Current students

• cultivating communities of belonging, care, and accountability where participants can support one another and thrive
• centering IBPOC student voices, experiences, and leadership as essential sources of knowledge and change
• advancing decolonization of social work by centering Indigenous knowledges, worldviews, and community-based ways of learning
• building meaningful relationships with Elders and knowledge keepers whose guidance, teachings, wisdom and mutual care ground our collective work
• strengthening connections between students and alumni to foster mentorship, intergenerational learning, and solidarity
• promoting anti-racist, anti-oppressive, and justice-oriented praxis through critical reflexivity, action, and collective responsibility
• transforming social work education and practice through critical engagement with settler colonial and systemic barriers

• community circle gatherings
• Elder-led teachings and conversations
• alumni mentorship and networking opportunities
• guest speakers, webinars, and hybrid events
• student leadership initiatives and community engagement
• collaborative knowledge making and mobilization
• arts and creative expression workshops and activities

Elder Sharon Jinkerson-Brass (she) is an Anishinaabe matriarch, ceremonial leader and knowledge holder from Key First Nation in Treaty 4 territory, Saskatchewan. A Sixties Scoop survivor, she is widely respected for her lifelong advocacy, cultural healing work and commitment to restoring matriarchal teachings.

Dr. Jenny Morgan (she) is a member of the Gitxsan Nation, Lax Gibuu (Wolf Clan), Wilp of Hawaaw. She is an assistant professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Victoria and has more than 20 years of social work practice experience in child welfare, health, non-profit organizations and leadership.

Hafsah (they) is a Muslim, Brown, queer person born on their ancestral homelands of the Indus Valley, now settled in Siknikt Mi'kma'ki, the ancient and unceded territory of the Mi'kmaq. Hafsah is an activist, artist, student and school social worker.

Since 2020, the circle has brought together IBPOC students, faculty and community members to build relationships, share experiences and advance decolonizing, relational, anti-racist and anti-oppressive practices. Past student leaders and contributors helped shape the circle through peer support, storytelling, mentorship and community-building.

The circle has also hosted panels, public lectures and community events that centred Indigenous, Black and racialized voices while fostering critical dialogue, learning and social change. Building on this legacy, we continue to create spaces for connection, leadership, collective care and transformative action.

We honour the contributions of past circle members and leaders, including Joslyn Bains, Chelsea Canuel, Aubrina (Bri) Culp, Noel Pio Roda and Ryan Khungay, whose leadership, storytelling and advocacy helped shape the circle's foundation. These leaders fostered critical conversations about belonging, decolonization and social justice in life and social work. Their contributions continue to inform and inspire the circle's commitment to community, collective care and transformative change.

In the past, the Circle held the following events:

• online public events: Celebrating Black History Month 2021 (Feb, 2021)
• online public lecture: Greening Social Work During the Time of Covid-19 (Dec, 2020)
• public lecture: Celebrating Black History Month with Guest Scholar Dr. OmiSoore Dryden (Feb 2020)
• public lecture presentation: "Resistance, Renewal, and Renaissance: Research from the Center of Black Education" by Dr. Dannielle Davis (Nov, 2019)