ISWK 365 - Indigenous Social Work

ISWK 365: GLOBAL INDIGENOUS WORLDVIEWS
3 CREDITS

This course will introduce students to what it means to be Indigenous as a foundation for personal and collective wellness. Elders and knowledge holders will engage students in Indigenous practices that promote balance, wellness, and ontological responsibilities with a focus on those practiced in the summer. Students will be introduced to cultural protocols for ceremonial and cultural engagement and will explore the relevance of these protocols to their work with communities. Students will learn about the intellectual colonization of Indigenous peoples and focus on the ontology and epistemology of Indigenous peoples as they relate to diverse Indigenous identities. Throughout the course, students will be invited to enhance their self-awareness and reflect on how their personal values, beliefs and experiences may impact their work with communities. The course will be delivered using traditional Indigenous pedagogical practices of experiential learning, oral knowledge sharing, and cultural mentorship. Students will also engage in scholarly learning that draws upon relevant academic sources.