Indigenous Peoples
- LAST MODIFIED: 27 June 2017
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195389678-0252
- LAST MODIFIED: 27 June 2017
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195389678-0252
Introduction
Due to the current impacts of colonization, Indigenous Peoples in many countries are often involved as service users within the social services field. However, much research has indicated that Western, mainstream social work practice is often not helpful, and is in fact damaging in some situations, for Indigenous individuals, families, and communities. It is only relatively recently that Indigenous Peoples are being recognized as social work practitioners, educators, and researchers. Social work with Indigenous Peoples, by Indigenous Peoples, which is often referred to as helping and healing, shows up in the literature of many disciplines, including public health, education, and social development. This is due to the (w)holistic nature of Indigenous perspectives, which focus on overall health as connected to the people around them, the land they are on, and the cosmos. Around the world, Indigenous approaches to social work are based on Indigenous knowledges and experiences that reflect foundational values of the importance of family and community, reciprocity, spirituality, and help for the helpers. Indigenous social work practice is being applied to diverse areas such as human rights, community development, and the creation of social policies. For Indigenous communities, having control of social services is critical to their well-being and a necessary part of their resurgence and reclamation initiatives. However, not all of the literature on social work with Indigenous Peoples is published by Indigenous scholars and practitioners. Indigenous and non-Indigenous writers often partner on journal articles, book chapters, and edited works. Furthermore, some of this literature is solely written by non-Indigenous academics who are viewed as allies by Indigenous Peoples. Of particular note is how a small number of Indigenous social work educators and practitioners publish literature that supports how Indigenous knowledges can be of value to all people of the world.
Foundational Texts
When it comes to foundational texts regarding Indigenous social work theories, education, research, and practice, there are a small number written by Indigenous scholars, non-Indigenous allies, and a combination of both. Typically, these texts are used in social work education focused on research and services offered to Indigenous individuals, families, and communities. Indigenous Works such as Baskin 2016 (by Cyndy Baskin, Mi’kmaq and Celtic Nations) and Sinclair, et al. 2009 (Raven Sinclair, Cree at the University of Regina; Michael Hart, Cree at the University of Manitoba; and Gord Bruyere, Anishnawbe at the University College of the North) are generalist texts that take up topics such as child welfare, healing practices, and decolonization. The latter includes chapters by leading Indigenous academics and practitioners such as Kathy Absolon (Anishnawbe at Wilfrid Laurier University), Robina Thomas (Lyackson of the Coast Salish Nation at the University of Victoria), Cathy Richardson (Métis at the University of Victoria), and Jacquie Green (Haisla Nation at the University of Victoria). Simpson 2011 (Leeanne Simpson, Anishnawbe writer, musician, activist), provides an overview of the history of colonization, with some innovative suggestions that both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people can pick up in order to begin the decolonization process and create equitable relationships. Building on this theme, Indigenous and non-Indigenous co-writers, Kennedy-Kish (Bell), et al. 2017 addresse colonization, its current impacts, and the need for social services providers to be activists, working together to expose colonial policies and create progressive social movements. Similarly, Greenwood, et al. 2015 focuses on evidence that the impacts of colonization, both historical and current, have adverse effects on Indigenous well-being. What stands out in this book are the voices of both Indigenous community leaders and academics.
Baskin, C. 2016. Strong helpers’ teachings: The value of Indigenous knowledges in the helping professions. 2d ed. Toronto: Canadian Scholars’ Press.
Baskin’s text offers a comprehensive collection of approaches to infusing Indigenous worldviews within the helping professions. Baskin speaks to topics such as self-care, mental health, gender and sexuality, criminal justice, research, and allyship to consider from Indigenous paradigms.
Greenwood, M., S. De Leeuw, N. M. Lindsay, and C. Reading, eds. 2015. Determinants of Indigenous Peoples’ health in Canada: Beyond the social. Toronto: Canadian Scholars’ Press.
Indigenous Peoples Colonization and its historical and current impacts for Indigenous Peoples are addressed as main determinants of Indigenous health and well-being. Voices of both Indigenous academics and community leaders are showcased, bringing readers through a re-education on social determinants of health as seen through a number of disciplines.
Kennedy-Kish (Bell), B., R. Sinclair, B. Carniol, and D. Baines. 2017. Case critical: Social services and social justice in Canada. 7th ed. Toronto: Between the Lines.
This latest edition centers decolonized, critical analysis to highlight the trauma and communal destruction inflicted on Indigenous Peoples by past and present colonialism. Two of the authors are Indigenous, and two are not; their position is that social workers need to be activists to combat ongoing colonial policies.
Simpson, L. 2011. Dancing on our turtle’s back: Stories of Nishnaabeg re-creation, resurgence and a new emergence. Winnipeg, MN: Arbeiter Ring.
This book advocates for a resurgence of languages, cultures, and traditional governance as the first step toward building a relationship with the Canadian state. Engaging Nishnaabeg language, creation stories, and traditional teachings, it offers a unique and invaluable perspective of contemporary and historic Indigenous issues.
Sinclair, R., M. A. Hart, and G. Bruyere, eds. 2009. Wicihitowin: Aboriginal social work in Canada. Black Point, NS: Fernwood.
Wicihitowin is a collection of important writing from well-respected Indigenous social work scholars. It offers several selections on Indigenous history and theory, including anticolonialism, decolonization, and Indigenous-centered social work approaches, as well as direct social work practice.
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Article
- Abortion
- Adolescent Depression
- Adolescent Pregnancy
- Adolescents
- Adoption
- Adoption Home Study Assessments
- Adult Protective Services in the United States
- African Americans
- Aging
- Aging out of foster care
- Aging, Physical Health and
- Alcohol and Drug Abuse Problems
- Alcohol and Drug Problems, Prevention of Adolescent and Yo...
- Alcohol Problems: Practice Interventions
- Alcohol Use Disorder
- Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias
- Anti-Oppressive Practice
- Asian Americans
- Asian-American Youth
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- Baccalaureate Social Workers
- Behavioral Health
- Behavioral Social Work Practice
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- Bisexuality
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- Bullying and Social Work Intervention
- Canadian Social Welfare, History of
- Case Management in Mental Health in the United States
- Central American Migration to the United States
- Child Maltreatment Prevention
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- Child Poverty
- Child Sexual Abuse
- Child Welfare
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- Children
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- Christianity and Social Work
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- Community
- Community Development
- Community Policing
- Community-Based Participatory Research
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- Conflict Resolution
- Council on Social Work Education
- Counseling Female Offenders
- Criminal Justice
- Crisis Interventions
- Cultural Competence and Ethnic Sensitive Practice
- Culture, Ethnicity, Substance Use, and Substance Use Disor...
- Dementia Care
- Dementia Care, Ethical Aspects of
- Depression and Cancer
- Development and Infancy (Birth to Age Three)
- Differential Response in Child Welfare
- Digital Storytelling for Social Work Interventions
- Direct Practice in Social Work
- Disabilities
- Disability and Disability Culture
- Disasters
- Divorce
- Domestic Violence Among Immigrants
- Early Pregnancy and Parenthood Among Child Welfare–Involve...
- Eating Disorders
- Ecological Framework
- Economic Evaluation
- Elder Mistreatment
- End-of-Life Decisions
- Epigenetics for Social Workers
- Ethical Issues in Social Work and Technology
- Ethics and Values in Social Work
- Ethnicity
- European Institutions and Social Work
- European Union, Justice and Home Affairs in the
- Evidence-based Social Work Practice
- Evidence-based Social Work Practice: Finding Evidence
- Evidence-based Social Work Practice: Issues, Controversies...
- Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs
- Families
- Families with Gay, Lesbian, or Bisexual Parents
- Family Caregiving
- Family Group Conferencing
- Family Policy
- Family Services
- Family Therapy
- Family Violence
- Fathering Among Families Served By Child Welfare
- Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
- Field Education
- Financial Literacy and Social Work
- Financing Health-Care Delivery in the United States
- Forensic Social Work
- Foster Care
- Foster care and siblings
- Gay Men
- Gender, Violence, and Trauma in Immigration Detention in t...
- Generalist Practice and Advanced Generalist Practice
- Group Work
- Group Work across Populations, Challenges, and Settings
- Group Work, Research, Best Practices, and Evidence-based
- Harm Reduction
- Health Care Reform
- Health Disparities
- Health Social Work
- History of Social Work and Social Welfare, 1900–1950
- History of Social Work and Social Welfare, 1950-1980
- History of Social Work and Social Welfare, pre-1900
- History of Social Work from 1980-2014
- History of Social Work in China
- History of Social Work in Northern Ireland
- History of Social Work in the Republic of Ireland
- History of Social Work in the United Kingdom
- HIV/AIDS
- HIV/AIDS and Children
- HIV/AIDS Prevention with Adolescents
- Homelessness
- Homelessness Outside the United States
- Housing
- Human Needs
- Human Trafficking, Victims of
- Immigrant Integration in the United States
- Immigrant Policy in the United States
- Immigrants and Refugees
- Immigrants and Refugees: Evidence-based Social Work Practi...
- Immigration and Health Disparities
- Immigration and Intimate Partner Violence
- Immigration and Poverty
- Immigration and Spirituality
- Immigration and Substance Use
- Impact of Emerging Technology in Social Work Practice
- Impaired Professionals
- Implementation Science and Practice
- Indigenous Peoples
- Individual Placement and Support (IPS) Supported Employmen...
- In-home Child Welfare Services
- Intergenerational Transmission of Maltreatment
- International Social Welfare
- International Social Work
- International Social Work and Education
- International Social Work and Social Welfare in Southern A...
- Internet and Video Game Addiction
- Interpersonal Psychotherapy
- Intervention with Traumatized Populations
- Interviewing
- Intimate-Partner Violence
- Juvenile Justice
- Kinship Care
- Korean Americans
- Latinos and Latinas
- Law, Social Work and the
- LGBTQ Populations and Social Work
- Life Span
- Mainland European Social Work, History of
- Major Depressive Disorder
- Management and Administration in Social Work
- Maternal Mental Health
- Measurement, Scales, and Indices
- Medical Illness
- Men: Health and Mental Health Care
- Mental Health
- Mental Health Diagnosis and the Addictive Substance Disord...
- Mental Health Needs of Older People, Assessing the
- Mental Illness: Children
- Mental Illness: Elders
- Meta-analysis
- Microskills
- Middle East and North Africa, International Social Work an...
- Military Social Work
- Mixed Methods Research
- Moral distress and injury in social work
- Motivational Interviewing
- Multiculturalism
- Native Americans
- Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders
- Neighborhood Social Cohesion
- Neuroscience and Social Work
- Nicotine Dependence
- Occupational Social Work
- Organizational Development and Change
- Pain Management
- Palliative Care
- Palliative Care: Evolution and Scope of Practice
- Pandemics and Social Work
- Parent Training
- Personalization
- Person-in-Environment
- Philosophy of Science and Social Work
- Physical Disabilities
- Podcasts and Social Work
- Police Social Work
- Political Social Work in the United States
- Positive Youth Development
- Postmodernism and Social Work
- Postsecondary Education Experiences and Attainment Among Y...
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Poverty
- Practice Interventions and Aging
- Practice Interventions with Adolescents
- Practice Research
- Primary Prevention in the 21st Century
- Productive Engagement of Older Adults
- Profession, Social Work
- Program Development and Grant Writing
- Promoting Smart Decarceration as a Grand Challenge
- Psychiatric Rehabilitation
- Psychoanalysis and Psychodynamic Theory
- Psychoeducation
- Psychometrics
- Psychopathology and Social Work Practice
- Psychopharmacology and Social Work Practice
- Psychosocial Framework
- Psychosocial Intervention with Women
- Psychotherapy and Social Work
- Qualitative Research
- Race and Racism
- Readmission Policies in Europe
- Redefining Police Interactions with People Experiencing Me...
- Rehabilitation
- Religiously Affiliated Agencies
- Reproductive Health
- Research
- Research Ethics
- Restorative Justice
- Risk Assessment in Child Protection Services
- Risk Management in Social Work
- Rural Social Work in China
- Rural Social Work Practice
- School Social Work
- School Violence
- School-Based Delinquency Prevention
- Services and Programs for Pregnant and Parenting Youth
- Severe and Persistent Mental Illness: Adults
- Sexual and Gender Minority Immigrants, Refugees, and Asylu...
- Sexual Assault
- Single-System Research Designs
- Social Development
- Social Insurance and Social Justice
- Social Intervention Research
- Social Justice and Social Work
- Social Movements
- Social Planning
- Social Policy
- Social Policy in Denmark
- Social Security in the United States (OASDHI)
- Social Work and Islam
- Social Work and Social Welfare in East, West, and Central ...
- Social Work and Social Welfare in Europe
- Social Work Education and Research
- Social Work Leadership
- Social Work Luminaries: Luminaries Contributing to the Cla...
- Social Work Luminaries: Luminaries contributing to the fou...
- Social Work Luminaries: Luminaries Who Contributed to Soci...
- Social Work Regulation
- Social Work Research Methods
- Social Work with Interpreters
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- Strategic Planning
- Strengths Perspective
- Strengths-Based Models in Social Work
- Suicide
- Supplemental Security Income
- Survey Research
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- Syrian Refugees in Turkey
- Systematic Review Methods
- Task-Centered Practice
- Technology Adoption in Social Work Education
- Technology for Social Work Interventions
- Technology, Human Relationships, and Human Interaction
- Technology in Social Work
- Terminal Illness
- Terrorism
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- Transdisciplinary Science
- Translational Science and Social Work
- Transnational Perspectives in Social Work
- Transtheoretical Model of Change
- Trauma
- Trauma-Informed Care
- Triangulation
- Tribal child welfare practice in the United States
- Unions
- United States, History of Social Welfare in the
- Universal Basic Income
- Veteran Services
- Vicarious Trauma Redefining PTSD
- Victim Services
- Violence
- Virtual Reality and Social Work
- Welfare State Reform in France
- Welfare State Theory
- Women and Macro Social Work Practice
- Women's Health Care
- Work and Family in the German Welfare State
- Workfare
- Workforce Development of Social Workers Pre- and Post-Empl...
- Working with Non-Voluntary and Mandated Clients
- Young and Adolescent Lesbians
- Youth at Risk
- Youth Services