I pride myself on my ability to challenge structures that perpetuate oppression while keeping myself in check by understanding the role I play and the power that comes with having the role of child protection worker. I understand without first identifying my own social location I will not be of benefit to making change. I am a strong, resilient Metis woman who identifies as a member of the LGBT community. With this being said, I also have the privilege of education, being able bodied and until recently did not understand this fully, but because of my appearance have colonial privilege that “operates on a taken-for-granted level in which the injustice is largely concealed in the day-to-day operations of social life” (Barnes, Carniol, Barnes, Kennedy-Kish & Sinclair, 2017, p. 30). Understanding this is one thing, but doing good work with my community is another. I connect with my community because I have not only experienced child welfare involvement but still suffer from the generational trauma caused by residential schools. I believe that I am able to hear my communities’ stories, assisting them by not only creating obtainable goals but gathering the supports within the system of …show more content…
I have privileges that provide me with more access to resources, therefore can maneuver my way through the systems with my community members. The theory and practice of anti-oppression resonates with me as it allows me to examine these issues while further developing my advocacy skills. When first reviewing the expectations of this paper, I was immediately drawn to AOP because of the many ways I saw myself as being oppressed through colonization, race, class, etc. I did not want to identify the privilege that I now see was bestowed upon me to do good things. I am a resilient Metis woman who will continue to support society in an anti-oppressive way to hopefully, in my generation, see positive change, with no more apologies needed to the Indigenous