Sqilxw Educator Rising: Sqilxw Educator Rising: Relationality as Methodology in a Social Work Abolitionist Framework

Abstract

AbstractWai, iskwis (my name is), Percy Lezard. Sqilxw ways, personal introductions come before any other words. I am outma sqilxw I was born into a family of sexʷwrmin̓ (firekeepers). This research demonstrates how I as a sqilxw stamya? educator have been able to survive and thrive, through my sqilxw identity and Indigenous knowledges, in mainstream post-secondary education institutions. I have used myself as both the subject and researcher within the social context of post-secondary social work settings, with an insider’s vantage point to chronicle my own pedagogical transition, using the qualitative methodology of relationality. Through my interpretations and reflections about two post-secondary programs, I use comparison to highlight the complexities of their strengths and inadequacies. This work includes my account as an Indigenous scholar working within a college program grounded in feminist theory, and a university department grounded in an anti-oppression/anti-racism framework. It explores experiences of anti-Indigenous racism, cis-sexism, pushback for my position of solidarity with Black liberation, and oppressions within a disability justice framework. Using the methodology of relationality, I share the experiences I have encountered and the problems I have faced, to facilitate an understanding of the processes of transition. As the genre of qualitative research brings the reader closer to the subculture studied through the experiences of the author, my work serves to provide an evaluation and insights into the cultures of these two learning environments. Data gathering consisted of a reflexive journal, my personal calendar, faculty agendas, staff memos, and reflective analysis. As well, in each of the institutions, I was able to gather support and insight through ceremony and interactions with Knowledge Keepers and Elders. In this way, I was able to reflect upon teachings and to apply Indigenous knowledges to my work. These research tools were used to capture the experiences of my transition. The results of this study were expressed in a personal narrative that comprises of Section 1: Situation, Owing, Questioning. Section 2: How did I come to formulating an Abolitionist Social Work Framework? Section 3: History of Social Work Harms. Section 4: Alternatives Section 5: Vision and closing remarks.