BRIDGING DISCIPLINES AND CULTURES: INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE AS A RESOURCE IN SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE

Aims of the SIG

This Special Interest Group (SIG) aims to create a dynamic network of researchers, practitioners, and Indigenous knowledge holders who explore the role of Indigenous knowledge systems in social work theory, practice, and education. The SIG seeks to:

Promote critical engagement with Indigenous epistemologies to enrich social work’s ethical foundations and practice approaches.

Facilitate interdisciplinary dialogue by exploring how Indigenous knowledge can bridge social work and related fields such as anthropology, education, environmental studies, and psychology. Support decolonizing practices in social work research by centering community-based, land-based, and culturally grounded methodologies.

Encourage international collaborations that examine how Indigenous knowledge contributes to social solidarity, healing, and community resilience in diverse contexts. Build a shared platform for case study presentation, co-producing knowledge with Indigenous communities, and advancing policy and practice rooted in respect, reciprocity, and relational accountability.

The SIG will foster spaces of mutual learning and solidarity, aligned with the broader goals of the ECSWR network and the “Solidarity and Social Work” initiative.

1. Objectives of the SIG

Exchange and discussion of research on Indigenous knowledge in social work; facilitation of interdisciplinary, transnational, and transcultural collaborations; exploration of decolonial research designs and community-based methodologies; and initiation of joint projects grounded in relational and land-based knowledge systems.

2. Scope of the SIG: e.g. field of interest; research focus; inclusivity strategies; likely development of the SIG.
   This SIG focuses on the role of Indigenous knowledge systems in shaping social work across practice, theory, and education. Its scope includes:

• Exploring Indigenous knowledge as a foundation for relational ethics, cultural healing, and community-based responses to social and ecological challenges.
• Fostering interdisciplinary and decolonial dialogue by connecting social work with anthropology, education, environmental studies, and related fields, through Indigenous worldviews.
• Building an inclusive international platform for co-produced research, reflective practice, and intercultural solidarity, promoting the recognition of Indigenous epistemologies in social work and beyond.

SIG Convenors

• Dr. Nuzha Allassad Alhuzail. Sapir Academic College, National Center for Knowledge, Policy and Research on Bedouin Society in the Negev and Social Work School. Nuzha6@gmail.com
• Koustab Majumdar, Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational and Research Institute, Morabadi, Ranchi-834008, Jharkhand, India & York University, ON, Canada koustab3662@gmail.com
• Lily Makalanga, Dodoma University, Tanzania lilybogohe@gmail.com
• Poppy Masinga, South Africa College of Applied Psychology poppy@sacap.edu.za

List of the initial SIG members

• Dr. Nuzha Allassad Alhuzail. Sapir Academic College, National Center for Knowledge, Policy and Research on Bedouin Society in the Negev and Social Work School.
• Dr. Ibrahim Mahajne, Zefat Academic College
• Rgada Alnabulsiy. Ruppen Acadmic College

Indicative activities

in order to exchange ideas and shape the SIG’s direction collaboratively. We plan to develop a program for a pre-conference meeting or SIG session at the ECSWR conference in Aberdeen and share the details via the ESWRA conference homepage. Currently, we are building an international network of researchers focused on Indigenous Knowledge in Social Work, with participation from colleagues working in Bedouin communities in Israel, as well as researchers from India, New Zealand, Canada, and Tanzania. This network aims to foster collaborative knowledge exchange between the Global South, Indigenous communities, and European academic institutions