Indigenous Montessori Ribbon Arpon
- $15 – Montessori Grasping Beads
- $35 – Montessori Weaning Set
- $25 – Indigenous Bib & Napkin Set
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://niniijaanis1of1s.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/niniijaanis1of1s/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/niniijaanis1of1s/
- Other: https://ifundwomen.com/projects/niniijaanis-war-pony
Image Credits
Andrea Reese
Brook LaFloe
