SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Little Big Time Child Development Center, the only Native American daycare and preschool in the greater Sacramento area, is being shut down.
This center is open to all families, but for native American families, they are calling it a generational loss to cultural ties that are increasingly hard to maintain in this community.
Nestled in midtown, the Victorian house is a cultural gem and community resource.
Rhonda Pope Flores is the founder and former tribal chairwoman. She started in 2004 until March of 2024.
“It started for selfish reasons. I had little ones and was looking for a school for them to go where they would surrounded by their culture and I couldn’t find anything so I thought let’s build one,” said Flores.
Flores started the school in 2008 while serving as the Buena Vista Rancheria Me-Wuk Indians chairwoman from 2004 to just recently in 2024.
“When you come from boarding schools where it’s just the opposite, you are stripped of your culture, your language. For me, it became so clear how important it was to do just the opposite,” said Flores.
Flores reunited with her first graduating class in 2008, which included Angelina Hinojosa. The community is shocked that 2024 could be their last class.
“It was the first place I had seen other kids that looked like me,” said Hinojosa.
Hinojosa, who volunteers at the school every year, still has her preschool graduation cap as a reminder of where she’s been and why she continues to move forward.
“That cultural aspect helped me realize at such a young age who I am as a person, as a young girl, as what my traditions were,” said Hinojosa.
The community now realizes they will be missing out on full circle moments. Hinojosa is hoping to take her future kids there one day.
“This is generational my mom took me here and I’m able to take my kids here and it’s an ongoing foundation,” said Hinojosa.
The preschool teaches the Me-Wuk language. Dance and arts and crafts aren’t just fun but also have educational value.
Marilyn Standing Horse enrolled her son Nikamo three years ago. Nikamo and his father belong to the Chippewa Cree tribe in Montana. Being so far from their tribe, this is the closest resource.
“Having him go to a Native American, he’s not only around the curriculum and the culture and the songs everyday but he’s around other native kids. He’s around other kids with indigenous names, he’s around other little boys that have grown their hair long. I expect when he goes to kindergarten they’ll be asking why does he have long hair, assuming he’s a girl and at Little Big Time, it’s like family. They get it,” said Standing Horse.
That acceptance is extended to everyone. You don’t have to be Native American to attend the school. It’s why Nakeya Bell and her daughter Karissa joined after struggling to be accepted other places.
Karissa is neurodivergent and has an autism spectrum disorder. Her mom Nakeya had called 40 different centers before being accepted at Little Big Time.
“She has gone from having a vocabulary of less than 10 words to over 200,” said Bell.
It’s why parents like Bell and Standing Horse are trying to save the center.
Standing Horse is one of many parents looking for solutions to keep the preschool open, but the tribe sent her a cease and desist letter.
“Parents were comfortable with increased tuition, looking for grant opportunities, finding a new space for the school, so we were armed with all these solutions but tribal council just didn’t give us the opportunity to share any of them,” said Standing Horse.
Flores said she was told by council the day care was closing for financial reasons and that the tribe no longer wants to pay for the school.
“I don’t believe the council had accurate information to make that decision,” said Flores.
“If the council decides they don’t want to fund that, that’s acceptable, but there are funds that are available that could offset those expenses the tribe was previously covering and I feel that our chief financial officer and chief of staff failed us in that obligation,” added Flores.
Flores questioned why they aren’t being allowed to pursue other outlets of funding.
ABC10 contacted the tribe and chief of staff directly to confirm the preschool was closing and why. Their attorney said in a statement:
"The tribal council made the decision to close Little Big Time in the best interests of the tribe. The tribe owns the building, funds the school’s operating costs, employs and pays the school’s employees, holds and pays its insurance, and holds the facility license from the state department of social services. The last day of operation will be June 5, 2024."
The 20 kids and families hope that by sharing this story maybe another tribe will want to partner with them and create a space for the preschool. The final graduating class of Little Big Time will walk the stage next week and close June 5.
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