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In this paper we draw on a study alongside urban Indigenous families in western Canada that inquired narratively into their experiences as they readied their children for, and their children participated in, kindergarten. We built relationships with eight urban Indigenous families. As we looked across their experiences, six resonant threads became visible: each family and their life situations are unique; families wish for mutual respect and collaboration between school and family; respect is significant; families are invested in their children doing well in schools; siblings shape stories of school readiness; and intergenerational stories and places shape readiness.

Questions of diversity and inclusion are central to learning to engage in narrative inquiry. By engaging in autobiographical narrative inquiry (Clandinin & Caine, 2012; Clandinin & Connelly, 2000), we tell and retell stories related to diversity. In doing so, we puzzle about inquiring in ethical ways alongside diverse participants. We tell and retell three stories in our efforts to break with the taken-for-granted in our lives. We draw forward resonances around the challenging, yet ethical necessity, of facing ourselves (Anzaldua, 1987/1999; Lindemann Nelson, 1995) as we attend to the complexity of lives.

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Thinking narratively (Clandinin, 2013), we inquire into our ongoing personal and professional development within the shaping of a nested community. By traveling to diverse worlds (Lugones, 1987), we attend to some of our stories to live by (Connelly & Clandinin, 1999) and illuminate how living and telling stories within our community shapes and reshapes who we are and are becoming as narrative inquirers. Holding tensions and possibilities close, we create(d) a space where we can be ourselves and can personally and professionally learn alongside one another. It is both a safe space of coming home and starting new journeys.