Sqwélqwel: A Storybasket of the International Indigenous Studies Program at the University of Calgary

Abstract

This storybasket contains a Creation Story of the International Indigenous Studies Program at the University of Calgary. Using Indigenous research theories and methods in my own constructed research framework, I have gathered knowledge to determine how the program has endured within a system that has privileged western knowledge and western ways of teaching and learning. As a methodological intervention I have privileged Indigenous ways of knowing, research, and voices to decolonize all entry points of the thesis. Systemic and institutional racism has been the defining barrier that has impacted the growth of the International Indigenous Studies Program. Through it all, there have been some successes due in part to the passionate sessional instructors, courageous students, and relationships that put the holistic needs of learners at the center. In my Give Away (Conclusion) I have offered recommendations that would support the program’s development in the short and long terms. Above all, the need for deeper Indigenous community relationships to support the program at all levels fits into the larger Indigenous Strategy of the University of Calgary, and hopefully creates a space where the holistic, reflexive, and relational needs of all its learners can thrive.