Listening Through Storywork: Source Selection for Erasure Poetry in Decolonial Praxis

Abstract

This reflexive practitioner inquiry examines how we selected Indigenous-authored passages for an erasure poetry activity within an arts-based decolonial praxis. Guided by Jo-ann Archibald’s Indigenous Storywork methodology, we approached the sources as living entities. We came to see source selection itself as a form of teaching—foregrounding emotional resonances, identity exploration, and responsibilities. Two key learnings emerged: first, the importance of honoring passages as existing decolonial pedagogy; and second, the necessity of situating our own narratives within pedagogical practices. This account demonstrates how settler educators might take up Indigenous Storywork to encourage ethical relationality in practice.