\

Aboriginal Social Service W orkers’ Perspectives on Theory a n d P ractice

by

R ash id a C ollins

A th es is su b m itted to th e F acu lty of G ra d u a te a n d P ostdoctoral Affairs in p a rtia l fulfillm ent of th e req u irem en t for th e degree of

M aster of Social W ork

C arle ton U niversity O ttaw a, O ntario

© 2 0 1 2 R ash id a C ollins

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Canada

A bstract

The N ational C apital is u n d erg o in g sign ifican t dem ographic c h an g e s m any of w hich will sh ap e th e w ay s tru c tu ra l social w ork will be p rac ticed . As u rb a n m igra tion of A boriginal peoples c o n tin u e s a t a s teady ra te , social w orkers will face m ore challenges. O ttaw a h a s one of th e fa s te s t ris ing u rb a n A boriginal p o p u la tio n s in the c o u n try a n d th e la rgest n u m b e r of In u it people living o u ts id e of the N orth . T here is a growing concern am ongst A boriginal service p roviders th a t m a in s tre a m social w ork p rac tices will n o t be enough to w ork w ith In d ig en o u s g ro u p s in a successfu l way. T h is th e s is d o c u m e n ts the te n s io n s be tw een s tru c tu ra l social w ork p rac tice a n d an ti-co lon ial ap p ro ach es w h ich a rise for social w orkers while provid ing serv ices to the u r b a n A boriginal popu la tion in O ttaw a. T his th e s is a lso d isc u sse s th e w ays in w hich Aboriginal service prov iders u se ind igenous know ledge to w ork in an an ti-co lon ial way. T his th e s is co n clu d es th a t social w ork p rac tice by Aboriginal w orkers is m oving a n d sh o u ld co n tin u e to m ove tow ard a n an ti-co lon ial fram ew ork, w hich m ea n s th a t w orkers m u s t positio n colonialism a s p rob lem atic n o t only for th e c lien t b u t a lso for them se lves.

iii

A cknow ledgem ents

It w ould no t have been possib le to w rite th is w ithou t th e he lp a n d su p p o rt of m any k in d a n d loving people in m y life.

F irst a n d forem ost I w ould like to give th a n k s to m y C reato r, W ela lin , for w ithou t C reato r we a s In d igenous people would n o t be.

W elalioq to m y E lders, te a c h e rs , a n d w isdom keepers of th e g rea te r Ind igenous com m un ity of T urtle Island.

W elalioq to th e m any F irst N ations, In u it a n d M etis com m un ity m e m b e rs of th e u rb a n O ttaw a a rea , it h a s been a privilege to w atch y o u all th ro u g h

y o u r jo u rn ey .

To th e m an y Ind igenous social service w orkers a n d social a c tiv is ts w ho are on th e fron t-lines in th is d ifficult period persevering in a k in d a n d

loving way.

Special g ra titu d e to m y In d ig en o u s a n d non-Ind igenous a n c e s to rs a n d re la tio n s of th e Collins a n d F ran cq clans.

T h an k you to m y th e s is su p e rv iso r P rofessor H ugh Shew ell for y o u r guidance a n d patience. T h an k y ou to P rofessor Allan M oscovitch for y o u r

in sigh t a n d clarity . T h an k y ou to Professor D onna P a tric k from th e C entre of C an ad ian S tu d ies for y o u r he lp a s a n ex ternal re a d e r for th e com m ittee. T h an k you to P ro fessor Adje Van de S ande for ch a ir in g th e

th e s is defence.

Lastly th a n k you to m y p a r tn e r a n d ch ild ren w ho su p p o rted m e on th islong jo u rn ey .

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A b stract .................................................................. i

A ck n o w led g em en ts ...................................................................................................... iv

Table o f C o n ten ts ........................................................................................................... v

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

I. S ta tem en t of th e p ro b le m .............................................................................. 6

II. My In te re s t in th e su b je c t.............................................................................. 8

III. Sub jecta. W hat is th e su b je c t..............................................................................12b. Aboriginal perspec tives on social w o rk ....................................... 13c. A nti-colonial fram ew ork .....................................................................16d. S tru c tu ra l fram ew ork .........................................................................18e. Definition of te rm s ...............................................................................20

IV. C u rren t system ic a n d social b a rr ie rs of Aboriginal peoplea. D em ographic in fo rm a tio n ................................................................. 28b. C u rren t social, econom ic a n d h e a lth cond itions

of Aboriginal People............................................................................. 30c. C a n ad a ’s political a tm o sp h e re ........................................................ 34

V. B rief h isto ry of social w ork

a. Social w ork before co lon iza tion ..................................................... 48

b. Social w ork d u rin g th e period know nas ‘post-co lon ia l’...........................................................................51

c. Colonialism a n d S tru c tu ra l Social W ork ................................... 54d. Social w ork a n d A nti-colonial T h o u g h t......................................56e. Social w ork in an ti-co lo n ia lism ......................................................58

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

I. P rim ary lite ra tu re ........................................................................................59

II. A dditional lite ra tu re ....................................................................................61

III. Sum m ary, 69

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY

I. R esearch Q u estio n ....................................................................................................71

II. W hat I am investigating ........................................................................................73

III. P urpose of th e in terv iew s ....................................................... 75

IV. Sam pling P rocedu res............................................................................................76

V. Interview G uide .........................................................................................................78•

CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

I. In tro d u c tio n ................................................................................................................ 80

II. B oundaries an d re la tio n sh ip s ............................................................................. 84a. B oundaries a s a W orker............................................................. 84b. S hared experience a n d th e w orker-com m unity m em b er

re la tio n sh ip .....................................................................................................87

III. S ystem s a n d p ro cesses ......................................................................................... 92a . The p rocess o f th e sy s tem ........................................................................92

IV. R acism ............................... 98a. The experience of id en tity ra c ism ...........................................................98

IV. A boriginal Social Service W orkersu se of Ind igenous know ledge.................................................................... 102

CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS................. I l l

REFERENCES.............................................................................................................. 123

CHAPTER ONE: In trod u ction

I am a d e sce n d an t of th e B lack In d ian s from th e five civilized

trib es of th e Native A m erican te rrito rie s th ro u g h my g rea t-g ra n d fa th e r ,

J o h n Collins, w ho cam e from C herokee te rrito ry . I am a B lack S co tian

M ikm aq th ro u g h m y g rea t-g ran d m o th e r, R ebecca Byard (Paris), from th e

M ikm aq territo ry of Nova Scotia. I have held a career acad em ica lly a n d

professionally in social w ork for th e p a s t six y e a rs and have felt a te n s io n

betw een m y own c u ltu ra l w ay of know ing th in g s an d w h a t is p re se n te d to

m e th ro u g h social w ork th eo rie s a n d perspectives. For th is re a so n I

began to q u estio n a n d w onder w h a t a re the o th e r w ays of h e lp in g a n d

how do I, a s a racialized w orker, inform m y ow n practice in a w ay th a t

will effect change?

D uring m y u n d e rg ra d u a te degree in social w ork I w as ta u g h t

s tru c tu ra l social w ork p rac tice a n d m an y th eo ries th a t w orked w ith it in

com bination su c h as: an ti-oppressive , c u ltu ra l com petency a n d a n t i ­

rac is t ap p ro ach es . As s tru c tu ra l social w orkers we w ere ta u g h t to

com m it to th e p u rs u it of social welfare, social change a n d social ju s tic e .

It is fair to say th a t for th e m o st p a r t excep t for two en lig h ten ed

professors, th a t th e only h is to ry of he lp ing in term s of th e evo lu tion of

social w ork a s a p rac tice or p ro fession th a t w as p resen ted to u s , w as th a t

it evolved o u t of E urocen tric theo ries , beliefs a n d values. T here w as one

c la ss on A boriginal “perspec tives”. It d id no t get any b e tte r in g ra d u a te

school. In fact I learned m ore a b o u t he lp ing th rough u s in g m in d fu ln e ss

an d w estern psychology th a n I an tic ip a ted . I w orked m ain ly in

Aboriginal se ttin g s th ro u g h m y u n d e rg ra d u a te a n d g ra d u a te c a ree r a n d

w ish to acknow ledge th e m an y trad itio n a l te a ch e rs , re s is te rs a n d E lders

w ho b ro u g h t m e to a p lace to critically look a t my ow n p rac tic e a s a n

Ind igenous w orker still affected by colonialism .

The w ord A boriginal in th is th e s is is u se d to refer to th e In d ig en o u s

in h a b ita n ts of C anada; F irs t N ations, In u it a n d Metis peop le a s defined

in th e 1982 C onstitu tion Act. The te rm F irs t N ations re fe rs to th o se

people “defined u n d e r th e In d ian Act a s s ta tu s Ind ian” a n d w ho w ere th e

first in h a b ita n ts of th is geographic sp ace now called C a n ad a (McKenzie &

M orrissette, 2003, p. 14). The In u it acco rd ing to M cKenzie a n d

M orrissette (2003) are: “d is tin c t A boriginal peoples w hose geographic

origin w ere prim arily in th e n o r th e rn te rrito rie s o f C an ad a” a n d , “ M etis

refers to d is tin c t Aboriginal peoples w hose early a n ce s to rs w ere of m ixed

heritage , (First N ations a n d E uropean)” (p. 14). Scholars u s e th e te rm

Indigenous, to recognize th e p lace of A boriginal peoples in C a n a d a 's la te -

colonial era . They also u se it to acknow ledge th e leng th of tim e th a t

A boriginal peoples have sp e n t in N orth A m erica since th e te rm m e a n s

“native to th e a re a ” (National A boriginal H ealth O rganization , 2006). T h is

th e s is will u se th e te rm s A boriginal a n d Ind igenous in te rch a n g ea b ly to

acknow ledge th e ir connec tion to th e lan d geographically , politically ,

sp iritua lly a n d socially. T his th e s is will defer to th e lingu istic C a n ad ian

S tu d ies s ta n d a rd a n d cap ita lize th e te rm s Aboriginal a n d In d ig en o u s

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th ro u g h o u t each section.

T he h is to ry of co lonization of A boriginal peoples in C a n a d a n o t

only ex acerb a tes th e ir u n d e rd ev elo p m en t, b u t c o n tin u es to ch a rac te rize

th e c u rre n t re la tio n sh ip betw een th em a n d th e C anad ian g overnm en t

(McKenzie an d M orrissette , 2 0 0 3 , p . 15). D irectly rela ted to th is a sse r tio n

is th e know ledge th a t th e federal governm en t has, over th e y ea rs ,

rou tine ly ad m itted th e d isp a ritie s of h e a lth a n d social eq u a lity be tw een

C a n ad a ’s Aboriginal a n d non-A borig inal popu la tions y e t offers no rea l

so lu tions. In 2003 , th e n C hief of th e A ssem bly of First N ations, M atthew

Coon Com e, d isc u sse d th e se d isp a ritie s a n d concluded th a t , “...th is

governm ent is m ore p reoccup ied on sp en d in g m illions o f d o lla rs to

im pose u n w a n ted colonial legislation on F irs t N ations r a th e r th a n

investing in m e a su re s th a t will im prove o u r quality [of life]” (cited in

A delson, 2005 , p .45).

An ap p ro ach th a t c a n be u se d by Aboriginal social w o rk e rs in

w orking w ith A boriginal peop les is one derived from an ti-co lon ia l

th o u g h t. The an ti-co lon ial a p p ro a c h to p rac tice acknow ledges th e h e a lth

a n d econom ic d isp a ritie s th a t re s u lt from federal policies a n d p ro g ram s

b u t a lso identifies colonial leg islation a s th e d irect roo t of social a n d

econom ic inequality in th e A boriginal com m unity . T he an ti-co lo n ia l

ap p ro ach is derived from an ti-co lon ial th o u g h t which a r is e s from a n

u n d e rs ta n d in g of th e in h e re n t colonial re la tio n sh ip reflected in p rev io u s

h isto rica l actions, su c h a s com pu lso ry a tte n d a n c e a t re s id en tia l schoo ls.

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W ith th is u n d e rs ta n d in g it is th e n possib le to resist o r overcom e th e

negative im p acts of su c h a h is to ry (Dei, 2006). W hen in d iv id u a ls or

g roups u n d e rs ta n d th a t th ey a re o p p ressed historically , th e y a re th e n

proactively able to re s is t th e v a rio u s colonial pow ers a s a n a c t of a n t i ­

colonialism . A nti-colonialism re p re se n ts th e dynam ic p ersp ec tiv e o r a c ts

of oppressed or colonized p e rso n s w ho actively reject a n d re s is t th e id eas ,

beliefs a n d c u rre n t p e rso n a l s ta te to w hich th ey have b een su b je c ted by

th e colonial power. A nti-colonialism fu r th e r affirm s th e negative im p a c t

th a t th e colonial system h a s h a d o n colonized peoples by acknow ledg ing

p a s t h isto ry an d , w hen possib le , re s u lts in th e ir em pow erm ent by th e ir

“w ithdraw ing physically from a s itu a tio n ”, or “...rem ain ing to fight a n d

change th em [the colonizers]” (Memmi, 1965, p . 19).

Acts of rad ical re s is tan ce , of re jecting th e foreign d o m in a n t c u ltu re

a n d of re-cen tering th e Ind igenous peop le’s worldview, hav e b een a p a r t

of th e n a tio n a l liberation strugg le th ro u g h o u t m any n a tio n s (Dei 8 s

A sgharzadeh , 2001). Dei a n d A sgharzadeh (2001) ex p la in th e a n t i ­

colonial ap p ro ach a s a s ta r tin g p o in t for question ing a n d cha lleng ing

in stitu tiona lized pow er, privilege a n d th e d o m in a n t E urocen tric view.

The p u rp o se of th is th e s is is to explore w hether o r n o t th e re a re

ten s io n s betw een m eth o d s u se d in th e p rac tice of s tru c tu ra l socia l w ork

a n d th e anti-colonial ap p ro ach . In th is th e s is it is a rg u e d th a t social

w ork p rac tice by A boriginal w orkers is m oving a n d sh o u ld c o n tin u e to

move tow ard an an ti-co lon ial fram ew ork , w h ich m eans th a t w orkers

4

m u st position colonialism a s p rob lem atic n o t only for th e c lien t b u t a lso

for the w orker. After in terv iew ing e igh t A boriginal service p rov iders in th e

O ttaw a a re a from m an y d ifferen t c u ltu re s , there is ev idence th a t

a lthough som e w orkers have u se d an ti-co lon ia l a p p ro ach es , te n s io n s

rem ain betw een th e system a n d th e w orker, th e m ethods a n d th e th eo ry

of s tru c tu ra l social w ork. T he m ajority of th e w orkers believe th e re is a

m ajor struggle occu rring betw een th e agencies they w ork for a n d th e

system in w hich th e agency ex ists . As A boriginal w orkers th ey c a n e ith e r

legitimize th e system a n d th u s p e rp e tu a te a c ts of co lonialism , o r th ey

can res is t. P art of th e way re s is tin g is done in th e Aboriginal c o m m u n ity

is by relying on th e ir own In d ig en o u s w ays of know ing o r he lp ing . Dei,

Hall 85 R osenberg (2000) in S h a h ja h a n (2005) argue th a t by u s in g

Ind igenous know ledge th e colonized ind iv idual o r group c a n co n fro n t a n d

defy th e colonial a n d p o st colonial invasions. Ind igenous know ledge

p resen ted itself an ti-co lonially th ro u g h d ifferent ideas a n d a p p ro a c h e s

a ro u n d connections, b o u n d a rie s , sh a re d experiences, p ro c e sse s a n d

experiences of rac ism or la te ra l violence.

In th is th e s is th e w ord “co m m u n ity m em ber” will be u s e d often in

place of c lien t o r p a tien t. T he te rm com m un ity m em ber is com m only

u se d in Aboriginal o rgan izations. In m o st m ain stream social w ork a re a s

of s tu d y “clien t o r p a tien t” still d en o te s pow er over; in A boriginal social

w ork th e term “com m unity m em ber” is u se d to h e lp elim inate th e re s u l ts

of colonization a n d “pow er over” by acknow ledging the re la tio n sh ip a n d

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connection betw een th e w orker a n d client.

I. S ta tem en t o f th e problem

A ccording to th e 2 0 0 6 C a n ad a C e n su s report th e re is a s tead y

m igration of A boriginal peop les m oving in to C a n a d a ’s la rg e r u rb a n a re a s

(S tatistics C an ad a , 2008). It is likely th e n th a t u rb a n A boriginal people

will need various social services. W hile th is new u rb a n rea lity is

increasing ly th e experience of A boriginal p o pu la tions, c u r re n t policies

an d p rog ram s - w he ther th ey be federal o r provincial - th a t serv ice u rb a n

Aboriginal com m unity m em b ers rem a in tied to C a n ad a ’s co lon ial h is to ry

a s evidenced th ro u g h m o st social w ork perspectives. T h is lin k betw een

com m unity m em bers, th e colonial h is to ry a n d social w ork is d u e to th e

fact th a t social w ork perspectives h isto rica lly have b een derived from

w estern w orldviews of social p rob lem s a n d issu e s . It s ta n d s to re a so n

th a t m a in stream social w ork p rac tices c u rre n tly em ployed by A boriginal

social w orkers could be am b ig u o u s in tack ling th e p roblem s of th e u rb a n

Aboriginal popu la tion , an d w orse, could be problem atic if th ey a re in fact

linked to colonialism .

It follows th a t social w ork in te rv en tio n s th a t su p p o r t th e se

perspectives a re reflective of th e se d o m in an t colonial a n d su b s e q u e n t

non-Ind igenous perspec tives a n d fail to consider th e A boriginal

experience. The problem , a s a rticu la ted by m an y social w ork sc h o la rs , is

th a t social policies a n d social w ork p rac tice m ethods trad itio n a lly have

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draw n u p o n d o m in an t w orldview s a n d do n o t consider th e A boriginal

experience (Allan 2006 , B a ttis te 1998, B ask in 2003, Pon 2009). T hese

policies a n d p rac tices a re a lso roo ted in a dom inan t, E u ro ce n tr ic

worldview th a t excludes or “o th erizes” A boriginal values (D ean 2 0 0 1 , Pon

2009). A boriginal sch o la rs a rg u e th a t an ti-co lonial a p p ro a c h e s a re

becom ing m ore im p o rtan t in C an ad ian social w ork prac tice (McKenzie 85

M orrissette 2 003 ,W aterfall 2003).

The anti-co lon ial a p p ro a ch c an be aligned with s tru c tu ra l social

w ork theory b ecau se it p rovides w orkers w ith a critical a n a ly s is of th e

d o m in an t worldview w hich , a s H ick a n d M urray (2008) p o in t o u t, w o rk s

tow ards, “alleviating th e negative effects of a n exploitative a n d a lien a tin g

social o rder on in d iv id u a ls ...” (p.8 6 ). H ick a n d M urray (2008) a lso a rg u e

th a t s tru c tu ra l social w ork falls in to a b ro ad e r category th a t su p p o r ts

rad ical, tran sfo rm ative p ro cesses (p.87). However, if s t ru c tu ra l social

w ork w as a lso c rea ted u n d e r a d o m in a n t worldview and th ere fo re igno res

th e A boriginal one, is th e re a ten s io n betw een anti-co lon ial a p p ro a c h e s

a n d s tru c tu ra l p rac tice?

Before tack ling th ese q u e s tio n s an d p roblem s a n d d isc u ss in g

w h e th er o r n o t tran sfo rm ative ch an g e th ro u g h s tru c tu ra l social w ork a n d

a n an ti-co lon ial ap p ro ach a re a n an sw er, it is im p o rtan t to c o n s id e r th e

different p rac tice ap p ro ach es th a t have been p resen ted to s tru c tu ra l

social w ork s tu d e n ts . The lite ra tu re review th a t will follow will ta k e a

look a t th e different a p p ro a ch e s th a t have been p resen ted in social w ork

7

program s a n d practice.

II. My in te r e s t in th is su b ject

Before m oving on I w a n t to rev isit e lem en ts o f th e in tro d u c tio n

w here I in tro d u ce m yself in m ore d ep th . As a s tru c tu ra l social w orker m y

in te re s t in th is sub jec t grow s o u t of m y co n ce rn th a t a s C a n a d a ’s u rb a n

Aboriginal popu la tion in c re a se s - specifically in O ttaw a - in c re as in g

n u m b e rs of th a t p o p u la tio n will need an d requ ire a c c e ss to social

services. T hrough m y experience w orking w ith the u rb a n A boriginal

popu lation th ese services m ay o r m ay n o t be sufficient e n o u g h to serve

th is com m unity . T his p rognosis is su p p o rte d by a n d is b a se d on th e d a ta

I have a lready d iscu ssed from th e 2006 C a n ad a C ensus.

In add ition to th e c e n su s s ta tis tic s , th e M inistry of C h ild ren a n d

Fam ily D evelopm ent of B ritish C o lum bia found th a t not only is th e u rb a n

Aboriginal popu lation in creas in g , b u t th a t these young , em erg ing

com m unities face a n u m b e r o f challenges in c lu d in g a n

overrep resen ta tion in th e child w elfare system with le s s th a n ideal,

cu ltu ra lly ap p ro p ria te serv ices (M inistry of C hildren a n d Fam ily

D evelopm ent, 2008). T hus, it follows th a t a s the u rb a n A boriginal

popu lation in c reases so does its need to access requ ired social serv ices.

This is b ecau se a s A boriginal people leave th e ir ru ra l hom e c o m m u n itie s

they a re often m et w ith ch a llen g es in th e u rb a n setting . T heir social

cohesion su ffers a s a re su lt of m an y fac to rs includ ing poverty , lack of

8

fam ilial su p p o rt, lo ss of c u ltu re a n d lo ss of connection to la n d (Toye,

2007).

B ask in (2003) a rg u e s th a t th e s tru c tu ra l social w ork a p p ro a c h ,

w hile it indeed acc o u n ts for th e effect of colonial h isto ry o n c lien ts , fails

to facilitate d iscu ssio n a b o u t th e co m m u n ity ’s values a n d worldview .

How th e n does a n A boriginal w orker who su b sc rib es to s tru c tu ra l

perspectives m a in ta in a su ccessfu l he lp ing re la tio n sh ip w ith c lien ts th a t

have A boriginal worldview s? T his q u e s tio n lea d s to th e seco n d re a so n I

am in te res te d in th is sub ject: it is m y ow n social location a s a rac ia lized ,

s tru c tu ra l social w orker. At first, th e considera tion of th e m an y

perspectives u se d in s tru c tu ra l social w ork prac tice - in p a rtic u la r ,

c u ltu ra l com petency - w as w h a t I believed to be im p o rtan t in social w ork

w ith racialized groups. Now, a fte r w ork ing in a n Aboriginal agency , I feel

th a t th e re a re possib le ten s io n s betw een s tru c tu ra l social w ork p rac tice ,

A boriginal com m unities, A boriginal w orkers and som e com m only

em ployed theories. I do n o t believe th a t sim ply b ecau se p a r t of m y rac ia l

an d c u ltu ra l iden tity is M iTonaq a n d C herokee th a t th a t a lone h e lp s m e

to u n d e rs ta n d m y c lien t’s o r co m m u n ity m em b er’s p rob lem s a n y b e tte r

th a n som eone w ithou t th o se iden tities . I a m a lso n o t su re th a t s t ru c tu ra l

social w ork theo ries th a t en co m p ass c u ltu ra l com petency acknow ledge or

he lp re s is t rep licating pow er im b a lan ces re su ltin g from p a s t a n d p re s e n t

even ts. I am b o m of m ixed race a n d c u ltu re ; I am a B lack C a n a d ia n of

Mi’km aq F irst . Nation, Native A m erican a n d “W allonian” B elg ian

9

an cestrie s , th e la tte r of w hich is roo ted in W hite E u ro p ean c u ltu re . I

identify w ith a n d a s all of th ese . I now th in k th a t c u ltu ra l co m p e ten cy is

shaped by w este rn perspec tives. C u ltu ra l com petency a n d th e id ea s th a t

inform it do n o t help m e to o p era te in a n anti-colonial m a n n e r b e c a u se it

is a ssu m e d th a t I will u n d e rs ta n d o th e r A boriginal peop le’s ex p erien ces

sim ply b ecau se I sh a re th is c u ltu re a n d /o r id en tity w ith th em .

Previously m y s ta n c e in re la tion to th e th eo ry of c u ltu ra l

com petency w as th a t it w as m ore successfu lly em ployed by m e w hen

u se d w ith an ti-oppressive p rac tice - inc lud ing a co n sid era tio n of th e

socio-political con tex t of m yself a n d m y c lien ts - th a n by em ploying th e

th eo iy alone. However, I have com e to realize th a t th eo rie s c re a te d

w ith in th e very sy stem w hich h a s u se d th e d o m inan t w orldview m ay be

in ad eq u a te for m y w ork a s a racialized social w orker a n d I have s ince

looked tow ards adop ting a n an ti-co lon ial app roach w h ich se ek s to

critique th o se sam e sy s tem s of pow er.

C u ltu ra l com petency u se d a lone c a s ts a n illusion over socia l w ork

prac tice in th a t it c re a te s a belief w ith in w orkers th a t th ey c a n p o ten tia lly

becom e experts in finding th e so lu tion to a n o th e r p e rso n ’s p ro b lem - in

th is case u n d e rs ta n d in g th e A boriginal experience. T h is illu sion is

coun terp roductive to s tru c tu ra l, an ti-co lon ial a n d an ti-opp ressive w ork.

Therefore, considering th e u s e of self a s a professional deve lopm en t tool

an d th e oppo rtun ity to u se th e le a rn e r’s stance r a th e r th a n th e

p rac titio n er a s expert is fu n d a m e n ta l to w orking w ith In d ig en o u s g ro u p s.

10

In a way I am try ing to “u n th in k ” colonialism . R ecently I h a d th e

o pp o rtu n ity to w ork on p a r t of th e S is te rs In S p irit (SIS) p ro jec t th ro u g h

th e Native W om en’s A ssociation of C a n a d a (NWAC). D uring th is p ro jec t I

found m yself in co n trad ic to ry c irc u m sta n ce s w h en co m m u n ica tin g w ith

fam ily m em bers who w ere a p a r t of th e p ro jec t. My b a c k g ro u n d a s a

social w orker told m e to keep u p a b o u n d a ry of p ro fessiona lism th a t

w ould m ean a clien t-w orker re la tio n sh ip , how ever the In d ig en o u s p a r t of

m e recognized th a t th is w ould n o t n ecessa rily w ork in th is case . We w ere

seeking to em pow er th e fam ily m em b ers to u s e their ow n so lu tio n s in

dealing w ith th e ir m issing or m u rd ere d fam ily m em ber a n d n o t th o se

posed by th e s ta te . The Ind igenous w ay w ould be to t r e a t th e fam ily

m em bers a s experts, a s w ould th e s tru c tu ra l way, b u t th e m a in

difference w ould be th e re la tio n sh ip . I w ould w a n t to c o n n ec t w ith m y

h e a r t an d sou l from m y own experiences w ith losing a fam ily m em b er to

violence. O pening u p th is connec tion on a very persona l level w ould n o t

have w orked in con ju n c tio n w ith m y s tru c tu ra l social w o rk th eo rie s . I

hope to conclude th is p ro jec t w ith m ore re se a rc h on w here a racia lized ,

in p a rtic u la r a n A boriginal w orker, lo ca te s h e rse lf in h e r w ork a n d c an

gain in sigh t in to e th ica l a n d progressive p rac tice .

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II. SUBJECT

a. W hat is th e su b ject?

T here is little re se a rc h a b o u t th e im p ac t on a n d view s of social

w orkers from oppressed g ro u p s w ho a re w ork ing for the very sy stem th a t

h a s opp ressed them , a n d even le ss on A boriginal social w o rk e rs w ho a re

inside th e very system th a t h a s c a u se d oppression , a n d even le ss on

Aboriginal w orkers. M ost of th e th eo re tica l a rg u m en t in social w ork h a s

been a b o u t how to w ork successfu lly w ith in th e sy stem u s in g su c h

theo ries a s c u ltu ra l com petency a n d an ti-oppressive p rac tice r a th e r th a n

how to rectify th e pow er im b a lan c es c au se d by h isto rical p ra c tic e s a n d

a c ts of opp ression w ith in th e p ro fession su c h a s those a sso c ia ted w ith

th e child welfare system , th e p en a l system , a n d m arg inaliza tion of overall

h ea lth . Of cou rse , all of th e se p rac tices re su lt from colonial d o m in a tio n .

S cho lars of social w ork th eo iy w ho u s e a n an ti-co lon ial fram ew ork

em phasize th e Aboriginal worldview a s a p a r t of res is tan ce . T he su b je c t

an d a rg u m en t of th is th e s is will be th a t social w ork p rac tice by

A boriginal w orkers is m oving a n d sh o u ld co n tin u e to m ove to w ard a n

an ti-co lon ial fram ew ork, w hich m e a n s th a t w orkers m u s t p osition

colonialism a s p rob lem atic n o t only for th e Aboriginal c lien t b u t a lso for

th e A boriginal w orker. In th e following sec tion I tu r n to w h a t a n

Aboriginal perspective looks like in social w ork practice w h ich cou ld be

in te rp re ted to be a n an ti-co lon ial fram ew ork.

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b. A boriginal P ersp ectiv es on S o c ia l W ork

The m ost im p o rtan t perspec tive unveiled in n u m e ro u s a rtic le s on

Aboriginal w orkers an d co m m u n ity m em b ers (often labelled c lien ts in

social work) is th e im portance of worldview a n d social w ork p rac tice .

S cho lars su c h a s S m ith (1999), Pon (2009), McKenzie & M orrisse tte

(2003) an d H art (1999) all agree th a t p a ra m o u n t to w orking a s a service

provider in th e A boriginal con tex t is a n u n d e rs ta n d in g of th e ir worldview .

Sim ilarly David E ste (2007) w rites , “An u n d e rs ta n d in g of w orld view s

en ab les p rac titio n ers to becom e m ore effective in th e ir p rac tic e w ith

different c lien t sy stem s, in c lu d in g individuals, fam ilies, a n d

com m unities” (p.97). A worldview is d ifferent from c u ltu ra l id en tity

b ecau se no t all Aboriginal people - Native, Inu it a n d M etis - have

different views y e t technically th ey a re often th o u g h t a s h av in g th e sam e

or sim ilar c u ltu ra l experience by non-A borig inal people sim ply by v irtu e

of being Aboriginal. T his becom es very im p o rta n t in co n sid erin g th e u se

of theo ries su c h a s an an ti-co lon ia l fram ew ork for A boriginal w orkers

because , a s I p ropose to a rg u e in th is th e s is , c u rre n t th e o rie s a n d social

w ork p rac tice a re still s itu a te d w ith in th e w estern worldview co n tex t

(W aterfall, 2003 and Pon 2009). A boriginal worldviews, d e sp ite th e

im pact of colonialism , have surv ived a n d a re a ttr ib u te d to A boriginal

peop les’ resiliency an d sh o u ld be considered ju s t a s , if n o t m ore,

13

sign ifican t th a n W estern o n e s 1 (Sm ith, 1999).

It is also im p o rtan t to po in t o u t th a t social w ork p rac tice in a n

A boriginal con tex t is essen tia lly a b o u t seek ing w holeness a n d b a la n ce

(Hart, 1999) an d therefore will be th e b a s is of th is sec tion . A boriginal

people believe th a t to live a holistic a n d h e a lth y life a p e rso n , reg a rd le ss

of th e is su e (w hether it be physical, o r m en tal), m u st reg a in b a la n ce

(H unter et al., 2006). Bopp e t al. (1984), H un ter e t al. (2006) a n d

McKenzie 8b M orrissette (2003), exp la in th e m ajor p rin c ip le s or

c o n s tru c ts of th e A boriginal worldview th a t a re p articu la rly im p o rta n t to

service p roviders an d w hich differ from th e w este rn E u ro cen tric m odels.

T hese are: th e im portance of sp iritu a lity a n d th e connection to n a tu re ,

th e concep t of holism (harm ony a n d balance), a n d finally th e v a lu e of th e

collective, th e com m unity , th e fam ily o r c lan system . T he ho lis tic

worldview can be ta u g h t o r im p lem en ted , th ro u g h social w ork

in te rven tions a n d th ro u g h th e prom otion of h ea lth y co m m u n itie s (Bopp

e t al, 1984, H u n te r e t al., 2006 8b McKenzie a n d M orrissette, 2003).

In c o n tra s t to th e A boriginal worldview there is th e w e ste rn

worldview w hich a d h e re s to th e u se of th e clin ical m odel, w h e rea s th e

1

Aboriginal worldview c an be considered m ore sign ifican t a rg u e McKenzie 8b M orrissette (2003) b ecau se th e ir m ean ing sy s te m s w ere c rea ted to “tra n sm it th is know ledge to fu tu re g en era tio n s”, in o rd e r to m a in ta in th e env ironm ent a n d its re so u rce s (p.2 0 ).

14

A boriginal worldview in c lu d es sp iritu a lity a n d sac red n ess . R a th e r th a n

reflecting inw ard for an sw ers , “th e E u ro -w estem worldview, [is] b a se d on

a lin ear m odel of th in k in g , is im m ersed in h isto ry o f sc ience a n d

scientific reason ing . It r e s ts on a firm belief a b o u t h u m a n objectiv ity in

th e ou tw ard p u rsu it of know ledge a n d t r u th ”, (McKenzie & M orrisse tte ,

2003 , p .20). D espite th e fac t th a t s tru c tu ra l social w o rk e rs do n o t

ascribe to th e clinical m odel th ey often have no choice b u t to defer to

conventional m odes of c lin ical in te rven tion . Service p ro v id ers w ho a re

u n a b le to a d a p t to or u n d e rs ta n d th e se fu n d am en ta l d ifferences m ay fail

to u n d e rs ta n d how th e ir A boriginal co m m u n ity m em bers u n d e rs ta n d

th e ir h e a lth an d therefo re th e ir in te rv en tio n a n d prevention .

In o rder to help th e co m m u n ity m em b ers achieve th e h a rm o n y a n d

ba lance reflected in th e c u ltu ra l teach in g s a n d to u n d e rs ta n d th e con tex t

of holism a s service p rov iders to A boriginal people, it is im p o r ta n t to

consider th e concep t of healing in th e A boriginal worldview. H ealing in

th e Aboriginal con tex t is th e “p ro cess th a t b rings p a r ts of o n e ’s self

(physical, em otional, m en ta l, a n d sp iritual) together a t a deep level of

in n e r know ledge” (H unter e t a l., 2 0 0 6 , p. 13). It follow s th e n th a t

harm o n y a n d ba lance will com e from p e rso n a l s tre n g th . T here a re

cu ltu ra l p ro cesses involved in A boriginal healing which, in tu rn , will he lp

lessen th e h isto rical ram ifica tions w ith w hich A boriginal people m u s t

co n stan tly deal; “C u ltu ra l c o n te n t, p a rticu la rly in rela tion to id en tity a n d

sp iritua lity is em bedded in th e concep t o f healing , and th e re is th e n eed

15

to deal w ith any adverse effects from colonization”, a s re m n a n ts of

colonization m ay get in th e w ay of th e h ea lin g p rocess (McKenzie &

M orrissette, 2003 , p .30). The p rac tice of h ea lin g u se d by A boriginal social

service w orkers w orking w ith A boriginal co m m u n ity m em bers is a n a n t i ­

colonial p rac tice a s it seek s to re s is t o r rectify the h is to ric a l c h an g e s

b ro u g h t u p o n Aboriginal g roups.

c . A n ti-co lon ia l fram ew ork

L inda Tuhiw ai S m ith ’s book, Decolonizing M ethodologies (1999)

a rg u es th a t an ti-co lon ial th in k in g goes one s te p fu rth e r th a n F ra n tz

F a n o n ’s original th ink ing , in th a t de-colonial th o u g h t re m a in s s itu a te d

w ith in a colonial system , a n d an ti-co lon ialism is the a tte m p t to p o sitio n

th a t th o u g h t theoretically o u ts id e th e colonial system . F irs t, in o rd e r to

in te rp re t th e ca ta ly st of u n d e rd ev e lo p m en t a n d oppression of A boriginal

people in re la tion to c u rre n t social w ork p rac tice one m u s t co n s id e r th e ir

h isto ry . The colonization of C a n a d a ’s A boriginal people is th e m a in

co n trib u to r to th e ir political a n d social inequality . M cKenzie a n d

M orrissette (2003) a rgue th a t th e etiologic p a tte rn of social p ro b lem s for

A boriginal people m u s t inc lude how federal a n d provincial g o v ern m en ts

u n d e rm in ed Ind igenous com m unities , h e a lth , land , fam ily, c u ltu re a n d

triba l va lues. By stripp ing or u n d e rm in in g peoples of th e se A boriginal

a ttr ib u te s th e s ta te h a s c rea ted m arg inalized g ro u p s w ho feel

d isem pow ered, have low self-esteem a n d self-w orth, a n d th e re fo re often

choose to u se destructive cop ing m ec h an ism s s u c h as su b s ta n c e a b u se .

T his in tu rn h a s c rea ted a v icious cycle of in te rg en e ra tio n a l t r a u m a

w hich is p a ssed down from g en era tio n to generation in c lu d in g a la c k of

hea lth y p a ren tin g sk ills a n d /o r h e a lth y life choices.

R esidential schools a n d th e ‘S ix ties Scoop’ 2 c o n so lid a ted th e se

k in d s of p roblem s. McKenzie a n d M orrissette (2003) reg a rd th e

in ternalized feelings of low self-w orth a n d inferiority a s a m ain

c o n trib u to r to th e u n d erd ev e lo p m en t of Aboriginal co m m u n itie s a n d

a ttr ib u te th ese feelings to th e “colonial re la tio n sh ip ” w h ich , th e a u th o rs

con tinue , “encouraged th e ad o p tio n of behav iou rs a sso c ia te d w ith

dom ination a n d victim ization” (p. 16). The response to in ferio rity a n d

in ternalized opp ression often re s u lts in negative social b e h av io u r s u c h a s

coping th ro u g h alcohol, n a rc o tic s , experience of violence a n d a b u se

w hich in tu rn p roduces u n h e a lth y p e rso n s a n d co m m u n ities (McKenzie

8 s M orrissette, 2003). The m an y p ro b lem s th a t Aboriginal peop le face a re

in trin sic to th e re la tio n sh ip th ey have w ith the ir h is to ry in c lu d in g

colonialism , im peria lism a n d th e inab ility to avoid th e sp re a d a n d

diffusion of E urocen tric th o u g h t in to th e ir ow n con tem porary societies

(W aterfall, 2003). T heir m arg inalized location in c u rre n t C a n a d ia n society

leads to e n co u n te rs w ith crim inality , sexual deviance, v io lence, sex ism

2 F rom th e beg inn ing of th e 1960s for a lm o st three d e c a d e s large n u m b e rs of Aboriginal ch ild ren w ere ap p re h en d e d from th e ir fam ilies a n d com m unities an d p laced in fo ste r care . E ven tually m ost of th e ch ild ren were adop ted in to non-A boriginal fam ilies in C a n ad a a n d th e U nited S ta te s (Kirm ayer et. a l, 2003).

17

an d rac ism w hich a re all linked to th e h is to ry of co lon iza tion a n d

p a tria rch y (Razack, 2002). In fact, a rg u e s R azack (2002), th e se

cond itions a re su s ta in e d in co n tem p o rary society due to th e p ro c e ss of

colonial o rder su c h a s th e h is to ry of dom ina tion and ob jec tifica tion of

Aboriginal people by th e colonizer. An anti-co lon ial fram ew ork allow s

w orkers, scho lars, re sea rch e rs a n d o th e rs to question a n d challenge th e

colonial fram ew orks a s a way to rega in con tro l and equality . “[AJnti-

colonialism q u estio n s in s titu tio n a l pow er a n d privilege a n d th e ra tio n a le

for dom inance , a n d acknow ledges th e in te rtw in in g roles th e s ta te , social

a n d in s titu tio n a l s tru c tu re s p lay in p roducing a n d re p ro d u c in g

in s titu tio n a l inequalities” (H art, 2 0 0 9 ,p.30). T h is is done th ro u g h th e

recovery of trad itio n a l Ind igenous know ledge (Sim pson, 2 0 0 4 in H art,

2009) an d by reclaim ing, revitalizing a n d rete lling their ow n h is to ry in a n

Ind igenous con tex t (Tuhiwai S m ith , 1999).

d. S tructural fram ew ork

A s tru c tu ra l an a ly sis of p rob lem s a n d issu es u n m a s k s th e

socioeconom ic s tru c tu re s th a t o p p ress th e indiv idual o r g roup . Social

w ork fram ew orks often look a t p rob lem s, (individual o r group), in

c o n tra s t to th e c lien t’s im m ediate social env ironm ent. In p a rtic u la r ,

w orkers will view th e ir p rob lem s in c o n tra s t to th e ir fam ily, frien d s, p eer

group or w ork. A s tru c tu ra l fram ew ork co n sid e rs all of th o se e lem en ts

b u t also analyzes oppression w ith in b ro ad e r social a n d in s titu tio n a l

18

s tru c tu re s o r political factors. S tru c tu ra l ap p ro ach es there fo re recognize

th e im portance of access to re so u rce s a n d services a s a p a r t of se lf

em pow erm ent, a n d social w orkers w ho u se th e se ap p ro a ch e s n o t only

look to help c lien ts bu ild th e ir own p e rso n a l sk ills bu t will a lso ad v o ca te

an d defend th e rig h ts of a n ind iv idual o r g roup a s a way of re d is tr ib u tin g

power. A s tru c tu ra l fram ew ork alw ays beg in s w ith the p rem ise th a t th e

existing s tru c tu re s in society a re oppressive a n d th a t th e p e rso n a l is

political. The s tru c tu ra l social w orker will seek to find th e lin k be tw een

th e ind iv idual's s itu a tio n a n d th ese s tru c tu re s . Bob M ullaly (1997)

s ta te s specifically th a t social p rob lem s a re seen a s arising from libe ra l o r

neo-conservative cap ita lis t sy s tem s th a t b o th oppress a n d exclude

ce rta in g roups su c h a s Ind igenous peop les from fully p a rtic ip a tin g in

society. S tru c tu ra l fram ew orks seek to d e b u n k the m y th of eq u a lity

w hich e n ta ils th e belief th a t a s long a s ind iv iduals w ork h a rd e n o u g h

th ey can achieve w h a t th ey w a n t a n d need , o r in o th e r w ords, th a t

everything is gained th ro u g h m erit. B ask in (2003) s ta te s th a t a

s tru c tu ra l ap p ro ach acknow ledges th a t h is to ry h a s an im p a c t on g ro u p s

of people a n d th a t co lonization is linked to th e ir p resen t c o n d itio n s of

opp ression (p.67). S tru c tu ra l social w ork u n d e rs ta n d s In d ig en o u s

g ro u p s’ resp o n se to opp ression a s in te rn a lized op p ressio n (B ask in ,

2003). In o th er w ords, followers of s tru c tu ra l social w ork w ould a rg u e

th a t th e pow ers in d o m in a n t society absolve them selves of resp o n sib ility

for th e opp ression of A boriginal a n d o th e r m arg inalised peop les b e c a u se

19

subconsc iously they u n d e rs ta n d th a t th e m arg inalisa tion of th e se g ro u p s

serves to m a in ta in th e ir ow n privilege (B askin, 2003). T h is is d u e to th e

w estern , liberal belief in th e m y th of equality - th a t A boriginal people a re

also ab le to tak e advan tage of equality of opportun ity . T h is is p ro b lem atic

b ecau se it ignores th e experience of collective opp ression th a t h a s

d isadvan taged m an y Ind igenous g roups, su c h a s system ic rac ism a n d

rac is t policies like th o se th a t a rise from th e Ind ian Act. Hill (1995) in

B ask in (2003) p o in ts o u t th a t s t ru c tu ra l social work is n e v e rth e le ss

derived from a w estern perspec tive a n d is p a r t of w estern c u ltu re . Even

th o u g h s tru c tu ra l fram ew orks a re linked with an ti-o p p ress iv e

ap p ro ach es it is n o t a ho listic a p p ro a ch reflective of A boriginal

worldviews an d therefo re is n o t a n inclusive m odel to u s e w h en w ork ing

w ith com m unities (B askin, 2003).

e. D efinition o f te rm s

T hroughou t th is th e s is I will be u s in g various te rm s w h ich will be

in teg ral to u n d e rs ta n d in g m y a rg u m en t. W hat follows is a b rie f defin ition

of each of th ese te rm s. In m y ow n experience I have fo u n d th a t th e se

te rm s a re a p a r t of th e s tru c tu ra l social w ork educa tion th a t I w as given

o r u se d w ith in m y own p rac tice a n d v a rio u s jo b s I held in th e In d ig en o u s

social w ork field. The firs t few te rm s a re a p a rt of m y c o n ce p tu a l

fram ew ork a s som e of th e key fac to rs o r m ain concep ts th a t re la te to

A boriginal social w o rk ers’ experiences th a t I look at w hile c o n d u c tin g

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resea rch . T he la s t few a re m ostly p rac tice ap p ro ach es th a t I co n s id e r to

be a p a r t o f m y s tru c tu ra l social w ork cu rricu lu m .

Firstly , I w ould like to briefly define Structural Social Work-

Structural social w ork practice is a social w ork ap p ro ach w h ich varies

depend ing on its em p h asis , b u t c an inc lude Aboriginal p e rsp ec tiv e s a n d

acknow ledges colonialism a s a negative im pact w hen p oss ib le . A ccording

to th is p a rtic u la r em p h asis , it is all b a se d on th e belief th a t s t ru c tu ra l

factors have m ajo r significance for m an y types of social w ork p rob lem s.

P redom inately a C an ad ian m odel of p rac tice , w hen u s e d w ith in th e

system th e concep t is u se d to ch an g e people’s ideology a n d

co n sc io u sn ess on a large scale in o rd e r to change socie ty o r la rger

s tru c tu re . W hen p rac ticed ou tside th e system it is u s e d to ch an g e

rad ically th e oppressive s tru c tu ra l p a tte rn s su c h a s p a tr ia rc h y a n d

rac ism in o rd er to c rea te a new social reality for people (M ullaly, 1997,

p. 187).

A lthough th e re a re a few sch o la rs w ho define an ti-co lon ia l

ap p ro ach es th is th e s is will em ploy W aterfall’s (2003) a n d D ei’s &

A sgharzadeh’s (2001) anti-colonial fram ew ork. T heir defin itions

encom pass a n ti-ra c is t a n d an ti-opp ressive perspec tives a n d th e

con tem porary u sag e of c o u n te r/o p p o s itio n a l d iscou rse in u n d e rs ta n d in g

colonialism in social w ork p rac tice a n d in p rac titio n e r’s ow n p e rso n a l

beliefs in o rder to em ploy an ti-co lon ial th o u g h t. In p a r tic u la r to social

w ork p rac tice , th is p a p e r will u s e Dei 8s A sgharzadeh’s (2001) defin ition

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of an ti-colonial fram ew ork to acknow ledge th e epistem ologies, rea litie s

a n d m ethodologies of A boriginal people.

A lthough th is th e s is does n o t d irec tly site th e te rm colonial a g en d a

it is im p o rtan t b ackg round for u n d e rs ta n d in g w here a n d how co lon ialism

h a s diffused ac ro ss w h a t is now know n a s C anada. S m ith in W aterfall

(2003) an d W aterfall & M aiter (2003) see th e agenda of co lon iza tion in

C an ad a a s a n objective of th e B ritish E m pire to expand know ledge, trad e ,

an d expansion of th e em pire itse lf w ith a n outcom e to ga in a cc ess a n d

contro l of th e la n d ’s reso u rces , in c lu d in g its people (p. 52). T he o th e r w ay

th a t th is is exp ressed in th is th e s is is th ro u g h diffusionism , w h ich is a

p rocess b a sed on th e b iased n o tion th a t th e co lon ists a n d E u ro p e a n

se ttle rs , w ere cu ltu ra lly a n d politically su p e rio r to all o th e rs . T herefore,

Aboriginal peoples needed to acq u ire E u ro p ea n c u ltu re in o rd e r to

p rog ress (W aterfall, 2003). T h is su b seq u e n tly cau sed th e em ergence of a

pecu lia r view of Ind igenous know ledge a n d c rea ted a false d icho tom y of

th e civilized a n d th e savage w ith in th e colonial system . T h is re fu ta tio n of

Ind igenous know ledge cam e to be know n a s E u ro cen trism or E u ro cen tric

th o u g h t (B attiste, 1998). T h is false d icho tom y often o c cu rs in C a n ad ian

society in w h a t E dw ard Said (1978) co ined a s ‘o thering ’. Othering o ften

involves th e p ro cess o r perceived no tion th a t one group is d o m in a n t o r

civilized an d th a t th e o th e r g roup is le ss civil o r uncivilized a n d there fo re

labeled ‘th e o th e r’. Othering explo its th e n o n -d o m in an t g ro u p a n d m a k e s

th em inferior o r w orse, can d eh u m an ize them .

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M any Ind igenous re se a rc h e rs d isc u ss a t length th e p ro c e ss or

theo ry of decolonization. F ran tz F an o n a sse rted early on th a t

decolonization a s a theo ry a n d p ro cess is th e in tro d u c tio n of violence by

th e colonized in o rder to ru p tu re th e d o m in a n t colonial p a rad ig m . S ince

violence w as seen by F anon a s th e re a so n for th e creation of co lon ialism

it w ould tak e violence to b rin g it dow n (W aterfall an d M aiter, 2 0 0 3 &

Lynes, 2002). T his is th o u g h t by sc h o la rs to be a co n sc io u s c re a tio n of

oppositional analy tic a n d c u ltu ra l beliefs, sp aces and a c tio n s , in c lu d in g

validating Ind igenous know ledge in co n tem p o ra ry society (Dei 2001 in

W aterfall a n d M aiter, 2003).

T here a re a few c o n cep ts th a t I have lea rn ed th ro u g h th e s tu d y of

S tru c tu ra l Social W ork a t C arle ton U niversity th a t I re fe r to th ro u g h o u t

th is th e s is a n d d isc u ss in len g th in th e section on ‘F ind ings’.

A nti-oppressive practice is a te rm encom passing a n u m b e r of social

ju s tic e o rien ted ap p ro ach es. It d raw s on social activ ism a n d collective

o rganizing a n d in teg ra te s a n u n d e rs ta n d in g o f social p rob lem s. It

req u ires rad ica l re th in k in g of h isto ric , tim e-honou red th e o rie s a n d

concep ts a n d critical re -exam ination of tak en -fo r-g ran ted a s su m p tio n s

a b o u t th e help ing p ro cess (Clarke, 1998, p .247). This te rm is largely

su p p o rted a s a p rac tice m eth o d in s tru c tu ra l social work. Clifford (1995)

defines th e te rm an ti-opp ressive a s considering th e effect of th e “u s e a n d

a b u se of pow er n o t only in re la tion to individual o r o rg an iza tio n a l

behavior” a n d how th is pow er m ay or m ay n o t be racist, c la ss is t, sex is t

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or h e te ro sex is t (p.65). P rac titio n e rs of an ti-oppressive p rac tic e w ould

re la te th is to th e b ro ad e r social s t ru c tu re s for exam ple: political,

econom ic, h e a lth , ed u ca tio n a n d c u ltu ra l system s a s a w ay to

u n d e rs ta n d a c lien t’s or g ro u p ’s experience a n d social h is to ry in o rd e r to

em pow er or he lp th em to ch an g e th e ir s itu a tio n .

B oundaries a re one of th e c o n s ta n t th e m e s th a t I d raw o u t from

th e eigh t interview s. B oundaries in c lu d e professional d is tan c e ,

professional b o u n d a rie s a n d objectivity. T hese term s have b een key

concep ts in e d u ca tio n for m a n y social w ork an d h e a lth p ro fessions.

‘Professional objectivity w as va lued a s th e q u a lity th a t allow ed th e h e lp e r

to divorce h im or h e rse lf from sub jective feeling, a ttitu d e s a n d beliefs’

(Shulm an, 1991, p . 15). S h u lm a n ’s (1991) defin ition is a co n cep t th a t is

ta u g h t in som e s tre a m s of social w ork.

C ounsello rs , social w orkers a n d o th er w orkers in a h e lp ing role

u su a lly e s tab lish a th e ra p e u tic a lliance w ith th e com m u n ity th ey a re

help ing a n d c an often strugg le w ith transference. Transference o c cu rs

w hen feelings a re u n co n sc io u s ly d irec ted from one p e rso n to th e o th e r

(Shulm an, 1991). It is often believed th a t th e se ‘feelings’ com e a b o u t d u e

to rep ress io n of feelings from o n e ’s ch ildhood . Along w ith tra n s fe re n c e it

is also com m on for social service w orkers to experience counter

transference w hich h a p p e n s u n co n sc io u s ly w hen a w orker becom es

em otionally connec ted or en tan g led w ith a c lien t an d fails to see th a t th e

em otions th ey a re a ttr ib u tin g to th e c lien t is from feelings o f th e ir own

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experiences. C o u n te rtran sfe ren ce c a n be dam ag ing if th e w orker is n o t

aw are (M andell, 2008).

Use o f s e l f (Satir Model definition) is a m ethod th a t I fo u n d w as

ta u g h t in my social w ork p rog ram a s a w ay to w ork w ith in m u ltic u ltu ra l

env ironm ents. The u s e o f s e l f o c cu rs w hen th e th e ra p is t is in to u c h a n d

aw are of th e ir own p e rso n a l co n n ec tio n s a n d experiences. T herefore th ey

have th e ability to m on ito r it in o rd e r to c en tre a n d b e tte r p rep a re

them selves for th e ir c lien ts a n d /o r se ss io n s . T h is includes b e in g aw are of

o n e’s in n e r p ro cesses , accep ting w h a t is, know ing one’s se lf a n d looking

a t possib ilities. T his definition of u se o f s e l f will b enefit th e c lie n t’s

p rocessing of th e ir own is su e s (Lum, 2002 , pp . 182-183). A ccord ing to

W endy Lum (2002) it is one of th e m o st im p o rtan t a sp e c ts of be ing

successfu l in th e help ing profession .

Cultural com petency is a a n a p p ro a ch to clinical p rac tice w ith

diverse clien ts, th a t focuses on developing know ledge of a p a r t ic u la r

c u ltu ra l g roup a n d sk ills from w ith in a specific context (Lee a n d G reene,

1999 in Allan, 2006 , p .260). T he goal of th is app roach is to red u c e

stereo typ ing a n d oppression , (from th e d o m in a n t system ), a n d develop a

m ore com plex u n d e rs ta n d in g of c u ltu re from a p rac tical s ta n d p o in t. It

seeks to d e co n stru c t how a given c u ltu re sees th e he lp ing re la tio n sh ip

a n d how problem s c a n be solved w ith in a given cu ltu re (N w achuku a n d

Ivey, 1991 & Lee a n d G reene, 1999 in A llan, 2006, p .260). I d is c u s s

cultural com petency in th e th e s is b e c a u se d u rin g my ex p erien ce a s a

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social w ork s tu d e n t it w as ta u g h t to m e a s a w ay to w ork w ith g ro u p s

w ho h a d been ‘o th e red ’ a n d c e rta in ly w as d iscu ssed by som e p ro fesso rs

a s a n ap p ro ach th a t com plem ented s tru c tu ra l social w ork th eo ries .

In o rder for social w o rk ers to u n d e rs ta n d th e p sy ch e of a n

Aboriginal p e rso n th ey m u s t firs t have know ledge of th e ir w orldv iew

w hich is different from th e w e ste rn view of h u m a n n a tu re a n d behav io r.

H art (2010) a rg u es th a t in o rd e r to w ork w ith Ind igenous g ro u p s a social

w orker will be requ ired to a c t o u ts id e of th e dom inan t w orldview w h ich is

often found in social w ork e n v iro n m en ts . A p e rso n ’s w orldview affects

o u r belief sy stem s, decision m ak ing , a ssu m p tio n s , and m o d es of p rob lem

solving (Hart, 2010). O verholt a n d C allicot in McKenzie a n d M orrisse tte

(2003) define a n Aboriginal w orldview a s a “se t o f rela ted id ea s or views

to w hich m em bers of a d istinc tive c u ltu re su b sc rib e ” (p. 19). F u rth e rm o re

a worldview can becom e a “recognized reality” th a t h a s th e p o ten tia l to

“socialize its c itizens a n d c re a te a political cu ltu re” (McKenzie &

M orrissette, 2003 , p. 19). T his political c u ltu re is one o f th e ch a llen g es

faced by service providers. H a rt (2010) defines worldview a s “cognitive,

percep tua l, a n d affective m a p s th a t people co n tin u o u sly u s e to m ak e

sense of th e social lan d scap e to find th e ir w ays to w h a tev er goa ls th ey

seek... an d a re developed th ro u g h o u t a p e rso n ’s lifetim e th ro u g h

socialization a n d social in te rac tio n ” (p.2). Once a n In d ig en o u s

ind iv idual’s o r g roup ’s worldview is u n d e rs to o d it is e a s ie r to see th e

Ind igenous w ays of know ing a n d help ing . H a rt (2010) o u tlin e s seven

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princip les of Ind igenous worldview s identified by sc h o la r L eanne

Sim pson: know ledge is ho listic ; th e re a re m an y t ru th s d e p e n d e n t on

each indiv idual experience; every th ing is alive; all th ings a re equal; la n d

is sacred; th e re la tio n sh ip betw een people a n d the sp ir itu a l w orld is

im portan t; an d lastly , h u m a n be ings a re le a s t im p o rtan t in th e w orld.

The worldview is im p o rtan t a s it h e lp s co n sid er the p ersp ec tiv e of how

Ind igenous g roups view th e ir ow n know ledge or w ays of help ing .

Indigenous w a y s o f helping a n d /o r Ind igenous know ledge is b a se d on

perspectives of th e local com m unity , its va lues a n d a sp ira tio n s a n d th e

w ays th a t fam ilies a n d d ifferent social n e tw o rk s em phasize th e re la tio n a l

self (Hart, 2010). T here a re som e exam ples of Ind igenous w ays of he lp in g

in th e ‘F ind ings’ section of th is th es is . However, before c o n tin u in g I will

m en tion som e th a t I lea rn ed th ro u g h m y ow n practice a n d th ro u g h th e

research . Holistic a r t-b a se d a p p ro a ch e s a re exam ples of In d ig en o u s w ays

of tran sfe rrin g know ledge a n d help ing th a t facilitate h e a lin g o r refection

on a sh a red experience; exam ples in c lude storytelling, d ru m -m a k in g ,

signing a n d beading . The re a so n w hy th e se are good ex am p les is

because each of th e se activ ities gives a p e rso n th e chance to explore a n d

reflect on th e ir own experiences sp iritua lly , m entally , em otionally a n d

physically. T hese activ ities a re often done collectively w h ich m e a n s th a t it

gives th e g roup a ch an ce to reflect on th e effects of co lon ization th ro u g h

looking a t th e ir sh a red experience in a reflective way. U sing In d ig en o u s

ways, su c h a s th o se lis ted above, will he lp decolonize In d ig en o u s peop les

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in a positive unifying w ay (H art 2010).

IV. Current sy s te m ic an d so c ia l barriers co n fro n tin g A boriginal people

a. D em ographic In form ation

Som e dem ographic a n d s ta tis tica l in fo rm ation is im p o rta n t in th is

th esis . The in form ation recorded h ere will hopefully be u s e d by social

w orkers an d those w orking in social w ork a re a s a s a re a so n to p a y b e tte r

a tten tio n to th e general A boriginal p o p u la tio n in th e u rb a n a re a .

U rbanization is im p o rtan t for two re a so n s w hen d isc u ss in g a n t i ­

colonialism a n d s tru c tu ra l social w ork. F irs t, th e m ore A boriginal peop les

move in to cities a re a s th e h a rd e r it is to reclaim a n d m a in ta in th e

Ind igenous w ays of he lp ing a n d second , a s a socia l w orker it is im p o rta n t

to tak e no te of th e ris ing n u m b e rs a s an o p p o rtu n ity to p ay m ore

a tten tio n to A boriginal worldviews. It is p o ssib le the u r b a n A boriginal

worldview is u n n o ticed or ta k e n a s a p a r t of th e general worldview .

In O ntario “A boriginal peop les a re younger, m ore m obile,

experience m ore s in g le-p aren t fam ilies, a re less well e d u ca te d , experience

m ore unem ploym ent, e a rn less , a n d a re in ca rce ra ted in g rea te r

p roportions th a n non- A boriginal peop les”

(Spotton, G overnm ent of O ntario , Ipperw ash Inquiry, 2007). In O n tario ,

th e m ajority of Aboriginal peoples do n o t live on reserves (or F irs t N ation

com m unities, a s reserves a re often called). O ttaw a h a s a large m ig ra tio n

an d popu lation of In u it people from th e n o rth ; 61% of A borig inal people

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in O ntario live in cities (Spotton, G overnm ent of O n ta rio , Ip p erw ash

Inquiry , 2007).

The 2006 C a n ad a C e n su s rep o rts th a t there a re ap p ro x im ate ly

1 ,172 ,790 people in C an ad a w ho inden tify a s Aboriginal w ith over

188,000 living in O ntario a n d a b o u t one h a lf of th e to ta l A boriginal

iden tity popu la tion living in an u rb a n se ttin g (S ta tistics C a n a d a , 2 0 0 8 8s

S ta tis tic s C an ad a , 2001). 2 0 ,5 9 0 people in O ttaw a-G atineau iden tified a s

Aboriginal in th e 2006 C e n su s (S ta tistics C anada). An u rb a n iz a tio n

s tu d y found m ore A boriginal people a re living in poverty th a n th o se w ho

a re on reserve, especially A boriginal ch ild ren - “52.1% of all A boriginal

ch ild ren w ere poor” (C anad ian C ouncil on Social D evelopm ent, 2003).

It is a lso im p o rtan t to n o te th e d ifference in age m ak e u p of

C a n a d a ’s p opu la tion in reg a rd s to A boriginal a n d non-A boriginal people.

The A boriginal p opu la tion is in c reas in g in C an ad a ; in 2001 over 4 .4% of

C a n a d a ’s p o pu la tion identified a s hav ing Aboriginal a n c e s try , a r ise of

3.3% since th e 1996 c e n su s (S ta tis tics C anada , 2001). A lthough

Aboriginal people “age p rem a tu re ly ” often in th e onset of th e ir 4 0 ’s a n d

5 0 ’s, th e A boriginal popu la tion in C a n ad a is, on average, m u c h y o u n g e r

th a n th e non-A boriginal p o p u la tio n w ith 38% u n d e r th e age of 15,

com pared to 21% of th e non-A boriginal p o p u la tion . The y o u n g e s t c itizen s

live in th e N unavu t T erritory (NAHO, 2002 8s S ta tis tics C a n a d a , 2001). In

the O ttaw a-G atineau a re a th e A boriginal popu la tion is y o u n g a n d

29

growing w ith a 42% in crease in its p o p u la tio n since 2001 (S ta tis tic s

C anada , 2001).

b. Current so c ia l, e co n o m ic an d h e a lth co n d itio n s o f A boriginal peop le

M ain ta in ing a n d achieving good h e a lth is integral to th e A boriginal

worldview yet it p re se n ts itse lf a s a challenge to u rb a n A boriginal

com m unities. It is com m only know n th a t in C anada A boriginal people

a re th e m o st m arg inalized p o p u la tio n in te rm s of th e ir overall socio­

econom ic a n d h e a lth cond itions. T his is d esp ite the fac t th a t C a n a d a

ostensib ly h a s u n iv ersa l h e a lth care , a pub lic educa tion sy s tem a n d

social serv ices all th o u g h t to be equally accessib le by all c itizens. The

reality is w hen it com es to th e overall h e a lth of C an ad ian s , th e re is a

significant d isp a rity betw een th e A boriginal com m unity a n d th e n o n -

Aboriginal one (Adelson, 2005). The fact is th e re is a c o rre la tio n be tw een

yo u r race a n d e th n ic ity w hen it com es to m en ta l, em otional a n d p h y sica l

h e a lth in C an ad a . If you a re a m em b er of a n Ind igenous g ro u p a n d

therefore affected by colonization th e n it is likely th a t y o u hav e a lso

experienced challenges w ith h e a lth e ith e r individually o r in th e g rea te r

com m unity . T his is d u e to th e d e trim en ta l a n d in te rg en e ra tio n a l effect

th a t colonization h a s h a d on A boriginal people in C anada.

Specifically in O ntario , th e A boriginal Healing a n d W ellness

S tra tegy (AHWS) w as b ased on a province-w ide study th a t e v a lu a ted th e

30

in p u t of over 7000 people a b o u t w h a t a re a s needed to be im proved i n .

o rder to achieve w ellness, healing or h e a lth for Aboriginal people:

In D ecem ber of 1994, th e O ntario governm en t c rea ted AHWS w ith th e sign ing of 13 im plem en ta tion ag reem en ts w ith th e m ajo r p rov incial Aboriginal o rgan izations a n d th e Chiefs of th e Independen t F irst N ations. Fifteen ag reem en ts w ere signed in 1999 a n d renew ed in 2004 for fu r th e r five year te rm s (2008, p .4).

AHWS (2008) seeks to in teg ra te c u ltu ra lly co m p eten t p ra c tic e s

w ith p rog ram s a n d serv ices in th e h e a lth se c to r th a t specifically d ea l

w ith O n ta rio ’s u rb a n A boriginal p o p u la tio n . I t a ttem p ts to do th is

th rough :

• Provision of equ itab le a cc ess to p rim ary h e a lth a n d h ea lin g services a n d p rog ram m es, inc lu d in g preven tion , tre a tm e n t a n d su p p o rt, th a t a re c u ltu ra lly app rop ria te a n d c u ltu ra lly com petent;

• B uilding on the s tre n g th s a n d enhancing th e c ap a c itie s of com m unities; and ,

• Prom otion of equ itab le , violence-free re la tio n sh ip s a n d h ea lth y env ironm en ts (p.4).

S tra teg ies su c h a s AHWS a re only p a r t of the so lu tio n , th e re a re

larger political an d social s tru c tu re s c re a tin g ba rrie rs to th e overall

m en ta l an d physical h e a lth of C a n a d a ’s A boriginal people. However, th e

AHWS (2008) also s ta te s th a t c u ltu ra l com petency of A boriginal a n d n o n -

Aboriginal service providers in h e a lth ca re a re crucial to em pow ering

Aboriginal c lien ts to m ake h ea lth y cho ices, a s well as c o n tr ib u tin g to th e

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overall healing p rocess . C u rren tly AHWS h a s b e en su b s ta n tia lly

u n d e rfu n d ed by th e C onservative federal governm ent.

B ask in (2009) su g g e s ts th a t p a rtic u la r p re se n tin g issu e s :

dep ression , su ic ide a tte m p ts , alcohol an d d ru g m isu se , sex u a l a n d

physical a b u se an d fam ily violence, a re w h a t b ring Ind igenous a d u lts to

th e services of a social w orker. T hese serv ices a re e ither m a n d a te d by a

cou rt, th e child welfare sy stem o r th e com m un ity has show n co n ce rn for

th e m em ber w hich leads th em to m ak in g th e ir ow n decision to seek he lp .

In teresting ly B ask in (2009) acknow ledges th a t com m unity m em b ers

often p re sen t them selves for service on th e u rg in g of a fam ily m em b er or

th e com m unity a s a n in te rven tion , for exam ple a p a rtn e r s ta tin g 'I c a n ’t

s tay w ith you u n le s s you get help '. A boriginal people have a h ig h e r

incidence of: in fan t m orta lity , low b ir th w eight, acc iden ts a n d in ju ry ,

su icide, chron ic d iseases , ch ild ren in th e child w elfare sy stem ,

incarcera tion , experience of violence, poverty, su b s ta n c e u s e a n d

com m unicab le d iseases (Day 8b N aym ark , 2007 , S ta tis tics C a n a d a , 2 0 0 8

an d McKenzie 8& M orrissette , 2003). D ay a n d N aym ark (2007) s ta te th a t

Aboriginal people have a significantly lower life expectancy th a n n o n -

Aboriginal people in C a n a d a (p.9). The c a u se of these socia l a n d h e a lth

d isp arities in th e u rb a n A boriginal com m un ity is due in p a r t to la c k of

access to services an d p ro g ram s th a t a re cu ltu ra lly a p p ro p ria te . The

social d isparity of u rb a n A boriginal people is a rguably th e in d ire c t a n d

d irec t effects of th e social d e te rm in a n ts of h e a lth - social, econom ic,

32

cu ltu ra l a n d political in eq u itie s (Adelson, 2005 and D ay & N aym ark ,

2007). The N ational A boriginal H ealth O rganization (NAHO) (2002)

d escribes th e c u rre n t social d e te rm in a n ts of hea lth th a t affect th e

outcom e of A boriginal h e a lth p rom otion a n d services th a t a re specific to

C a n a d a ’s Aboriginal p o p u la tio n as: incom e a n d re la ted social s ta tu s ,

poverty, educa tion , h o using , th e res id en tia l school experience , c u ltu ra l

lo ss an d env ironm ental dam age. M any n a tio n a l A boriginal o rg an iza tio n s

see th e effects of colonization a s hav ing a las tin g effect on th e A boriginal

popu lation .

In p a rticu la r, A boriginal people have in terlock ing social a n d

h e a lth p rob lem s d u e to double jeo p a rd y - a com bination of o p p ress io n

b ased on th e ir e thn icity a n d th e ir social s ta tu s (Behnia, S e p tem b er 26

2007 , c la ss notes). T here a re m an y exam ples of A boriginal h e a lth is su e s

a n d th e ir co n trib u tin g factors. An exam ple of a co n trib u tin g fac to r th a t

affects th e u rb a n popu lation is overcrow ded h o u sin g a n d le ss a cc ess to

safe housing . This re su lts in th e sp read of com m unicab le d ise a se s w ith

a n in crease in s tre s s a n d la te ra l violence (Adelson, 2005). A no ther

exam ple of d isp roportiona te social m arg inaliza tion is violence to w ard s

A boriginal w om en a n d girls. C a n ad a h a s m ore th a n 582 d o cu m en ted

c a se s of m issing a n d /o r m u rd e re d Aboriginal wom en a n d girls. Twelve

p e rcen t of case s docum en ted by th e Native W om en’s A ssocia tion of

C a n ad a occu rred in O ntario (NWAC, 2010). In O ntario , th e size of

Aboriginal fam ilies is larger th a n th e n a tio n a l average. O u t o f th e seven ty

33

cases docum en ted by NWAC (2010) 90% of th e wom en a n d g irls w ho

w ere m issing or m u rd ered w ere m o th e rs . NWAC (2010) h a s s ta te d th a t

b ecau se of th is crisis m ore serv ices a n d access to services a re n eed ed for

those w ho a re left caring for th e ch ild ren , a n d in general for su p p o r t to

O n ta rio ’s larger fam ilies. The serv ices m u s t still b e im proved a n d

connec t b a ck to th e com m un ity a n d be cu ltu ra lly a p p ro p ria te (NWAC,

2 0 1 0 ).

The Aboriginal H ealing a n d W ellness S tra tegy (AHWS) (2008) a lso

a rg u es th a t m ore a tten tio n n e ed s to be paid to im proving th e a c c e ss to

services a n d im proving th e overall h e a lth a n d social s ta tu s , by m ore

h e a lth educa tion , p rom otion a n d o u trea ch from cu ltu ra lly co m p e ten t

fram ew ork. C am pinha-B aco te (2002) a p ioneer in cu ltu ra lly co m p e ten t

h e a lth service delivery, fu rth e rm o re s ta te s th a t th e re is a d irec t

re la tio n sh ip betw een h e a lth ca re p rov iders w ho a re cu ltu ra lly co m p e ten t

a n d th e ir ability to provide c u ltu ra lly responsive h ea lth c a re serv ices a n d

h e a lth prom otion. T his s ta te d , it is im p o rta n t to scho lars o f A boriginal

is su e s th a t th e h isto rica l o rig ins of p rob lem s a re revealed a n d

u n d e rs to o d before p roposing th e so lu tions.

c . Canada’s p o litica l a tm osp h ere

It is a lso im p o rtan t to co n sid e r th e political a tm o sp h ere in C a n a d a

a t th e tim e th is re sea rch w as conducted . The form er Liberal a n d c u r re n t

C onservative federal gov ernm en ts b o th have d im in ished ju s t ic e a n d

34

equality for A boriginal people th ro u g h e lim in a tin g or red u c in g fu n d in g for

Aboriginal services, p rog ram s, advocacy a n d education .

T his section of th e th e s is a tte m p ts to d em o n stra te th a t th e

inform ation collected su b s ta n tia lly reflects th e recen t effects o f c u rre n t

federal a n d O ntario provincial policies a n d specifically how th e y im p ac t

Aboriginal p rog ram s in th e city of O ttaw a. The recently re leased b u d g e t

for th e federal governm en t’s fiscal fram ew ork is com m itted to a u s te r ity

by cu ttin g public se rv an ts a n d serv ices over the n e x t fo u r y e a rs

(M cDonald, 2011). T his section is im p o rta n t to th e rea d e r a s it s e ts th e

contex t for w h a t s tru c tu ra l social w orkers w ould see a s th e sy s te m s of

pow er th a t affect A boriginal w o rk e rs’ m eth o d s. Aboriginal w o rk e rs a n d

th e A boriginal cen tre s th a t em ploy th em a n d th a t offer se rv ices to th e ir

com m unity will now have even le s s re so u rce s available th e n th e y have

h a d in th e p a s t ten to fifteen y e a rs - a n d th o se reso u rces w ere a lread y

less th a n adequa te . It is n o t all d ism al th o u g h . Even in th e p re s e n t

political rea lity com bined w ith th e evidence of little to n o fiscal p rov isions

th e s itu a tio n for th e u rb a n A boriginal com m unity h a s p ro g ressed in

som e ways. However, th is is only b e c a u se of th e acts of th e people a n d

n o t b ecau se of governm ent a ss is ta n c e . T his is a p p a ren t even u n d e r th e

m ost ex trem e im pacts of conservative policies a n d th e re a re exam ples

w ith in th e Aboriginal com m un ity th a t show a n an ti-co lon ial a p p ro a c h

th ro u g h o u t th is tim e.

Before looking d irectly a t th e re s u lts of th e re sea rch th e re a re , even

35

now, som e com m only know n exam ples of an ti-co lon ialism in C a n a d ia n

society. A good, recen t exam ple of re s is tan c e a n d of th e an ti-co lo n ia l

a p p ro ach is d em o n s tra ted by th e su c ce ss of “S h a n n e n ’s D ream ” a

m ovem ent in O ntario . 2011 w as th e th ird ann iversa ry of Prim e M in ister

S tephen H arp er’s apology to A boriginal people for th e d isa s tro u s ly

harm fu l effects of th e res id en tia l school system on F irs t N ations, In u it

a n d M etis people. Yet th e federal governm ent h a s co n tin u a lly c ap p e d

F irst N ations ed u ca tio n fu n d in g a n d left u rb a n a n d reserve F irs t N ations

in th e d ires t of s itu a tio n s . Less access to a n educa tion h a s m e a n t le ss

access to good, secu re em ploym ent a n d housing . ”S h a n n e n ’s D ream ”

s ta r te d a s a m ovem ent in A ttaw ap iska t, a n o r th e rn O n ta rio co m m u n ity

by a young F irs t N ations s tu d e n t n am ed S h an n en K oostach in . S he

w an ted to fight to e n su re all schoo ls in th e reserve system a re ra ise d to

th e s ta n d a rd s of C an ad ian pub lic schoo ls off-reserve (F irst N ations

Fam ily Child a n d Fam ily C aring Society, 2012). Reserves w a n t th e ir ow n

ed u ca tio n a l p ro g ram s b u t th e schoo ls m u s t be u p to th e q u a lity a n d

s ta n d a rd of pub lic ones off reserve w ith o u t necessarily te a c h in g th e sam e

m ateria l. S h a n n e n ’s school w as b u ilt on a toxic diesel spill. O n -reserve

educa tion fu nd ing w as th e n b ro u g h t fo rth a s a political M otion 571 in

th e H ouse of Com m ons. M otion 571 w as p u t fo rth by th e e lected MP of

Ja m e s Bay, C harlie A ngus in th e H ouse of Com m ons. D ue to th e

p e rs is ten ce of th e Aboriginal people th e com m un ity h as b een p ro m ised a

new school in 2012 . However, th e m ovem ent and re s is ta n c e w ere

36

com pletely in itia ted by S h a n n e n K oostach in of A ttaw ap iska t F irs t N ation,

h e r sib lings an d fellow s tu d e n ts , all A boriginal people a n d A boriginal

w orkers. C indy B lackstock , Executive D irector of the F irs t N a tions C hild

a n d Fam ily C aring Society, (FNCFCS) like m o st A boriginal w orkers,

a ss is te d th e A ttaw ap iska t com m un ity w ith navigating th e political

system a n d policies. It w as th e d e te rm in a tio n and p e rs is te n c e of th e

A boriginal people a n d th e A boriginal w orkers w ho would n o t ta k e n o for

a n answ er from th e federal governm ent th a t re su lted in b ro a d e r lobbying

from bo th m a in s trea m a n d A boriginal political groups. T here a re s im ila r

p h en o m en a th ro u g h o u t th e re se a rc h d a ta of th is th esis th a t show by n o t

accep ting p a rticu la r policies th e A boriginal w orker is u s in g a n a n t i ­

colonial app roach .

For a t lea s t th e p a s t decade A boriginal social w o rk ers , A boriginal

com m unity m em bers, s tru c tu ra l social w o rk ers and th e ir a llies have

lived a n d w orked u n d e r policies in itia ted by neo-liberal g o v ern m en ts

w hich have th e in ten tio n of p rom oting th e p riva te sector a n d w eak en in g

services in th e public sector. In o th e r w ords, neo-liberal reg im es in th e

C an ad ian political system have m e a n t th a t Aboriginal w o rk e rs have h a d

to rely m ain ly on su p p o rt com ing from th e ir ow n co m m u n ities a n d on

th e ir own worldview. The m ost rec en t goal of th e federal go v ern m en t to

sh ift responsib ilities of th e pub lic sec to r over to the p riv a te sec to r h a s

m ea n t th a t m ore often th e b u rd e n of access to services is p laced on th e

indiv idual w hen in th e p a s t th e governm ent has sh o u ld e red m o st

37

responsibility .

In C an ad a n e ith e r federal L iberal n o r C onservative g o v e rn m en ts

have m ade th e s itu a tio n for F irs t N ations, In u it o r Metis a n y b e tte r . It is

yet to be seen w h e th er th e new ly elected New D em ocratic P arty

opposition c an in fluence an y policy on A boriginal issu es a t th e federal

level. So far it is n o t looking good w ith th e rec en t a n n o u n c e m e n t th a t th e

C onservatives have c u t A boriginal h o u s in g by 127$ m illion d o lla rs since

2008 , an d will co n tin u e to c u t h o u s in g (APTN N ational News, 2011).

It is a rg u ed th a t b e c a u se th e political system in C a n a d a h a s

inco rpora ted m any p rinc ip les of colonial law s from form er co lon ies, a n d

in tu rn in to its form al re la tio n sh ip w ith Aboriginal peop les, social

w orkers really have no re a so n to believe in th e u se of leg isla tion to

overcom e colonization, it is con trad ic to ry . S tru c tu ra l social w o rk e rs

believe th a t you can w ork w ith in th e ex isting sy stem a n d its s t ru c tu re s to

overcom e it. T his does n o t n ecessa rily co rre sp o n d to an ti-co lo n ia lism , in

th a t to be an ti-co lon ial y ou a re essen tia lly w orking in opposition to th e

system .

M any Aboriginal w o rk ers have h a d e ith e r little o r n o choice b u t to

w ork w ith in th e system , a lth o u g h th e re a re a lso m any w ho do n o t w ork

w ith in th e system . However in m any in s ta n c e s of th e re s e a rc h w here

th e re a re an ti-co lonial ap p ro a ch e s , th e system is not seen a s n e c e ssa ry

for th e ad v an cem en t of th e com m un ity m em bers s u c h a s in th e

interview s w ith th e u rb a n In u it w orkers. The re la tio n sh ip of th e

38

C an ad ian governm ent w ith A boriginal peop les h a s alw ays b e en view ed

th ro u g h th e lens of th e d o m in a n t society; therefo re the g o v ern m en t sees

A boriginal people a s n o t p ro g ressin g or advanc ing in socie ty b u t a s a

people who a re still in s tag es of developm ent. In fact s ince co n fed era tio n

federal, provincial, m un ic ipa l an d te rrito ria l governm ents have all view ed

th e Aboriginal p o p u la tio n a s a “p rob lem ”. Over tim e th e federal

governm ent in p a rticu la r h a s ac ted a n d e n ac te d ex trem e sy s te m s of

colonization in order to “fix” th e A boriginal problem su c h as: tre a tie s ,

reserves, se ttlem en ts , re s id en tia l schoo ls, th e Ind ian Act, th e “W hite

P aper”, th e Royal C om m ission on A boriginal Peoples, th e ch ild w elfare

system an d m any o th ers . The m ore A boriginal people have exerc ised

sovereignty over th e ir worldview a n d v a lu es th e more b a c k la s h from th e

federal governm ent they have experienced . The reality is th a t A boriginal

worldviews a n d th e ir socio- political sy s tem s w ere a lre ad y fully

developed. If it were no t for th e p ro ce ss of E urocen tric d iffusion ism ,

w hich is b ased on th e theo ry th a t th e E u ro p ean co lon ists w ere c u ltu ra lly

a n d politically su p erio r to all th is w ould h av e been obv ious to th e

colonizers (W aterfall, 2003)3. The colonizers believed th a t A boriginal

peoples requ ired ind o ctrin a tio n in to E u ro p e a n c u ltu re in o rd e r to

p rog ress (W aterfall, 2003). T h is su b seq u e n tly caused th e em ergence of a

pecu lia r pejorative view of Ind igenous know ledge an d c re a te d a false

3 The w ord colonizer or v isitor will be u se d in th is thes is , a s a n a n ti­colonial ap p ro ach re jecting th e no tion th a t th e colonizers w ere se ttle rs . The lan d w as a lready in h ab ited w ith “se ttle rs” upon th e a rriv a l of th e E u ropeans.

39

dichotom y of th e civilized a n d th e savage w ith in th e colonial sy stem . T h is

d ism issa l of Ind igenous know ledge a n d c u ltu re cam e to be know n a s

E u ro cen trism or E u rocen tric th o u g h t (B attiste, 1998).

For Aboriginal service p rov iders a n d th e Aboriginal c o m m u n itie s ,

th e c o n s ta n t u n d e rfu n d in g a n d d e fund ing of services by th e co lon izer -

th a t is, C a n a d a ’s political sy stem - is p a r t of th e b ack lash a g a in s t a n y

ad v an cem en t by A boriginal peoples a n d h a s placed a n e n o rm o u s

res tric tio n on any fu r th e r social a n d econom ic progress. It is im p o rta n t

to no te th a t th is does n o t m ean th a t all of the c o m m u n itie s have

reg ressed or have been defeated . It m e a n s th a t m a n y g ro u p s a n d

ind iv iduals a re w orking th ro u g h an an ti-co lon ial ap p ro ach a n d hav e to

tak e m a tte rs in to th e ir ow n h a n d s . T his inequality th a t r e s u l ts from th e

E u rocen tric “o thering” of th e A boriginal worldview a n d v a lu e s h a s led

m any A boriginal g roups to organize, self-govem and, w ith in th e ir ow n

g rass-ro o ts o rgan iza tions, m an y have focused on h e a lin g th e ir

com m unities an d on c u ltu ra l rec lam ation . In a w ay A boriginal peop le a re

a n d w ere well aw are th a t it is n o t possib le to u se a w e s te rn colon ial

political sy stem to u n d o or “u n th in k ” colonization.

Relying too m u ch on th e political system of C a n a d a sim ply

reinforces is su e s of colonization. The political system w h ich is b a se d on.

th e views a n d beliefs of co lonization still views F irst N ations, M etis a n d

In u it peoples a s p rob lem s th a t need to be fixed. Even to d ay th is still

40

s tem s from th e belief th a t th e w e ste rn 4 worldview is su p e rio r a n d

assim ila tion o r to le rance w ith in a n d tow ard th is system m e a n s a p e rso n

is p rogressing . T hese a re p a rtly th e views of Taiaiake Alfred (2009) w ho

a rg u es th a t F irs t N ations sh o u ld re jec t self-governm ent w ith in th e

ex isting system since it only concedes th e sovereignty of th a t sy s tem - a s

well, h e a rg u es th a t F irs t N ations claim ing sovereignty is a lso d u b io u s

since th e no tion of sovereignty is a d is tin c tly E u ropean concep t. T his

in c lu d es function ing a n d ad v an c in g in th e c u rre n t political a re n a . W hat

is h ap p en in g now is th a t th e provision of serv ices for a n d by A boriginal

people is being d ras tica lly c u t o r e lim inated by th e c u rre n t federal

Conservative governm ent (M cDonald, 2012). F u rth e rm o re , th e

Conservative governm ent is try ing to con tro l a n d stop th o se g ra ss -ro o ts

p rog ram s th a t have b een ab le to advance Aboriginal peop le w ith o u t th e

a ss is ta n c e of th e governm ent. A good exam ple o f th is is th e S is te rs In

Spirit pro ject of th e Native W om en’s A ssociation of C a n a d a (NWAC)

crea ted six y e a rs ago by co m m u n ity m em b ers to advocate re s e a rc h a n d

bring fam ilies to g e th er a ro u n d th e h u m a n r ig h ts issue of m iss in g a n d

m u rd ered Aboriginal w om en a n d girls. I ts federal funding w as d ras tica lly

c u t a n d th e p ro g ram ’s goals w ere a m en d ed by th e federal governm en t in

2010. B ased on th e C onservative governm en t’s basic p o sitio n a n d th e

M inister for th e S ta tu s of W om en, R ona A m brose, Aboriginal w om en w ho

w ork for th e Native W om en’s A ssociation of C an ad a a re no longer

4 The term w estern is u se d in th is th e s is a s th e u p d a ted w ord for E uropean .

p erm itted to re sea rch , advocate o r e d u c a te anyone, in c lu d in g th e

Aboriginal com m un ity on w h a t is h a p p en in g in C a n a d a co n ce rn in g

m issing a n d m u rd ered A boriginal w om en. If th ey do it w ou ld th re a te n

th e ir newly acq u ired fund ing for E vidence to Action, th e new ly n a m e d

p roject th a t rep laced S is te rs In Spirit. T he federal governm ent w ould n o t

even allow NWAC to re ta in th e n am e S is te rs In Spirit. T h is is su e h a s

divided th e p ro jec t’s allies a n d w orkers: th o se Aboriginal w o rk e rs w ho

co n tin u e to w ork u n d e r th e C onservative governm ent's goa ls th ro u g h th e

Evidence to Action p ro jec t a n d th o se w ho co n tinue a s a g ra s s -ro o ts

m ovem ent a s th e Fam ilies of S is te rs In Spirit.

By 2011 it w as no longer an y su rp r ise th a t the g o v ern m en t so u g h t

to con tro l th e efforts of th o se deem ed p rog ressive Aboriginal people. T h is

w as evident in th e S is te rs In Sp irit exam ple. However, w h a t is sh o ck in g

is th e recen t evidence th a t Prim e M inister H arp er o rdered In d ian a n d

N orthern Affairs C an ad a (INAC) to e ssen tia lly “sp y ” on th e se p rogressive

g roups (Diabo & P a s te rn ak , 2011). T h is is th e u ltim a te a b u se of

C a n ad a ’s political system , u s in g th o se people w ho have b een h is to rica lly

o p p ressed to fu rth e r o p p ress th e ir own. T his la c k of d em o cra tic p ro ce ss

a n d th e fiscal re s tra in ts have left m any A boriginal com m un ities in ru ra l

a re a s to a c t in m odes of self governance. Self governance in te rm s of

being ab le to w ork u n d e r o n e ’s ow n te rm s a s a n Aboriginal w orker is

slightly m ore difficult for th o se w ho a re in th e u rb a n se ttin g a n d m u s t

rely on re so u rce s from th e federal governm ent b u t a t th e sa m e tim e m u s t

42

fight a g a in st th e in ju s tic e s of th e system .

T here a re m an y exam ples of fu n d in g c u ts to d irec t service. T he

Aboriginal H ealing F o u n d a tio n (AHF) w hich serves to fu n d m a n y f ro n t­

line A boriginal service c en tre s a n d p ro jec ts w as c u t by m ore th a n a th ird

of its n ecessa ry fund ing (Ju s tice for M issing a n d M urdered In d ig en o u s

W omen, 2010). T his m e a n t th a t agencies, su c h a s the N ative W om en’s

she lte r in M ontreal, w hich h a d received funding from th e federa l

governm ent for th e p a s t decade w ith o u t question , now ex p erien ced

fund ing c u ts for th e firs t tim e. A boriginal social w orkers lo st th e ir jo b s

an d th e Aboriginal co m m u n ity m em b ers n o longer have a c c e ss to

services. There a re a n o th e r 134 A boriginal h ea lin g pro jects a d m in is te re d

by th e Aboriginal H ealing F o u n d a tio n th a t give d irec t serv ice to

Aboriginal people by A boriginal w orkers th a t will no longer be fu n d e d

u n d e r th e AHF. W hat can be expected th e n of th e federal g o v e rn m e n t’s

c u ts is, th a t m u ch of fu n d in g responsib ility will be dow nloaded to th e

provinces, m un ic ipalities a n d te rrito rie s w ho have in th e p a s t c o n s id e re d

is su e s to be th e responsib ility of th e federal governm ent.

C onditions a ro u n d acq u irin g a n d u s in g funding in th e fou r u rb a n

Aboriginal agencies w here w orkers w ere interview ed for th is th e s is hav e

d em o n stra ted th a t often th e federal a n d o r provincial fu n d in g body h av e

m ea n t p a rtic u la r re s tric tio n s for th e w orker in term s of w ho th e y c a n

deliver service to. For exam ple one p a rtic ip a n t m entioned th a t a lth o u g h

th e fu n d er w an ts h e r to service “m o th e r a n d ch ild ren u n d e r six only” th a t

43

is n ’t easy in a typical A boriginal hom e. Fam ilies quite o ften c o n s is t of

large ex tended fam ily m em ber a n d in c lu d e m an y children. In te restin g ly ,

all e ight w orkers h ad very creative w ays of su s ta in in g th e fu n d in g a n d

help ing th e com m unity o u t a t th e sam e tim e. For exam ple th e A boriginal

com m unity is m u ch younger th a n th e non-A boriginal one, so m u c h so

th a t th e p a ra m e te rs se t by th e Public H ealth Agency of C a n a d a (PHAC)

a ro u n d fund ing p rog ram s for yo u n g A boriginal fam ilies a re le s s inc lusive

w hen th ey a re defined by th e fu n d e r’s concep t of a fam ily u n it . W orkers

can n o t expect young A boriginal fam ilies to fit in to the defin ition of th e

w estern perspective of a fam ily in need . T h is does not slow th e A boriginal

w orker dow n, th e w orker finds w ays of m an ip u la tin g th e sy s tem to

inc lude th e definition of th e A boriginal fam ily. T h is could m e a n tw ice a s

m any people a s th e w estern im age of a n u c le a r family. T he agency still

receives th e reso u rces a n d th e com m un ity m em ber still receives th e

service.

Often Aboriginal people a re n o t iden tified in policies, o r in p o p u la r

te rm s a s being a p a r t of C a n a d a ’s p o p u la tion . Over C a n a d a ’s h is to ry

th e re have been specific m e a su re s ta k e n to keep A boriginal people

o u ts id e of w hat is seen a s people w ho a re “a tta c h e d or p a r t of C a n a d a ’s ”

m ake u p . This is seen early on in C a n ad ian h is to ry w hen th e co lon izers

se t u p colonies or w h a t Dei a n d K em pf (2006) call ‘p se u d o n a tio n s of

E u ro p e’ in order to e ra se o r “forget” th e c u ltu re , h isto ry a n d sy s te m s of

th e original h a b ita n ts . So m u c h so th a t it is com m on p rac tic e to leave

44

o u t th e a tta c h m e n t of A boriginal people to th e h isto ry of C a n a d a in

som eth ing a s sim ple a s a school tex t book.

Even th e Liberal governm en t of th e seventies a n d e igh ties

d em o n s tra ted a colonial re la tio n sh ip w ith Aboriginal people. It w a s n o t so

long ago th a t C an ad a w as en co u rag ed to su p p o rt P rim e M in ister

T ru d e a u ’s 1969 W hite P aper a n d reject th e H aw thorn re p o rt of 1966 d u e

to th e policy recom m endation “C itizens P lus” (B urnet, 2 0 0 0 a n d V an d en

B urg, n .d .). H aw thorn h a d a rg u e d th a t since C an ad a 's In d ia n p e o p le s a re

deprived of th e benefits th a t com e w ith s ta n d a rd c itizensh ip , s u c h a s

w elfare, th a t in o rder to equalize th is th e re sh o u ld be a “p lu s ” c o m p o n en t

added to th e ir citizenship . He a rg u ed th a t a s citizens of C a n a d a th ey

sh o u ld be en titled to th e sam e serv ices a s o th e r C an ad ian s b u t , a t th e

sam e tim e, th e ir special s ta tu s a n d r ig h ts w ith in C a n a d a sh o u ld be

recognized by calling th em C itizens P lus. H aw thorn a rg u e d strong ly

th a t th e d isen fran ch isem en t of A boriginal peop les in C a n a d a w as m ostly

d u e to th e federal policies a b o u t th e ir s ta tu s a n d citizenship . T he L iberal

governm ent rejected th is a rg u m e n t a n d in s te a d developed th e W hite

Paper w hich recom m ended th e e lim ination of an y specia l in te re s ts o r

rig h ts for Aboriginal people:

th e s tra tegy of th e H aw thorn R eport involves su pp lem en ting equal c itizensh ip w ith a lim ited form of Aboriginal d ifferen tiation , w hich it calls “citizens p lu s .”In co n tra s t, the W hite P aper, driven by a fear th a t A boriginal exp ressions of d ifference m igh t fragm ent th e C an ad ian political com m unity , o p ts for a n a lterna tive

45

stra tegy of forcing A boriginal people to develop th e ir c u ltu re s w ith in a fram ew ork defined by eq u a l c itizensh ip .Aboriginal g roups m obilized qu ite fam ously against th e W hite Paper, ad o p tin g th e H aw thorn R eport’s “citizens p lu s” term inology (K ernerm en, 2 0 0 5 , pp 9-10).

In te rm s of th is th e s is th e se a re exam ples w h ich d e m o n s tra te how th e

debate a b o u t Aboriginal peop les h a s ac tu a lly moved from j u s t a false

sen se of belonging to th e no tion of ju s tic e for Aboriginal peop les in

C anada . The in terview s in th is th e s is su p p o rt the n o tio n th a t a n ti­

colonial ap p ro ach es p u t th e is su e of belonging aside in o rd e r to su p p o r t

ju s tic e a n d equality , acknow ledging th a t F irs t N ations, In u it a n d M etis

people w ere no t b o m to C a n a d a b u t to th e ir specific reg ions a n d

te rrito ries nam ed in th e p ro cess of co lon ization a s C an ad a . T h is is n o t

th e sam e for s tru c tu ra l social w ork ap p ro a ch e s . Some s tru c tu ra l social

w orkers still m ake th e is s u e s o f belonging a critical p a r t of th e ir w ork.

For th e Aboriginal service p rov ider th e n eed for ju s t ic e a n d self

de te rm ina tion p revails over th e need for belonging w hich w as form erly

severed by th e C a n ad ian governm en t anyw ay th ro u g h

d isen franch isem en t. J u s tic e , equality , se lf governance a re all is s u e s th a t

w orkers face while fighting a g a in s t th e re s u lts o f h isto rical inequality .

The first resp o n se to th e rea liza tion of an ti-co lonial a p p ro a c h e s is to

d e tach from th e h isto rica l len s of th e co lon ist (Sm ith, 1999). A boriginal

w orkers th e n m ay see th e h is to ry of th o se w hom they a re h e lp in g in a

different way.

The 1987 M eech Lake A ccord w as a n a ttem p t to reform th e

46

C an ad ian C onstitu tion by th e M ulroney Progressive C onservative

governm ent (D upras, 1992). However, th e a tte m p t was m ad e w ith o u t th e

ag reem en t of an y A boriginal g ro u p s a n d w orked to ca ta ly se a n a n t i ­

colonial reac tion from th e F irs t N ations com m unities in C an ad a . The

Accord needed to be en d o rsed by all ten p rov inces but com plete ly ignored

th e rig h ts a n d op in ions of A boriginal people. It was d efea ted in p a r t

th ro u g h th e ac tio n s of E lijah H arper, an Aboriginal m em b er of th e

M anitoba leg isla tu re w hose decid ing vote a g a in s t th e acco rd e n su re d th a t

provincial u n an im ity w ould n o t be possib le . It w as ev ident to A boriginal

people th a t th e C an ad ian governm ent still believed th a t A boriginal people

shou ld assim ila te in to C a n ad ian society w hile a t th e sam e tim e

acknow ledging th e special h is to ry of Q uebec and its n eed to be

recognized a s a d is tin c t society. It w as o u trig h t policy d isc rim in a tio n a n d

favouritism by th e M ulroney governm ent. The province of Q uebec w a s to

be g ran ted special r ig h ts inc lud ing lingu istic co n serv a tio n a n d

ed uca tiona l rig h ts (O’Neil, 1995 a n d V an d en B urg , n .d .). T hese w ere all

th in g s th a t A boriginal people h a d been fighting for.

In N ovem ber of 2 0 1 0 Prim e M inister S tephen H arp er finally

yielded to in te rn a tio n a l p re s s u re s a n d en d o rsed the U nited N ations

D eclaration of th e R ights of Ind igenous Peoples (UNDRIP). S ince th e n h is

C onservative governm ent h a s done n o th in g w ith respec t to th e lingu istic ,

cu ltu ra l, sp iritu a l or ed u ca tio n a l rig h ts of Aboriginal people in C a n ad a .

T his is no t su rp ris in g since it w as less th a n a y ear ea rlie r a t th e G 20

47

su m m it th a t H arper b o asted th a t C a n ad a d id not hav e a h is to ry of

colonialism (Sim ard, 2009). The UNDRIP acknow ledges w h a t A boriginal

w orkers have a lready u n m ask ed : th a t policies a n d d o c trin es re la tin g to

colonialism a n d assim ila tio n will n o t b u ild a b e tte r C a n ad a o r ra tify th e

in ju s tices experienced by A boriginal people in C anada. T he federal

governm ent's inab ility to keep A boriginal people from p ro g ress in g h a s

backfired a n d given m ore space to an ti-co lon ia l app roaches.

V. B rief H istory o f S o c ia l Work

a. S oc ia l w ork before co lo n iz a tio n

The h isto ry of social w ork before colon ization is d ifficu lt to ex p an d

on b ecau se social w ork a s a p ro fession is a m odem w e s te rn co n cep t

(Payne, 2005). As su ch , it c an be linked to E uropean a n d colonial va lues.

W estern social w ork p rac tice s ta r te d in th e 19th cen tu ry b u t before it h a d

a professional te rm help ing w as done in th e form of charity w ork . C h arity

w ork w as u se d to try to le ssen th e effects of poverty a n d th e in ju s tic e s

th a t re su lt from it. In E urope, d u rin g th e M iddle Ages, th e C h ris tia n

c h u rc h an d its clergy in fluenced th e m ain p rac tices of c h a r ity w ork.

C harity w ork w as d irectly linked to th e C h ris tian v a lu e sy s te m s th a t

em phasize th e im portance of sh a rin g re so u rce s , such a s m oney , food,

sh e lte r an d o th e r m ateria l item s. C h arity w ork differs from th e s tru c tu ra l

perspective of social w ork th a t seek s to change social sy s te m s a n d roo t

c au se s of in ju stices an d inequality .

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In te rm s of Ind igenous g roups, try ing to de te rm ine how th e ir

he lp ing sy s tem s w ould have fu nc tioned p rio r to E uropean c o n ta c t is a

challenge. L inda Tuhiw ai S m ith n o tes th a t in m o s t h isto rical a c c o u n ts o r

reco rd s of activ ity in lan d s th a t have b een colonized even p re-co lon ia l

in fo rm ation is no t free from th e in fluence of E u ro -cen tric w orldview s

(1999, p .29). The lack of a c c u ra te reco rded h is to ry is d u e to th e fac t th a t

th e v isito rs believed th e F irs t N ations a n d In u it system s w ere prim itive

a n d u n d e r developed so w hen it w as d o cu m en ted by th e E u ro p e a n s (if a t

all) it w as done inaccu ra te ly . S m ith (1999) a lso a rgues th a t o ra l h is to ry

w as often d ism issed by th e d o m in a n t society so if Ind igenous h is to ry w as

n o t recorded in a conven tional m a n n e r it w a s n o t d o c u m e n te d by th e

E u ro p ean s . T he colonizers d isco u n ted A boriginal acco u n ts of th e ir ow n

h isto ry , b ecau se th ese a c c o u n ts a re how g ro u p s ex p la in ed th e ir

worldviews. T his negation of A boriginal worldview is sim ply a n a c t of

colonization. Aboriginal social w orkers c a n tu rn to th e ir ow n tea ch in g s ,

o ral trad itio n s an d w isdom k eep e rs in o rd e r to reclaim th e w ays of th e

p a s t; however, th is is difficult if th ey have lo s t co n n ec tio n to th e ir

c u ltu re s , a n ce s tra l lan d s , a n d live in an u rb a n setting. A boriginal social

w orkers m u s t u n d e rs ta n d th e h is to ry a n d im p a c t of co lon ial c o n ta c t in

o rd er to w ork from a n an ti-co lon ial perspec tive a n d to rec la im th e w ay of

trad itio n a l p rac tices . Aboriginal co m m u n ities a n d societies have a lw ays

h a d in h e re n t sy s tem s of healing , governm en t, teach ing , know ledge,

philosophy. The know ledge of th e se a re nearly a ll co m m un ica ted orally

49

(Loppie, 2007 in Lavallee, 2009). C erem onial ritu a ls , sh a m a n ism a n d

engagem ent w ith sp iritu a lity a re som e exam ples of w h a t “social o r

charity w ork” w ould have looked like before colonization. It is a lso

im p o rtan t to explain th a t th e re w as a lread y a collective se n se of k in sh ip ,

sh arin g a n d caring b u ilt in to th e sociology of Ind igenous co m m u n ities . .

There a lready existed s tro n g beliefs in social resp o n sib ility a n d

reciprocity. For exam ple, in th e Pacific N orthw est th e F irs t N ations

po tla tch cerem onies w ere a w ay th a t A boriginal peoples re d is tr ib u te d

w ealth . T his w as done by gift giving a n d sh arin g food. It w as n o t

im p o rtan t to acknow ledge w ho h a d th e m o st b u t who gave aw ay th e

m ost. C oncep ts of cap ita lism b ro u g h t a b o u t by d iffusionism m e a n t th a t

th e v isitors w ould w ork a g a in s t th e p o tla tch system a n d re in fo rce th e

need of w hite E u ropean co lon ists to m ak e cap ita l.

The va lues held by F irs t N ations a n d In u it com m unities, su c h a s

th e In u it Q au jim aja tuqang it (or In u it IQ) o r th e Seven G ra n d fa th e r

teach ings, were concep ts th a t m o st people strive to live by. T hey w ere

life-long lesso n s of respec t, love, sh a r in g a n d caring a n d ba lan ce . T hese

values w ere also a sso c ia ted w ith p a rtic u la r beliefs a n d p ra c tic e s

concern ing th e env ironm en t th a t w ere a rg u ab ly superio r to E u ro p ea n

beliefs a b o u t conservation . In su m , th e re were already In d ig en o u s w ays

of know ing. It w as th e sh ift from folk society to u rb a n society a n d th e

su b seq u e n t changes in th e trad itio n a l ro les of ind iv iduals th a t fra c tu re d

th e Ind igenous concep ts of ex tended village a n d family n e tw o rk s (H art,

50

2009). Also, even on th e reserves, th e se ro les were g rad u a lly forced to

change b ecau se of req u irem en ts of th e Ind ian Act. These ro le c h a n g e s a s

well a s th e loss of fam ily a n d c lan co n n ec tio n s m ake it d ifficult for m an y

Aboriginal ind iv iduals to help them selves now. This sh ift, co m p o u n d ed

by th e m odern concept of pa id he lp ing ro les a s a p a r t of th e colonial

system of free m ark e t cap ita lism , h a s changed th e way A boriginal people

a re able to help o th e rs in th e ir u rb a n or reserve c o m m u n itie s

(H art,2009). The w ay th a t th e d o m in an t c la ss in C an ad ian society h a s

defined a n d controlled th e social w ork a re n a is a p a r t o f th e larger

hegem onic s tru c tu re th a t s tru c tu ra l social w ork and In d ig en o u s beliefs

w ork to b rea k down or su s ta in th em se lves in. T hus, th e p u rp o se of a n ti­

colonial ap p ro ach es is to w ork ag a in s t th e hegem ony of defined social

w ork p rac tice an d of th e he lp ing p ro fessions (H art, 2 0 09 , S inc la ir 2009

a n d W aterfall, 2003).

b. S oc ia l w ork during th e period know n a s ‘post-colonial*

In th e above section I a rg u ed th a t social work w as b u ilt a ro u n d

Ju d eo -C h ris tian in fluences from th e w hite E uropean w orldview th ro u g h

various a sp ec ts of charity w ork b ro u g h t in to th e u rb a n c e n tre s a n d ru ra l

com m unities. Kreitzer (2006), in S incla ir (2009), a rgues th a t th e focus of

social w ork in th e post-colonial con tex t w as to help e rad ica te poverty a n d

child neglect. In reg a rd s to C a n a d a ’s A boriginal p o p u la tio n in th is

se tting S incla ir (2009) a rg u e s th a t th e ir first in te ra c tio n w ith

51

professional social w orkers w as th ro u g h th e ir re la tio n sh ip a s federal

‘w a rd s’ a n d a s th e responsib ility of th e D epartm en t of In d ian Affairs

(p.20). In th e early 1900s “In d ian A gents” w ere tasked w ith forcing F irs t

N ations a n d In u it ch ild ren in to th e re s id en tia l school sy s tem . T hen , in

th e 1960s a n d ‘70s, social w orkers th ro u g h provincial governm en t

system s tacitly su p p o rte d by federal policy a p p reh en d ed h u n d re d s of

F irst N ations ch ild ren in w h a t is know n a s th e Sixties Scoop. It w as

du rin g th e ‘scoop’ th a t E lders from m an y d ifferent A boriginal c u ltu re s

called on A boriginal p e rso n s to go in to th e profession of social w ork in

hopes th a t th ey w ould a d d re ss th e social challenges o f th e ir people

in stead of relying on th e w este rn “help ing sy s tem ” in tro d u c ed th ro u g h

social w ork p rac tice. A boriginal social w ork p rog ram s w ere firs t

im plem ented in A lberta a n d S ask a tch ew an a n d in the m id 7 0 s C a n a d a ’s

first form al social w orkers w ho identified a s Aboriginal, g ra d u a te d in to

th e field (Sinclair, 2009).

A lthough m ore A boriginal sc h o la rs now w rite on A boriginal social

w ork ap p ro ach es, A boriginal a n d non-A borig inal p rac titio n e rs still n eed

to u n d e rs ta n d how colonization h a s affected Ind igenous w ays of help ing .

Aside from th e colonial sy s tem s, res id en tia l schools, a n d th e six ties

scoop, A boriginal w ays of he lp ing have been colonized by sim ply being

d isco u n ted or rid icu led th ro u g h d isen fran ch isem en t, m arg ina liza tion a n d

ap p ro p ria tio n (Hart, 2009). T h rough m arg inaliza tion an d socia l exclusion

Aboriginal people have been considered th e p rob lem in society. In o th e r

52

w ords, they a re th e client. As c lien ts y ou a re n o t considered th e one to

have th e tools to fix yo u r social a n d econom ic problem s. A boriginal

social w orkers a n d o th er A boriginal p rac titio n e rs in the h e lp in g field have

a lso been affected by exclusion , m arg inaliza tion an d a p p ro p ria tio n (H art,

2009 a n d W aterfall, 2003). In p a r tic u la r Aboriginal social w o rk e rs have

h a d th e ir views a n d m eth o d s of he lp in g n o t only ex c lu d ed from th e

d o m in an t society’s everyday p rac tices a n d worldview, th e A boriginal w ay

of help ing is m arginalized a s it is ignored in m a in s trea m social w ork

cu rricu lu m . M ainstream social w ork c u rr ic u la are b a se d on w este rn

v a lues an d ind iv idualism a n d th e id eas of achieving ind iv idua l

com petency, w hereas H art (2009), S incla ir (2009) a n d M o rrisse tte &

M orrissette (2003) a rgue th a t In d ig en o u s w ays of help ing fo cu s on th e

collective an d th e w ay in d iv idua ls fit in to th e ir com m unity o r circle.

D u ran a n d D u ran , (1995) in H art (2009) fu r th e r p o in t o u t th a t th e

problem is bigger th a n th e exclusion of Ind igenous a p p ro a c h e s a n d

m ethods. It is th e ab so lu te ignorance of a n d scep ticism acco rded to

A boriginal m ethods opposed to th e a b so lu te fa ith in w este rn a p p ro a c h e s

th a t is p rob lem atic. T his m e a n s th a t a n A boriginal social w ork s tu d e n t

in m ost C an ad ian schools in a s tru c tu ra l social work p ro g ram will find

th a t Aboriginal ap p ro ach es a re ta u g h t separa te ly from th e b a se

cu rricu lu m an d a re n o t in teg ra ted in w este rn ways b u t p o sed a s a n

a lternative . T his is equally dam ag ing to th e Ind igenous s tu d e n t. W hen I

w as picking a program it a p p ea red th a t a ll of th e s tru c tu ra l schoo ls th a t

53

have no t designated th em se lv es a s a n A boriginal program offer a c o u rse

in Aboriginal a p p ro a ch e s o r na tive a p p ro a ch e s . It is j u s t a sm all

com ponen t of th e en tire c u rr ic u la ra th e r th a n an em b ed d ed th em e .

However th e in s tru c to rs cou ld indeed m ak e sp ace for d isc u ss io n a ro u n d

different w ays of he lp ing w hen possib le.

W aterfall an d M aiter (2003) a n d W aterfall (2003) a re sh a rp ly

critical of th e fact th a t A boriginal social w orkers and sc h o la rs have to

succeed off th e ir co m m u n itie s’ m arg inaliza tion , exclusion a n d g en era l

m isfo rtune; th e ir su c c e ss is p a r t of th e a c t of colonization . Dei &

A sgharzadeh (2002), W aterfall a n d M aiter (2003), W aterfa ll (2003),

S incla ir (2009) a n d H art (2009) all a rg u e th a t by position ing co lon ialism

a s a p e rs is ten t on-going p ro cess of d o m in a tio n while u tiliz in g a n t i ­

colonial ap p ro ach es A boriginal sc h o la rs a n d w orkers c a n ch a llen g e th e

w estern fram ew ork a n d re s is t fu r th e r exclusion , m arg inaliza tion a n d

appropria tion .

c . C olon ia lism an d S tru ctu ra l S o c ia l W ork

Colonialism , M ohan ty (1988) a rg u es , rep ro d u ces w e s te rn

(European) s tru c tu re s a n d know ledge am ong th e colonized a n d n o n -

w estern know ledge a n d s tru c tu re s - fam ilial a n d legal sy s te m s, for

exam ple - a re seen a n d ju d g ed th ro u g h a E uro -cen tric len s . In o th e r

w ords, s tru c tu re s su c h a s th e fam ilial, legal a n d c u ltu ra l a re in fac t

ju d g ed th ro u g h E u rocen tric th o u g h t. B ecause s tru c tu ra l social w ork is

54

b ased in W estern th o u g h t a n d know ledge it follows th a t sc h o la rs of

s tru c tu ra l social w ork will a lso a s se s s “o th e r” system s from a w este rn ,

m ain stream perspective. S ch o lars of s tru c tu ra l social w ork c a n c o n s id e r

th a t since th e d iscou rse a n d acc red ita tio n of th e p ro fession is loca ted

w ith in w estern sy stem s th e n it too ju d g e s “o th e r” system s from a colonial

w estern m a in stream position . A llan (2006) p o in ts ou t th a t social w o rk ’s

involvem ent w ith A boriginal p o p u la tio n s is a reflection of i ts com plicity

w ith governm ent policies a n d p rac tices w hich w ere and a re em b ed d ed in

colonial ac ts . T hese im p ac ts of colonial re la tio n s con tinue to ex is t in th e

lives of Aboriginal people a s a ssim ila tio n p rocesses th o u g h rac ism ,

exclusion, m arg inaliza tion a n d o p p ressio n (Allan, 2006 , B ask in , 2 0 0 3

an d W aterfall, 2003). A good exam ple of th e com plicity of social w ork

prac tice w ith governm ent colonial p ro cesses is th e role of social w o rk e rs

in th e child w elfare system .

The oppressive im p act of R esiden tia l Schools and th e S ix ties Scoop

w as m entioned earlie r to show how th e s ta te co n tinued to a c t a s a

colonizing pow er w ith in A boriginal com m un ities . This h a s n o t s to p p ed

b u t in s tead h a s becom e m ore system ic , em bedded in th e la rg e r

s tru c tu re , su c h a s th e C an ad ian e d u ca tio n system , th e po litica l sy stem

an d th e child welfare system . C u rren tly , F irs t N ations, In u it a n d M etis

ch ild ren a re overrep resen ted in th e child w elfare system . D espite th e fac t

th a t Aboriginal people only m ak e u p a sm all percen tage of th e overall

popu la tion , s tu d ie s have show n th a t th e ir ch ild ren are over re p re se n te d

55

in th e child welfare system (McKenzie & M orrissette , 2 0 0 3 a n d W aterfall,

2003). Allan (2006) a rg u e s th a t a s a p a r t of decolonizing social w ork

practice , th e profession a s a whole:

m u s t u n d e rta k e to m ove from a s ta te of com plicity w ith th is s ta tu s quo op p ressio n , to ac tion in order to d issem ble it. T his m ovem ent req u ire s th e bringing forth of new w ays of th in k in g in to social w ork educa tion , re sea rch a n d lite ra tu re to en ab le social w ork prac tice capab le of re s is tin g o p p ressio n and rec rea tin g th e role of social w ork in th e lives of th e op p ressed (p.259).

d. S ocia l Work and A n ti-co lon ia l T h ou gh t

In o rder for s tru c tu ra l social w orkers to learn to re s is t app ly ing

colonial p ro cesses in A boriginal co m m u n ities th e y m u st co n s id e r F ra n tz

F a n o n ’s p ro cess of decolonization a s a s ta r tin g po in t w h en w ork ing w ith

o p p ressed p o pu la tions. For exam ple, in w h a t ap p ea rs to be d efiance by

th e A boriginal c lien t tow ard con tem porary society o r a ss im ila tio n is

a c tu a lly re s is tan c e to th e colonial p ro cess in neo-liberal tim es. “[T]he

colonized, in th e face of th e e m p h a sis given by th e colonist to th is o r th a t

a sp ec t of h is trad itio n s , re a c ts very violently” a n d seeking to c h an g e th e ir

worldview in Aboriginal c lien ts can , “weave a w hole u n iv e rse of

re s is ta n c e s” (Fanon, 1959, p. 171). W ithou t advocating violence b u t

encourag ing re s is tan c e Dei a n d A sgharzadeh (2001) ag ree th a t social

w orkers apply ing a n an ti-co lon ial d iscursive fram ew ork c an , “q u e s tio n ,

in te rrogate , an d challenge th e fo u n d a tio n s of in stitu tio n a lized pow er a n d

privilege, a n d th e accom pany ing ra tio n a le for dom inance in social

re la tio n s” (p.300). The an ti-co lon ial d iscursive fram ew ork “is an

epistem ology of th e colonized, a n ch o red in th e Ind igenous se n se of

collective a n d com m on colonial c o n sc io u sn ess” (Dei a n d A sgharzadeh ,

2001 , p .300). Even th o u g h th e re is a n u n d e rs ta n d in g in s tru c tu ra l

social w ork th a t th e governm en t s tru c tu re s have so u g h t to serve th e

econom ic an d socio-political in te re s ts of th e dom inan t c la sse s , w h ich h a s

led to th e s tra tifica tion of A boriginal people, th e an ti-co lon ial d iscu rsiv e

fram ew ork recognizes th a t som ehow th ro u g h the collective will of

Ind igenous people th ey have, to som e ex ten t, su rv ived colonial

en co u n te rs . In o th e r w ords, th e pow er an d d iscourse a re n o t solely

ow ned by th e colonizers (Dei a n d A sgharzadeh , 2001). T he w ay in w hich

social w orkers c an app ly th is th eo ry to p rac tice is by firs t u n d e rs ta n d in g

an ti-co lon ialism a n d to challenge how co lon ialism seeks to s u s ta in th e ir

way of th ink ing by fostering th e d issem in a tio n of E u rocen tric th o u g h t.

Second, by u s in g th e A boriginal worldview a n d Ind igenous know ledge,

“th e anti-colonial th eo ris t seek s to w ork w ith a lternative , o p positiona l

p a rad ig m s b ased on th e u s e of Ind igenous concep ts a n d an a ly tica l

sy s tem s a n d cu ltu ra l fram es of reference” (Dei a n d A sgharzadeh , 2 0 01 ,

p .301). B attis te (1998) co n c lu d es th a t C a n ad ian s tru c tu re s sh o u ld ex ist

in con junction w ith In d igenous know ledge a n d cu ltu re w ith o u t being

p a te rn a lis tic or co ndescend ing a n d by n o t a ssu m in g superio rity .

McKenzie 8 s M orrissette (2003) agree a n d suggest th a t social w o rk e rs u s e

57

a s tre n g th s b ased ap p ro ach to avoid condescension . T he la s t sec tio n of

th is c h a p te r will review w h e th e r it is possib le for social w o rk ers to do

th a t w ith in anti-co lon ialism .

e . S o c ia l Work in a n ti-co lo n ia lism

O ne of th e key e lem en ts of social tran sfo rm a tio n u n d e r a n t i ­

colonial ap p ro ach es is th e re jection of colonial pow er a n d th e re s to ra tio n

of local or Ind igenous contro l. Dei (2000) a n d W aterfall (2003) exp la in

th a t an ti-co lon ialism is th e u n d e rs ta n d in g th a t co lon ialism is a

p e rs is te n t a n d dom ina ting p ro cess th a t seek s to en tren ch itse lf in th e

Ind igenous collective c o n sc io u sn ess a n d worldview in o rd er to re ta in

social a n d political con tro l over A boriginal lan d , reso u rces, beliefs, w ays,

va lues a n d cu ltu re . M ichael H art (2009) a rg u e s th a t A boriginal social

w ork in a n an ti-co lon ial a re n a w ould seek to regain social a n d political

con tro l of th o se Ind igenous e n titie s for In d ig en o u s people by In d ig en o u s

people. In th e conclud ing c h a p te r I will d isc u ss w he ther an ti-co lon ia l

ap p ro ach es w ith A boriginal people can be p rac tised th ro u g h s tru c tu ra l

social w ork.

58

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEWI. Prim ary L iterature

For th is th es is I have com piled in fo rm ation on p rac tic e a n d policy

from C an ad ian , A m erican, A u s tra lian a n d New Z ealand lite ra tu re . The

m ain lite ra tu re u se d is b road ly on an ti-co lon ia l ap p ro ach es to social

w ork p rac tice . Little h a s b een re sea rch e d a b o u t th e im p ac t a n d view s of

Ind igenous social w orkers w ho a re in sid e th e very sy stem th a t c a u se d

oppression , an d even le s s on th e A boriginal social w orker a n d on

s tru c tu ra l social w ork. M ost of th e d eb a te a ro u n d th eo ry h a s b een on

how to w ork successfu lly from w ith in u s in g s tru c tu ra l social w ork

theo ries a n d an ti-oppressive p rac tice . Little is available o n how to rectify

th e pow er im b a lan ces c a u se d by h is to rica l a c ts of o p p re ss io n by th e

profession , su c h a s th o se com m itted by it in th e child w elfare a n d p en a l

system s, a n d to som e e x te n t th e m arg inaliza tion of overall A boriginal

h e a lth all of w hich a re o u tco m es of colonialism . In te rm s of th e fu tu re ,

social w ork scho lars will look to em phasize th e im pact of co lon ization

an d rac ism in order to re s is t th e d o m in a n t s tru c tu re s .

M ost of th e c u rre n t lite ra tu re by Ind igenous social w ork sc h o la rs

an d re sea rch e rs d isc u sse s th e A boriginal perspective on social w ork a n d

ap p ro ach es to an ti-co lon ial theo ries . However th is l ite ra tu re do es n o t

d isc u ss w h e th er th e an ti-co lon ia l a p p ro a ch is a p a rt of A boriginal social

w ork p rac tice . In o th e r w ords it does n o t d irectly nam e th e p e rsp ec tiv es

a s “anti-co lon ial”. The c u rre n t lite ra tu re on genera l social w ork p rac tice

59

a n d an ti-co lon ial ap p ro ach es d e m o n s tra te s th a t if scho lars of s tru c tu ra l

social w ork co n sid er th a t th e d isco u rse a n d acc red ita tio n of th e

profession is located w ith in w este rn sy s tem s of know ledge th e n , a s a

profession a n d p rac tice social w ork ju d g e s “o ther” sy s te m s from a

colonial, w este rn m a in s trea m position . As m entioned p rev iously social

w ork p rac tice h a s been com plicit w ith governm en t policies a n d p rac tic e s

w hich w ere a n d a re em bedded in colonial rela tions. B ecau se social

w orkers a re significantly involved w ith th e Aboriginal people , social w ork

p rac tice a n d ed u ca tio n m u s t find a p p ro a ch e s th a t will cata lyze social

change a n d tran sfo rm a tio n of th e ind iv idual client a n d in tu r n th e

b roader A boriginal com m un ity in o rder to undo p rev io u s colonial

ac tions (Allan,2006). Colonial re la tio n s co n tin u e to p e rm eate th e lives of

Aboriginal people. T heir im p a c ts c an be felt th ro u g h p ro c e sse s of

assim ila tion , th ro u g h rac ism , exclusion an d opp ression (Allan, 2 0 06 ,

B ask in , 2003 a n d W aterfall, 2003). A nti-colonial re se a rc h e rs a rg u e th a t

once th e im p ac t of colonial re la tio n s is u n m ask ed p ra c titio n e rs a n d

scho lars c an u n p a c k a n d reposition them selves in de-co lon ia l th o u g h t

th ro u g h u s in g a n an ti-co lon ial fram ew ork w ith practice.

L itera tu re on th e an ti-co lon ia l ap p ro ach recognizes a n d e n co u rag e s

Ind igenous a n d cu ltu ra l worldview s a s im p o rtan t for co n cep tu a liz in g day

to day experiences of A boriginal people a n d th e ir social in te ra c tio n s (Dei

8 s A sgharzadeh , 2001). A dditionally, B ask in (2003) lin k s th e id ea th a t

s tru c tu ra l social w ork p rac tice c an u n d e rs ta n d th e o p p ress io n of

60

A boriginal people th ro u g h th e im p a c ts of colonization by fu r th e r

u n d e rs ta n d in g th e ir worldview a s p rac titio n e rs . Using a n an ti-co lo n ia l

ap p ro ach , p rac titio n e rs will becom e aw are th a t conventional social w ork

p rac tice is s itu a ted w ith in th e d o m in a n t p a rad ig m and th u s co n ven tiona l

social w orkers benefit from th e p ro ce ss of colonization th ro u g h th e

c reation of d ep en d en t c lien ts a n d p res tig io u s positions of em ploym en t

(B attiste, 1998, McKenzie 8 s M orrissette , 2003, R azack , 2 0 02 ,

S h a h jah a n , 2005 , W aterfall, 2003 an d W aterfall 86 M aiter, 2003). In

conclusion I shou ld po in t o u t th a t th e p reced ing lite ra tu re review ed

in c lu d es service p roviders w ho iden tify a s Ind igenous, w hich

d em o n s tra te s th a t som e w orkers do litera lly n a m e anti-co lon ial p rac tic e s

a n d som e do n o t in th e ir re sea rch . However, th o se re se a rc h e rs th a t do

no t n am e th e ap p ro ach a s an ti-co lon ia l do es not in d ic a te th a t th e

concept is n o t anti-colonial.

II. A dditional L iterature

Since th e interview s in th is th e s is explore w hat k in d of w ork a

w orker ac tually does, I will a lso rely o n lite ra tu re th a t d is c u s se s th e

ap p ro ach es to social w ork p rac tice a n d any p a s t q u a lita tiv e s tu d ie s

w hich directly inqu ire in to social w o rk e rs’ opin ions a b o u t how th ey

classify th e ir w ork a s e ith e r su c ce ss fu l a n d valued o r u n su c c e ss fu l.

However, a s s ta te d above th e re is little re se a rc h tha t looks a t e ith e r th e

61

racialized or th e C an ad ian A boriginal social w orker except in th e c a se of

F irst N ations an d to som e ex ten t M etis w orkers. H art (1999), M cKenzie 85

M orrissette (2003) a n d S inc la ir e t al. (2009) hav e m any a rtic le s o n th e

im portance of u s in g A boriginal perspec tives w ith respec t to A boriginal

w orkers. However, m o st a re b a se d on F irs t N ations te a ch in g s , b u t a re

n o t specific to an y ind iv idual c u ltu re .

A shford’s a n d T im m s’ (1990) case s tu d y looks a t how th e v a lu es

underly ing th e social w ork p ro fession go h a n d in han d w ith p rac tice , in

th a t by w orkers u n d e rs ta n d in g th e value of th e ir work, i.e. “th e goods of

p rac tice”, th ey th e n u n d e rs ta n d th e im pact of th e ir w ork. T h is cou ld be

u se fu l in deciphering ju s t how A boriginal w orkers m ight view th e ir w ork

an d th ro u g h w hich perspective. The A shford a n d T im m s (1990) s tu d y

also com pares a sa tisfy ing experience betw een w orker a n d c lien t w ith a

fru s tra tin g one, exp la in ing th e re a re c ritica l value d ifferences in each

case. Social w ork va lues a re im p o rta n t to m y th esis a s th e A boriginal

com m unity a n d th e ir w orkers va lue d ifferent a sp ec ts of th e c lien t w orker

re la tionsh ip a n d experience (McKenzie & M orrissette, 2003). T he A shford

an d T im m s s tu d y a rg u es th a t som etim es social work re g a rd le ss of th e

goal will value a re la tio n sh ip a n d classify th e s itu a tio n a s su ccessfu l.

T his h a p p e n s even i f th e orig inal goals a re n ev er m et. T h eir s tu d y a lso

d iscu ssed how social w orkers n o t only value th e ir p ractice b u t th e a c tu a l

help ing re la tionsh ip they have w ith th e ir c lien ts. Some w o rk e rs a p p e a re d

m ore sa tisfied w hen th e c lien t conform ed to a n d ap p rec ia ted w h a t th e

62

social w orker did b ecau se it th e n sa tisfied th e value sy s tem u p o n w hich

th e in terven tion w as b ased , a n d to w hich th e social w o rk er su b sc rib ed .

However, m an y o th e r w orkers d id n o t see th a t as th e only re a so n to

value th e ir w ork.

C ase m an ag em en t a s a m ethod h a s been argued a s a n im p o rta n t

p a rt of th e role of th e social w orker (G ibelm an, 1995). C o n seq u en tly , I

w as in te res ted in m y re sea rch to see how Aboriginal w o rk ers p roceed in

case w ork a n d to see w h a t k in d s of he lp ing sk ills they em ploy to find o u t

if they agree w ith th e above s ta te m e n t. T h is is relevant to th e th eo re tica l

perspectives th a t m ay be em ployed by th e Aboriginal w orker w h ich ,

accord ing to H art (2009) a n d A llan (2006), se t the In d ig en o u s w orker

a p a r t from th e m a in s trea m one.

In th is th e s is I d e m o n s tra te how social w orkers define th e p rob lem

a n d so lu tion a n d in w h a t con tex t, a s a colonial act o r o therw ise . O ver

th irty y ears ago Noel T im m s (1970) d e m o n s tra te d th a t social p ro b lem s

d ea lt w ith by u s in g so lu tio n s from o th e r older h isto rical fram ew orks w ere

no t u se fu l for w orkers he lp ing “o th ered ” g roups b e c a u se th e se

ap p ro ach es failed to u n d e rs ta n d th e social cond itions o f “o th e rs”. T h is

w as d u e to th e ir lack of a p rogressive u n d e rs ta n d in g of social is su e s . In

o rder to u n d e rs ta n d a society, a social w orker m u s t tre a t e ach g ro u p a s

new , sep ara te a n d diverse. T hese w ritings a b o u t the h is to rica l ro o ts of

p rac tice help su p p o rt th e concep t of an ti-co lon ia l ap p ro ach es by allow ing

w orkers to move p a s t th e se form er ro o ts a n d place th em se lv es in a

63

con tem porary con tex t w hich an ti-co lon ia l sc h o la rs argue is n e ce ssa ry .

Since I began m y ca ree r in social w ork th e re h a s b een a no ticeab le

in c rease in in te re s t a n d concre te reco m m en d atio n s m ad e for agenc ies

a n d o rgan izations to c rea te cu ltu ra lly a p p ro p ria te and re le v an t serv ices

in O ntario an d C an ad a a s one w ay to re s to re th e socio-econom ic a n d

h e a lth s ta tu s of A boriginal peoples. However w he ther th e se id ea s a re

ad o p ted or n o t by a n agency is a n o th e r story . It is im p o rta n t to ra ise

th ese different a p p ro ach es , su c h a s “th e u s e of self” a n d “c u ltu ra l

com petency”, b ecau se th ey a re a p p ro a c h e s th a t a re believed to fac ilita te

w ork w ith A boriginal people. T here is a significant lite ra tu re th a t

d isc u sse s th e m a in s trea m a p p ro a ch of c u ltu ra l com petency for th e la s t

fifteen y ea rs th a t is easily accessib le a n d p a r t o f s tru c tu ra l social w ork

educa tion .

As m ore p rac titio n e rs from m a in s tre a m social w ork b ecam e

in te re s ted in servicing th e d iverse C a n ad ian dem ograph ic th e re h a s b een

a n in crease in academ ic a n d p rac titio n e r a rtic les on w ays to u s e

cu ltu ra lly re levan t w ays to w ork w ith e th n ic a n d racially d iverse people

(Thom as, B ern ard 8& M oriah 2007). As a re su lt th e re is now a

considerab le lite ra tu re th a t focuses on u n d e rs ta n d in g “c u ltu ra l

com petence” (Este, 2007). M uch of th e l ite ra tu re looks a t social w ork

a n d Aboriginal social w orkers a n d in c lu d es th e work of R aven S inc la ir

a n d M ichael A nthony H art in Wicihitowin: Aboriginal Social W ork in

C anada a n d B rad McKenzie’s a n d V ern M orrisse ttte ’s v a rio u s a rtic le s .

64

The la tte r re sea rch e rs w rite specifically a b o u t d iversity of c u ltu ra l

exp ressions a n d a b o u t v a rio u s m e th o d s for w orkers to w ork w ith th e se

diversities. S incla ir an d H art d isc u ss an ti-co lon ia l ap p ro ach es in re la tio n

to Ind igenous w ays of helping.

The lite ra tu re exam in ing an tico lon ia lism and e d u c a tio n is m ore

widely available th a n th a t on an ti-co lon ia lism a n d s tru c tu ra l social w ork.

However, it is possib le to find in fo rm ation on th e Aboriginal p e rsp ec tiv es

on social w ork a n d ind igen ism , a n d indigenism a n d an ti-co lon ia l

app roaches. H art (2009) defines ind igen ism a s tak ing a n an ti-co lon ia l

s tan ce a n d th a t it is a p rogressive way of opposing co lon ialism th ro u g h

a n Ind igenous worldview. A key p a r t of th e an ti-co lon ial a p p ro a c h is

know ing th e h is to ry of th o se w ho have been o p p ressed . T h is

com plem ents ind igenism in th a t it is im p o rtan t to u n d e rs ta n d

Ind igenous h is to ry inc lud ing its colonial a n d post-co lon ial co m p o n en ts .

H art (2009) a rg u es th a t an ti-co lon ia l a p p ro a ch e s are n eed ed in o rd e r to

app rec ia te how th e d o m in a tin g oppressive force of co lon iza tion still

ex ists, especially in th e A boriginal a re n a . H art (2009) d o es o u tlin e som e

lim ita tions of u s in g a n “A boriginal a p p ro a c h ” to helping. W aterfall (2003)

criticizes social w ork d isco u rse in th a t it is w ritten in E ng lish a n d c rea ted

in the w estern parad igm s. B oth sc h o la rs agree th a t d esp ite th e effort to

c rea te a n Aboriginal perspective b e c a u se social w ork is a p a r t of w e ste rn

belief an d d iscourse it will a lw ays lim it th e su ccess o f th e w orker a n d

com m unity m em ber. In fac t th e w ord A boriginal itse lf reflec ts th is

65

a rg u m e n t in th a t it is a w este rn concep t a n d E nglish w ord.

T here is considerab ly m ore lite ra tu re a n d s tu d ie s on c u ltu ra l

com petency an d social w orkers th a n on an ti-co lon ial a p p ro a c h e s .

However, one gap a p p e a rs to be th a t th e views a n d ex p erien ces of

racialized w orkers on c u ltu ra l com petency an d p rac tice have n o t y e t b een

su b s ta n tia lly resea rch ed , especially in C an ad a . In fact, a good exam ple

of th is is th e N ational A boriginal H ealth O rgan ization’s (NAHO) agency

guidelines on cu ltu re a n d h e a lth . NAHO h a s s ta ted th a t it p ro m o te s

c u ltu ra l safety an d p rac tice first before o th e r ap p ro ach es w h en w ork ing

w ith Ind igenous com m unities , (NAHO, 2006). Yet, if socia l w ork

ed u ca tio n p rog ram s co n tin u e to te a ch c u ltu ra l com petency th e n it is

im p o rtan t th a t m ore re sea rch be done a ro u n d th is a re a to expose its

lim ita tions. The rem ain ing lite ra tu re reviewed in th is sec tio n is s p a rs e in

reg a rd s to specific a tt i tu d e s a n d views of A boriginal w orkers a s it m ain ly

sp e ak s only to m a in s trea m w orkers in c ro ss-cu ltu ra l s i tu a tio n s o r it

d e m o n s tra te s the in ad eq u acy of cu ltu ra lly com peten t se rv ices availab le

to A boriginal clien ts. T here does, how ever, a p p e a r to be som e re s e a rc h

on th e p rob lem s w ith m a in s trea m w orkers a n d the th eo ry of c u ltu ra l

safety. It is u se fu l to th is th e s is to review som e of th ese d o c u m e n ts a s

c u ltu re a n d th e connection to c u ltu re a s a p a r t of p rac tice cam e u p in

m an y of th e interview s.

In striv ing for c u ltu ra l com petence Hilary W eaver s ta te s th a t a

“recognition of th e p ro fession ’s e th n o cen tric foundation” is n e c e ssa ry

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(1999, p .217). C u ltu ra l com petency a ro se in p ro fessional social w ork in

o rder to evaluate how social w o rk ers could move from a u n iv e rsa l

ap p ro ach of c u ltu ra l sensitiv ity to g rea te r aw aren ess of th e pow er

differences betw een social w orkers an d racialized g ro u p s w h en

a ttem p tin g to w ork together. As m u lticu ltu ra lism becam e m ore im p o rta n t

in society so did th e problem -solv ing a ro u n d how to w ork w ith d iverse

po pu la tions, m oving from patho logy in to th e view of co lo rb lin d n ess ,

w hich did n o t m ake th e pow er im b a lan ce an y more eq u a l s ince it still

ignored th e c u ltu ra l en titie s of a c lien t a s sep ara te a n d u n iq u e . E ste

(2007) also a s s e r ts th a t th e re w as a n acknow ledgem ent th a t conven tiona l

m eth o d s no longer sufficed a fte r th e 90s:

The growing rea lization th a t trad itio n a l ap p ro ach es w ere n o t ad d re ss in g th e n e ed s a n d issu e s of ind iv idua ls an d co m m u n ities from diverse p o p u la tio n s co n trib u ted to th e n eed to develop innovative and effective m eth o d s to a d d re ss th e ir co n ce rn s . As well, m em bers of d iverse com m unities have d em an d ed g rea ter o p p o rtu n ities to becom e involved in th e p lann ing a n d delivery of services to e n su re th a t services a re sensitive a n d responsive to th e ir concerns . Their invo lvem ent w as b a sed on th e a s su m p tio n th a t com m unity m em b ers w ere m ore know ledgeable a b o u t th e n e ed s an d s tren g th s of th e ir com m unities (p.94).

The m ain critic ism of c u ltu ra l com petency from a th eo re tica l p o in t

of view is th a t its position ing began w ith chang ing th e “o th e r” (Allan,

2006 85 D ean 2001). T here is a te n s io n betw een im p lem en ting sk ills

from c u ltu ra l com petency a n d th e u se o f self “is th a t it re q u ire s th a t th e

p rac titio n er u s e em pathy b u t exclude th e ir own cu ltu ra l experiences. A

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p rac titio n er can u n in te n tio n a lly im pose in te r-sub jec tiv ity w h en app ly ing

th e “u se of self” (M andell, 2008). In tersub jectiv ity of th e p ra c titio n e r

apply ing th e ir feelings a n d m ean in g s from a n experience c a n c a u se a

w orker to im pose a “co m m o n -sen se” value tow ard their c lien t. However,

a s m u ch a s M andell (2008) im plies th a t th is possib ility of

co u n te rtran sfe ren ce is a lread y know n in social work p rac tice , (Allan,

2006, D ean, 2001, Laird, 1998 a n d W eaver 1999) all ag ree th a t it is

difficult to sep a ra te ou rse lves a s p rac titio n e rs from o u r ow n “c u ltu ra l

b a ggage” u n le s s we have th e a w are n ess to becom e fully co n g ru e n t. E ste

(2007) a rg u es th a t C an ad ian social w orkers n eed to c o n sid e r th e ir ow n

c u ltu ra l b ack g ro u n d s a n d th e ir location in society a m id s t th e d ynam ic

n a tu re of cu ltu re . The re a d e r w ould a ssu m e th is w ould in c lu d e

A boriginal o r racialized w orkers how ever n one of th ese above s tu d ie s

ind ica te th e d is tin c t c h a rac te ris tic s o f a n A boriginal service p rov ider.

R ecent re sea rch show s th a t th e o verrep resen ta tion of A boriginal

ch ild ren an d fam ilies involved w ith ch ild welfare sy s tem , th e p en a l

system an d th e general socioeconom ic m arg inaliza tion of peop le

conform s w ith th e system ic a ss im ila tio n policies th a t w ere p rev a len t in

th e p ast: R esidential schoo ls, th e 6 0 s scoop a n d co lon iza tion

(B rubachen , 2006 , H arris e t. al, 2007 M cKenzie et. al, 2 0 0 3 , T rom ce et

al, 2004, a n d Zon, 2004). The m a in is su e s th a t a re com m only fo u n d in

all th e lite ra tu re reviewed su rro u n d in g access and service n e e d s of

A boriginal fam ilies include: in a d e q u a te serv ices, cu ltu ra l d iversity is s u e s

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a n d socioeconom ic o p p ress io n s (Levitt a n d W harf, 1985, p. 126).

In reality m ost a rtic les on c u ltu ra l com petency a n d social w ork

d isc u ss th e is su e s su rro u n d in g th e chang ing face of m u ltic u ltu ra lism in

rela tion to th e b ro ad e r C a n ad ian public . However Aboriginal people have

su c h a specific h is to ry a n d c u ltu re th a t th is d iscourse do es n o t a lw ays

co n trib u te to th e ir rea lity (Este, 2 0 0 7 , a n d Pon, 2009). E ste (2007)

fu rth e r n o tes in h is s tu d y on c u ltu ra l com petency a n d social w ork

p ractice in C an ad a th a t for th e p a s t five y ea rs since 2 0 0 2 th e C a n a d ia n

A ssociation of Social W orkers h a s su p p o rte d a n em p h asis on th is th eo ry

a n d have suggested th a t all d iverse g ro u p s will benefit from its u se :

all g roups, in c lu d in g e th n ic , c u ltu ra l, rac ia l, a n d relig ious, a re en titled to receive com peten t p ro fessiona l services. In h e re n t in th is p rincip le is the recogn ition th a t th e values, beliefs, a n d n o rm s of th e client sy s te m s receiving serv ices m u s t be ta k e n in to a cc o u n t (pp .94).

III. Sum m ary

B ased on th e lite ra tu re review I an tic ip a te th a t th e in terv iew s for

th is th e s is will reveal th e te n s io n s betw een conventional m e th o d s u s e d in

s tru c tu ra l social w ork p rac tice a n d th e p rac tice of Aboriginal social w ork

by Aboriginal service providers. A lthough severa l social w ork sc h o la rs

have show n th a t social w ork m e th o d s th a t a rise from co lon iza tion a re

p rob lem atic to th e A boriginal c lien t a n d w orker there is no sign ifican t

body of re sea rch th a t p o in ts a n A boriginal w orker to so lu tio n s on how to

w ork th ro u g h those ten s io n s .

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In o rder for s tru c tu ra l social w orkers to engage w ith o r c h an g e th e

larger social s tru c tu re s th ey m u s t expose th e dom ination a n d violence

exerted by those people in pow er. In general social w ork p rac tic e w ith

racialized g roups evolved from th e idea of pathologizing “th e o th e r”, or

“o rien talising5” c lien ts a s being e ith e r sim ila r o r d issim ilar in re g a rd s to

social w ork p rac titio n e rs’ u n d e rs ta n d in g of c lien t behav iour (Allan, 2006

a n d D ean 2001). It is still n o t u n co m m o n in som e social w ork p rac tice

for w orkers e ith er to see th e c lien t in h e r own image o r n o t, a n d if n o t

th e n th ey pathologize or m ak e of th e c lien t a problem . In su m , I hope

th a t m y th e s is gives m ore in s ig h t in to how to im plem ent an ti-co lon ia l

social w ork while still w orking w ith in th e system , so th a t rac ia lized social

w orkers w ho w ork w ith o th e r rac ialized a n d /o r Aboriginal c o m m u n itie s

will have a b e tte r u n d e rs ta n d in g of how to com bine th e ir ow n w orldview s

w ith social w ork p rac tice m eth o d s.

5E dw ard Said (1978) defines o rien ta lis in g as th e w ay th e

E u ro p ean s divided th e world in th e ir perspective a s a w ay to ju s tify colonization. The division is b a se d on th e e a s t a n d the w est (or th e Occident a n d th e orient) th o se w ho have th e a ttr ib u te s of o rien ta l a re unciv ilised a n d th o se who a re occiden tal a re civilised. S aid a rg u e s th a t th e m ain flaw of o rien ta lism is th a t th e E u ro p e a n s began to generalize all O rien ta ls in th e w estern world.

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CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY

I. R esearch Q u estion

T his th e s is exam ines a n d ev a lu a tes th e re la tio n sh ip s be tw een

s tru c tu ra l social w ork p rac tice a n d th e anti-colonial a p p ro a c h th ro u g h

a n exam ination of th e w ork of A boriginal social service p rov iders. T he

re sea rch explores th e te n s io n s th a t a rise am ong A boriginal social service

w orkers who draw , consciously or no t, u p o n various s t ru c tu ra l social

w ork theo ries in th e ir p rac tice w hile a ttem p tin g to red is tr ib u te pow er in

th e u rb a n A boriginal com m unity . In co n d u c tin g th e re se a rc h I w a n ted to

u n d e rs ta n d how A boriginal w orkers m ade sense of th e d ifferen t

app roaches, theo ries a n d p rac tices in th e ir d ay to d ay prov ision of

service. T his w as done by investiga ting w h a t it is they a c tu a lly do on th e

job a n d th e po ten tia l effects o f th e ir p rac tice on th e ir co m m u n ity

m em bers ra th e r th a n w h a t th ey u n d e rs ta n d a b o u t th e v a rio u s

app roaches. In p a rticu la r, I w as in te res te d in determ in ing if A boriginal

w orkers p rac tice from a n an ti-co lon ial a p p ro a ch o r how th e ir p rac tice is

cong ruen t w ith or d ifferent from m ore m a in s tre a m perspec tives in social

work, for exam ple, c u ltu ra l com petency.

I expected to find A boriginal w orkers w ho would s ta te th a t p a r t of

th e ir w ork is a b o u t c u ltu ra l rec lam atio n or c u ltu ra l com petency . T hese

a re descrip tive te rm s w hich in m y experience are u s e d to d esc rib e

ap p ro ach es in A boriginal social work. However, I do n o t expec t to find

w orkers who described th e ir jo b responsib ilitie s a s consciously rectify ing

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or res is tin g th e a c ts of colonization. In th is th e s is I found th a t A boriginal

social w orkers hold th e belief th a t co lonization still negatively im p a c ts

them a n d th e ir com m unities, d u e to th e c u rre n t re la tio n sh ip th e s ta te

h a s w ith the A boriginal p opu la tion th ro u g h social work p ra c tic e s su c h a s

child p ro tec tion an d case m an ag em en t. T h is belief w as u n co v ered

th ro u g h interview s w ith A boriginal social service w orkers. By u s in g

g rounded theory, I w as ab le to code theo re tica lly w hat m y p a r tic ip a n ts

said a n d th e n found m ean in g from th is ra th e r th a n from d irec t

s ta te m e n ts by th e p a rtic ip a n ts (A uberbach, 2003). R ather th a n m e a su re

p a rtic ip a n ts ’ resp o n ses, th e th e s is seek s in form ation th a t will reveal

th ro u g h analy sis w h a t a n A boriginal w orker d o es on th e jo b a n d th e se

d a ta a n d th e ir an a ly sis will re p re se n t th e re se a rc h outcom e (A uberbach ,

2003).

The th e s is u se s the in terv iew s a s a p ro c e ss of s to ry te lling or th e

retelling of o u r h isto ries, experiences a n d w ork th ro u g h a n In d ig en o u s

lens w hich L inda T uhiw ai S m ith (1999) in d ic a te s is an im p o rta n t p ro ce ss

bo th in res is tin g th e colonial pow ers a n d in avoiding m is in te rp re ta tio n of

Aboriginal experiences. In th is th e s is I s e t o u t to answ er th e q u e s tio n of

w he ther Aboriginal w orkers a re m oving tow ard a n an ti-co lo n ia l

fram ew ork, o r possib ly a re a lready u s in g one by realizing th a t th e a c ts of

colonialism a re p rob lem atic n o t only for th e Aboriginal c o m m u n ity

m em ber b u t also for th e A boriginal w orker (W aterfall, 2003). T h is I

an tic ipa ted w ould becom e evident a fte r th e interview s th u s confirm ing

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w hich ap p ro a ch e s th e w orkers w ere in fac t u sing .

II. W hat I am in v e stig a tin g

T his is a qualita tive th e s is investiga ting Aboriginal social serv ice or

social w orkers who a re p rac tis in g in th e field with u rb a n A boriginal

com m unity m em bers a n d th e d ifferent th eo re tica l ap p ro ach es th ey m ay

u se . S in ’s (2007) s tu d y of th e C h inese co m m u n ities in M ontreal cou ld be

app lied to o th e r n o n -m a in s trea m or m arginalized p o p u la tio n s . For

exam ple, S in a rg u es th a t positiv ist re se a rc h is p rem ised o n d irec t

observation a n d experim en ta tion , b u t th is a lone m ay lead to a com plete

m isu n d e rs ta n d in g of th e beliefs a n d v a lu es of th e com m unity o r a p e rso n

being observed. The positiv ist a p p ro a ch therefore c an u n d e rm in e

Ind igenous va lues a n d u n d e rs ta n d in g w hich p lace a value on s to ry te lling

a s a way of tran sfe rrin g know ledge. For th is reaso n th e th e s is will rely

only on qualita tive d a ta a n d re a c h o u t only to Aboriginal w o rk e rs in o rd e r

to collect d a ta on th e ir w ork experiences. In th is way I will try to avoid

u n d e rm in in g th e ir v a lu es a n d m a in ta in a n an ti-co lon ial fram ew ork

w ith in th e th e s is itself.

T here is a lso a n eed for m ore re se a rc h on In d ig en o u s a n d

Aboriginal people by o th e r A boriginal resea rch e rs . B a sk in (2003),

Tuhiw ai S m ith (1997) a n d G ilch rist (1997) m ain ta in th a t very little

re sea rch h a s been done on A boriginal o r Ind igenous people b y th e ir own

A boriginal com m unity . H art (2009), B ask in (2003), C ochran e t al.( 2008)

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are concerned th a t a lth o u g h th e re a re m ore social work re s e a rc h e rs a n d

ed u ca to rs w ho a re g rad u a tin g from Ind igenous p ro g ram s a n d /o r

Aboriginal peoples com ing o u t o f th e m a in s tre a m system th e re a re still

significant m om en ts w here th e v a lu es o f th e w estern acad em ic sy stem

conflict w ith th e Ind igenous w ay of tran sfe rrin g a n d acq u irin g

inform ation . C ochran e t al. (2008) d isc u ss how it is im p o r ta n t to

u n d e rs ta n d th a t w hen looking to develop p ro jec ts , su ch a s a n acad em ic

th es is , th a t th e re sea rch e r d e te rm in es w h a t k in d s of m e th o d s p re -ex is t in

th e com m unity . W ith reference to th is th es is , th e m eth o d of n a rra tiv e

an d storytelling is u se d in th e u rb a n A boriginal com m unity by fron t-line

w orkers a n d com m unity m em bers .

The in terview s w ere u se d m ain ly to de te rm ine w h e th e r a n t i ­

colonial ap p ro ach es have a role in th e se w o rk e rs’ practice. T h is re se a rc h

is im p o rtan t a n d re levan t a s th e com plex ities of th e effects o f co lon iza tion

a re still being felt desp ite th e fact th a t A boriginal g roups have ach ieved a

so-called level of self-governm ent. S ch o lars su c h a s T uh iw ai S m ith ,

(1999) have a rgued repeated ly th a t “th e rea ch of im p eria lism in o u r

h e ad s challenges th o se w ho belong to colonized c o m m u n itie s to

u n d e rs ta n d how th is [m eaning th e ou tcom es o f colonization] o ccu rred

partly b ecau se we need to decolonize o u r m in d s, to recover o u rse lv es, to

claim a space in w hich to develop a sen se of au th e n tic h u m a n ity ” (p.23).

T his is often referred to a s post-co lon ial d iscourse a n d e x te n d s in to

p rac tice by w ay of th eo ries often u se d in s tru c tu ra l social w ork p rac tice

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includ ing an ti-o p p ressio n , c u ltu ra l com petency a n d p oss ib ly a n t i ­

colonial theories.

T here is a lso th e q u e s tio n of th e role of Aboriginal w o rk e rs w ith in

the d o m in an t system a n d th a t is w hy I interview ed self-identified

A boriginal w orkers only. W aterfall (2003) an d S m ith (1999) exp la in th a t it

is im p o rtan t th a t a s Ind igenous w orkers we reflect, co n s id e r th e

conflicts, privilege, a n d experiences th a t we h av e in re la tio n to p rac tice .

Sm ith (1999) a rg u e s th a t h is to ry is often still to ld from th e p o in t of view

of th e colonizer a n d therefo re it is im p o rtan t th a t to be c o n g ru e n t w ith a n

anti-co lon ial ap p ro ach it is p referab le th a t th o se affected by a c ts of

colonialism tell th e ir sto ries.

III. Purpose o f In terv iew s

Interview s a re th e m o st s ign ifican t p a r t of th e th e s is a s th ey

allowed w orkers to tell th e ir own h is to rie s an d experiences. I in terv iew ed

eight p ro m in en t front-line A boriginal w orkers w ho also w ork w ith u rb a n

Aboriginal com m unity m em bers. T h rough qualitative d a ta a n a ly s is of th e

in terview s I de te rm ined ca tegories to code th ro u g h u s e o f g ro u n d ed

theory th ro u g h w hich I found com m on th em es and p a tte rn s u s e d by

w orkers (A uberbach, 2003). T hese p a tte rn s w ere then an a ly zed fu r th e r

an d d isc u sse d in th e con tex t of c u rre n t d isco u rse a s well a s d e fin itions of

th e different ap p ro ach es u se d in s tru c tu ra l social w ork p rac tice . T he

focus of th e in terview s w as to investigate w ha t Aboriginal w o rk e rs do a n d

say in p rac tice w hen help ing m em b ers of th e ir u rb a n c o m m u n ity a n d

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w h at ap p ro ach by inference w as being u se d . In ask ing th e se q u e s tio n s I

th o u g h t th e p a tte rn s revealed w ould or w ould n o t d e m o n s tra te ten s io n

betw een theory a n d p rac tice w ith th e A boriginal worker.

IV. Sam pling procedures

Silver et. a l (2006) d e m o n s tra te th a t in o rd e r to h av e effective w ork

w ith Aboriginal g roups it is im p o rta n t th a t agency and c o m m u n ity b o th

have inv ita tions in o rder to fac ilita te p a rtic ip a n t buy-in. T h is is done firs t

by speak ing w ith th e agencies, th e ir m an a g e rs an d em ployees. I found

p a rtic ip a n ts by con tac ting th e d ifferent local u rb a n A boriginal A gencies

by phone in th e O ttaw a-G atineau reg ion an d a sk ed to p u t u p p o s te rs in

a staff a rea . I a lso a sk ed th e d irec to r of th e agency to reco m m en d

pa rtic ip an ts . A sm all incen tive w as offered to th o se w ho p a rtic ip a te d in

th e form of a coffee card . T h rough th e in itia l interview s I u se d th e

snow ball ap p ro ach to find th e rem ain in g p a rtic ip a n ts . To avoid a n y

conflict of in te re s t I excluded an y em ployees w ho w orked a t th e W abano

C entre for A boriginal H ealth in O ttaw a d u rin g the tim e I w as a lso

em ployed th ere w hich in c lu d es th e y e a r 2008 a n d J a n u a ry to J u ly 2009 .

Interview s w ere conducted o u ts id e c lien t h o u rs d ep en d in g on th e

schedu le of each agency. I fo u n d p a rtic ip a n ts from four u r b a n A boriginal

agencies in th e city of O ttaw a w hich all offer different serv ices to th e

com m unity . The four cen tre s were: M inw aash in Lodge a n A boriginal

w om en’s su p p o rt cen tre w hich offers service u n d e r th e co n tex t of

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reclaim ing th e w isdom of o u r F irs t N ations, M etis an d In u it te a ch in g s ,

th e O daw a Native F rien d sh ip C en tre w here m an y different c u ltu ra l a n d

trad itio n a l p rog ram s a re offered to A boriginal people who n e ed s u p p o r t in

a n u rb a n env ironm ent, The O ttaw a In u it C h ild ren ’s C en tre (OICC) w ho

offers a full p rog ram for In u it fam ilies th a t seeks to re ta in th e In u it

cu ltu re in th e u rb a n se tting , th e W abano C en tre for A borig inal H ealth

w hich provides holistic , cu ltu ra lly re lev an t h e a lth services a n d p ro g ram s

to u rb a n Aboriginal people by u s in g trad itio n a l healing p rac tices .

Interview s w ith Ind igenous g ro u p s h istorically h av e in flu en ced

p a rtic ip a n t buy-in a n d t r u s t w ith re sea rch e rs . As m en tio n ed in th e

section “My in te re s t in th e su b jec t”, I am a p e rso n of In d ig en o u s d e sc e n t

a n d therefore m ay have b ia se s th ro u g h m y own anti-co lon izing p ro ce ss . I

needed to consider th e privilege th a t co lonization h a s given m e. For

exam ple, growing u p in a w hite m iddle c la ss a rea w ith h ig h q u a lity

ed u ca tio n a n d th e o p p o rtu n ity to a tte n d several un ivers ity p ro g ram s,

cou ld influence in p a r t how I in te rp re ted th e d a ta collected. I u n d e rs ta n d

th a t how I see m yself is n o t th e sam e a s a n Aboriginal p e rso n w ho h a s

grow n u p u n d e r th e c irc u m sta n ce s of colonial legacies, e.g.) poverty ,

violence, in te rg en e ra tio n a l tra u m a , etc. A m u ch m ore in c lu siv e lis t of

e th ica l co n sid era tio n s w as p re sen te d to th e E th ics C om m ittee.

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V. In terv iew guide

The interview guide w as b a sed on a 30 to 45 m inu te pe riod to a s k a

se t of open-ended q u e s tio n s th ro u g h w hich I cou ld investigate w h e th e r or

n o t th e ir p rac tice m e th o d s su b sc rib e to a n y p a rticu la r th eo re tica l

perspective. I reco rded th e in fo rm ation by typing th e p a r t ic ip a n t’s

an sw ers on a lap top . My q u e s tio n s for th e in terv iew were a s follows:

J. W hat is yo u r jo b a t the current agency yo u w ork fo r?

2. W hat is yo u r role, w h a t do you do a t yo u r job? D escribe w h a t yo u

actually do a t yo u r job.

3. Who are you seeing or serving a s a client in th is com m unity?

4. Can you briefly describe a recent successfu l or sa tis fy in g ca se w here you h ad to advocate or help your client in a d ifficu lt situa tion? W hat w a s the is su e you w ere dealing w ith ? How d id yo u help th a t person? W hat w a s th e outcom e?

5. Can you briefly describe a recent unsu ccess fu l or fru s tra tin g ca se w here you h ad to advoca te or help yo u r client in a d ifficu lt situa tion? W hat w a s the issu e? H ow d id you help th a t person? W hat w a s the outcom e?

6. C ase s tu d y question, how w ould yo u ha ve or had a d vo ca ted or d esigned a p la n o f care th is client or clients:

W anda, a young O jibwe m other w ho lives in th e city, recently gave birth to a b aby girl. This is her f ir s t baby. W anda took care o f h erse lf during her p reg n a n cy a n d is excited about bringing h er b a b y home. W anda m an a g ed to reduce her cigarette consum ption fro m tw o p a c k s a d a y to ten cigarettes w hile sh e w a s pregnant, s h e d id no t d rink or u se drugs during th is tim e either. S h e p la n s to sm o k e o u tsid e n o w tha t b aby is here. S h e a tten d ed m ainstream prena ta l c la s se s w ith the fa th e r o f her baby fo r the la st fo u r m onths o f her p regnancy . H e h a s since gone back to h is hom e reserve bu t p la n s to return la ter th is year. W anda breastfed in th e hospita l a n d sh e p la n s to con tinue th is a t home. The baby is considered hea lthy in all respects. W hile a t hom e W anda will have m a n y supportive fa m ily m em bers including, her

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grandparents, tw o aun ts, her p a ren ts , tw o s is te rs a nd a brother. T hey all p la n on supporting her a s a n e w mother. Still W anda is considered a high-risk m other b eca u se sh e is living in a n u rb a n se ttin g and is only seven teen y ea rs o f age. While in th e hospital th e C hildren’s A id Society w a s called in by the hosp ita l social worker. H er doctor h a s also referred her to the C ity ’s H ea lthy B a b ies H ealthy C hildren program and only d ischarged her because sh e agreed to home v is its fro m th em and sa id sh e w ould a tten d a paren tin g course.

7. Do you believe tha t because yo u s e l f identify a s a n A boriginal perso n tha t you have a d ifferen t w a y o f practicing socia l w o rk th a n som eone w ho is non-Aboriginal? W hat m akes w h a t yo u do Aboriginal? H ow is it d ifferen t fro m w h a t som eone non-Aboriginal m ight do? Could som eone not Aboriginal learn to practice social w ork in the sa m e w a y you do?

8. H ow do es your experience a s a n Aboriginal social w orker a ffec t th e w ork tha t you do in th e urban Aboriginal com m unity? D oes being an Aboriginal perso n y o u rse lf a ffect y o u r w ork?

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CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

I. In trod u ction

I received sto ries in th e form of in terv iew s from tw o In u it, one

M etis, an d five F irst N ations w orkers w ho a re p rac tis in g in social w ork

se ttin g s in th e O ttaw a u rb a n a rea . It is im p o rtan t in th is th e s is to ta lk

ab o u t th e w ay th a t Ind igenous know ledge w as a n d is tra n s m itte d to a n d

from A boriginal people. Before sp eak in g d irectly ab o u t th e find ings in

th is section I will a lso briefly d isc u ss sto ry telling and s to ry -lis ten in g a s a

way of conveying p e rso n a l a n d p ro fessional experiences to academ ic

re sea rch e rs . I w ould a lso like to acknow ledge th a t the s to rie s I received

from th e p a rtic ip a n ts a re h o n o u red a s gifts. B ask in (2003) a n d A nderson

(2000) w rite respectively a b o u t th e d ifferent w ays Aboriginal re se a rc h e rs

an d people have show n, th ro u g h story telling , re s is tan ce in th e p a s t to

th e d o m in an t society’s agenda . Not su rp ris in g ly ju s t a s th e re is d isc o u rse

th a t is w estern th e re a re a lso m ethodologies of re sea rch th a t a re v a lu ed

an d u se d m ore so by th e d o m in a n t society. In th is se n se , th e a c t of

draw ing o u t sto ries an d te lling s to ries a s a re sea rch m e th o d is a n a c t of

an ti-colonization . A nderson (2000) p ro p o ses in h e r re se a rc h th a t

Aboriginal w om en in p a rtic u la r n eed a n d c an realise se lf-iden tifica tion

th ro u g h storytelling in a fo u r-s tep p ro cess th a t allows th e m to rec la im

who th ey a re a n d how th e ir experiences an d h isto ries c a n be u s e d a s

positive exam ples. The sam e k in d s of desired ou tcom es ap p lied to th e

sto ries in th is th esis . The o u tco m es of th e w o rk e rs’ experiences m ay n o t

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have h a d value in m a in s tre a m society b u t for Ind igenous w o rk e rs th e

in s ig h ts will be p a sse d dow n a n d u se d am o n g o th e r w orkers a s a w ay to

reclaim an u n d e rs ta n d in g of how help ing is achieved by A borig inals in a

m o d em context.

A lthough p a rtic ip a n ts w ere a sk ed a se t o f q u estio n s , a n d e ac h

m eeting w as se t u p a s a n interview , a s a n Ind igenous re s e a rc h e r I am

aw are of som e of th e c ritiq u es a n d possib ilities for em ploying u n e th ic a l

m e th o d s a ro u n d th e re se a rc h of A boriginal peop le and g ro u p s. T here is

no denying th a t Ind igenous people a re th e m ost re se a rc h e d g roup

(Rigney, 1999 an d C och ran e t al. 2008). H istorically A boriginal people in

C an ad a w ould tra n s fe r know ledge a n d experiences th ro u g h s to rie s a n d

oral legends n o t th ro u g h academ ic jo u rn a ls o r o ther w ritte n w orks. In

fact, in th e p a s t th e m ore th a t A boriginal g ro u p s were re se a rc h e d th e

political objective of th e co lon izers w ere o ften m ad e possib le (C ochran e t

al. 2008 , H art, 2009 a n d S m ith 1999). C ollaboration a n d u n d e rs ta n d in g

of th is h is to ry a re n e ce ssa ry w hen re sea rch in g A borig inal is su e s .

T herefore th e q u estio n s w ere a s op en -en d ed a s possib le. I a lso d id n o t

tak e n o te s b u t lis tened to w h a t th e p a r tic ip a n ts were say ing . I did

how ever record th e voices so I cou ld re -lis ten to th e ir s to rie s a n d

experiences in o rder to re -reco rd th e ir h is to rie s a s a p a r t of th e a n t i ­

colonial ap p ro ach (Sm ith 1999). I am aw are th a t my ow n w orldview a s a

racially diverse w om an a n d social w orker in form ed how I in te rp re te d th e

s to ries a n d th e ir them es. I am locating m yself in th is for a n y p o ten tia l

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b iases a n d b ecau se th is is th e w ay I w as ta u g h t by my E ld e rs a n d E ld e rs

from th e u rb a n Aboriginal com m unity . T his is n ecessa ry w h en w ork ing

in an Ind igenous a n d an ti-co lon ia l fram ew ork a s th e following q u o te

observes.

W ithin m any Ind igenous co m m u n ities we begin by Identifying ourselves: w ho we a re , w here we are from , w ho o u r a n c e s to rs a re . T his identification allows people to know w ho we a re , w hich, in tu rn , h e lp s to e s tab lish t r u s t (Absolon & W illett, 2005) a s people can th e n identify th e worldview from which they speak . The p rac tice e x ten d s in to resea rch .Ind igenous scho lars a n d re se a rc h e rs identify them selves w ith in th e re se a rc h (Lavallee, 2009).

All of th e w orkers I in terv iew ed w ere h ired because of th e ir c u ltu ra l

iden tity a s Aboriginal a n d b e c a u se th ey all work w ith th e u rb a n

Aboriginal com m unity . In ad d itio n , som e of th e m were a lso h ired b e c a u se

of th e ir pe rsona l experiences, form al e d u ca tio n or th e co m b in a tio n of

bo th . T h roughou t th e in terview p ro cess it b ecam e a p p a ren t early o n th a t

th e re w ere m ajor th em es a ris ing , all of w hich h a d to do w ith an ti-co lo n ia l

ap p ro ach es. T hese in c lu d ed sh a red experiences a n d th e

w o rk e r/co m m u n ity m em b er re la tio n sh ip , b o u n d a rie s a s a w orker,

res is tin g th e p ro cess of th e sy stem , th e experience of id en tity rac ism a n d

Ind igenous know ledge. As im plied in sec tio n s of the th e s is , once a n

indiv idual or g roup is able a n d w illing to iden tify the co lon ial d y n am ics

th a t still ex ist in o u r c o u n try a n d society, applying a n an ti-co lon ia l

ap p ro ach becom es c learer (Dei a n d A sghardzadeh , 2001 ). A nti-colonial

is to oppose any th ing th a t is d o m in a tin g or im posed a n d is he lp fu l for

w orkers w ho w an t to re s is t an y type of w este rn dom ination . T h is w as

ind icated in m any different in s ta n c e s via th e interview s. Som e in d ic a to rs

found were: rem em bering o n e ’s connec tion to lo ss d u e to co lon ization ,

one’s connection to land , te rrito rie s a n d reserves, th e re jec tion of

e ssen tia lism an d rac ia l b o u n d a rie s , a n d th e acknow ledgem ent of social

inequities. T here w ere also in s ta n c e s of social w ork p rac tices th a t fit well

w ith an ti-co lon ial ap p ro ach es, s u c h a s th e u se of self. T he u s e of se lf is

b ased on th e m odel of th e ra p is t V irginia S atir. The m odel h e lp s u n co v er

a n d develop w ays for th e social w orker to b rin g in te rn a l, u n reso lv ed

is su e s to th e su rface . For exam ple, w hen a w orker looks a t h e r ow n

fam ily origin or co n stru c tio n sh e will be ab le to m ake b e tte r cho ices a n d

help in crease h e r own self esteem , w hich in tu r n will he lp c lien ts (Lum,

2002). Surprisingly , m any of th e w orkers identified the sy s te m s th a t th ey

were w orking in a s coun te rp roductive to Ind igenous w ays of being.

A lm ost all th e p a rtic ip a n ts believed th a t they w orked d ifferen tly from

m ain stream w orkers. However, th e re is no w ay to com pare w h e th e r th is

is tru e or n o t w ithou t fu rth e r re sea rch .

As a w ay to m ain ta in a n an ti-co lon ial ap p ro ach a n d to re s is t

w estern w ays of tran sfe rrin g know ledge I have chosen to h ig h lig h t a c tu a l

segm en ts of s to ries given to m e by th e p a rtic ip a n ts . The ita lic ised w ords

are all different sto ries a n d perspec tives from A boriginal fron t-line

w orkers. It is im p o rtan t to m e to h o n o u r th e w ords o f g e n e ro u s

storytellers.

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II. B oundaries and R e la tio n sh ip s

a. B oundaries a s a Worker

M y role isn 't lim ited to the title, because I w ork in a com m unity th a t I am a p a r t of. This is very d ifferen t i f you look a t m ainstream life beca u se you do your jo b and then go hom e yo u r hom e life is much d ifferent. W hen I go hom e m y fa m ily and com m unity are all people who u s e serv ices here. The com m unity is m y fam ily , w h e th er I am a t home or a t w ork I a m in multiple roles. In som e w a y s th is c ro sses boundaries, th is can be a n advan tage or a d isadvan tage . I go hom e a nd I will g e t a call fro m a parent, th is w ould never happen in a m ainstream organization. W ould you ever ge t the persona l p h o n e nu m b er o f a CAS worker? Well a lot o f p eop le know m e because th is com m unity is the one I g rew up in c lien ts k n o w th a t i f th ey a s k one o f m y s is te rs fo r m y nu m b er a n d th ey w ill g e t it, it's unavoidable a n d will never stop. T ha t's w h a t I actually love abou t being here in th is work.

W ithin th e interview guide th e re w ere questions a ro u n d A boriginal

iden tity an d how th is affects th e w ork th a t Aboriginal w o rk e rs do. T hese

q u estio n s often yielded re sp o n se s a b o u t b o u n d a rie s . Also w hen w o rk ers

were ask ed a b o u t successfu l c a se s , th e an sw er reflected w h e th e r o r n o t

th e re w ere challenges a ro u n d b o u n d a rie s . Surprisingly every p a rtic ip a n t

exp ressed th e sam e value a ro u n d b o u n d a rie s , tran sfe ren ce a n d c o u n te r ­

tran sfe ren ce . In fact it w as th e d ifferences in th e w ays th a t th e A boriginal

w orker viewed an d u se d b o u n d a rie s th a t w as th e m ost an ti-co lo n ia l of

any ap p ro ach ta k e n w ith in th e ir agencies. M ost w orkers h a d m obilized o r

organized them selves to be able to d ea l w ith un iq u e s itu a tio n s th a t

requ ire delibera te an d u n in te n tio n a l b lu rrin g of b o u n d a rie s . All

p a rtic ip a n ts believe th a t th a t w as n e c e ssa ry to practice In d ig en o u s social

w ork an d th a t for th e m ost p a r t it w as unavo idab le . T here w ere genera l

exam ples given su ch a s th e p a rtic ip a n t s ta te m e n t listed above, to very

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specific exam ples su ch a s m eeting co m m u n ity m em bers for coffee or

d in n e r o u tsid e th e no rm al h o u rs of opera tion . All of th ese ex am p les given

by th e p a rtic ip a n ts a re a p a r t of th e ir Ind igenous Know ledge. O ne

in te res tin g m om ent in th e in terv iew s is w hen a p a rtic ip an t to ld th e s to iy

ab o u t a tten d in g a funera l. The p a rtic ip a n t exp ressed th a t it w as n o t only

com pletely ‘n o rm al’ for a F irs t N ations w orker to a tte n d a c o m m u n ity

m em b er’s funera l b u t th e In d ig en o u s th in g to do.

There w a s a fu n era l fo r one o f our clients; it w as m o stly a tte n d e d b y w orkers w hich w a s surprising fo r som e o f m y non-native a n d na tive counterparts. Realistically th is w a s h er fa m ily because o f h er life circum stances th ese are th e peop le w ho w ere in her life m ostly . I th in k native w orkers need to rem ind th em se lv e s o f w here so m e o f th em cam e from .

Not only does th e w orker feel like th is bou n d ary is n o rm a l to b re a k

or b lu r b u t th e fact th a t it is m ostly a tte n d e d by social w o rk e rs

com pletely u n d e rs to o d in a fam ilial o r com m unal w ay. T h is w orker

perceives th e whole u rb a n A boriginal com m un ity to be a p a r t of th e la te

com m unity m em ber’s fam ily sim ply b e ca u se th e y are A boriginal. T he

Aboriginal w orker focuses on th e ind iv idual b u t a lso c o n s id e rs th e

c u rre n t s itu a tio n in th e con tex t of fam ily a n d com m unity .

Looking a t boundaries especially, I am com pletely a w a re o f boundaries m ine a nd the a g e n cy ’s. I do th ink there are tim es w h e n w e need to p u t those aside; I d o n ’t fe e l like m y non-native co w o rkers can really g e t behind that.

All eight w orkers in terview ed believed th a t they n eed ed to b lu r o r

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“p u t aside” th e se b o u n d a rie s in o rd er to w ork in a c a r in g w ay. M ost

w orkers ac tu a lly believed th is w as one of the top rea so n s th a t se t th e m

a p a r t from non-A boriginal o r m a in s tre a m w orkers. The m o st an ti-co lo n ia l

ch arac te ris tic su rro u n d in g p a r t ic ip a n ts ’ views a ro u n d c lien t -w orker

b o u n d a rie s w ere th a t in m o st c a se s th ey w ere aw are of w h a t b o u n d a rie s

they were b reak ing : th e ir ow n lim its , th e agency 's lim its a n d th e lim its of

social w ork cu rricu lu m . T his is an ti-co lon ial b ecau se th e a c t of b o u n d a ry

b reak ing is in com plete opposition for th e m ost p a r t to w h a t is ta u g h t in

social w ork cu rricu lu m . The In d ig en o u s w orkers had co n tro l over th e ir

w ork a n d th e Ind igenous co m m u n ity m em ber h a s a c h a n c e to equalize

th e pow er th a t w as a n d is ta k e n from th em in a colonial sy stem .

B oundaries can be controlled because w h e n yo u are ou t in the com m unity yo u d o n ’t o ften have to th in k about w h a t the serv ice is going to be, a m ainstream perso n w ould a lw a y s have to interpret th is a s a service. Not overly concerned about transference or counter transference b eca u se o f th is ability to separa te an act in m y com m unity a n d an act o f provid ing a service.

Since th e w orkers all w orked w ith in an Aboriginal agency m a n y of

th em believed th a t they h a d m e th o d s of controlling a n y s itu a tio n th a t

could po ten tia lly lead to in ap p ro p ria te re la tionsh ip s, tra n s fe re n c e or

co u n te r-tran sfe ren ce . Half of th e p a rtic ip a n ts ta lk ed a b o u t th e t r u s t th e y

h ad bu ilt a n d how b ecau se of th is tru s tin g re la tio n sh ip th e w orker

believed th e com m unity m em ber w ou ldn 't be tray th e m by tak in g

advan tage of th em or over s tep p in g a b oundary . In th e c a se m en tio n ed

above th e w orker gave o u t h e r /h i s hom e ‘phone n um ber. S /h e felt th a t it

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w as unavo idab le , even a p a r t of a n obligation in belong ing to a

com m unity . In a n o th e r exam ple, in a n in terv iew a w orker ta lk ed a b o u t

show ing affection tow ard co m m u n ity m em bers, w ho w ere y o u n g

Aboriginal ch ild ren . The w orker ex p la in ed th a t s /h e w as n o t a fra id of

losing contro l of th e s itu a tio n a n d d id n 't need b o u n d a rie s a s a p ro tec tive

m ea su re b ecau se s /h e believed it w as p rec ise ly w hat th e ch ild ren n eed ed

in o rder to heal. By denying th e ch ild ren affection w ould have m e a n t

denying th em th e ir own healing . T his w orker p a rticu la rly believed th a t

having too m any b o u n d a rie s m e a n t th a t every co n ta c t m ad e w ith

com m unity m em bers w ould be a “serv ice” w hereas h ea lin g from th e

A boriginal worldview m ea n t connec ting to th e com m unity a n d doing

som eth ing b ecau se it is th e righ t th in g to do n o t ju s t b e c a u se th e w orker

is a pa id expert. *

b. Shared E xperience and th e w ork er-com m u n ity m em b er rela tion sh ip

Yies being Aboriginal I h ave a d iffe ren t w a y o f practicing, th ey are all m y aun ties a nd s is te rs th ey are all m y fa m ily , th a t’s w h y I ta lk to th em w ith respect. I am not a fraid to open up abou t m y se lf a n d give. In m ainstream th ey d o n ’t have th is relationship; i t’s hard to ga in tru s t w h e n you d o n ’t open up about yo u rse lf a n d y o u r experiences.

A ccording to W endy Lum th e u se o f self, a n d th e exp lo ra tion of a

w orker’s own fam ily orig ins a n d social c o n s tru c tio n s a re co m p atib le w ith

anti-colonial ap p ro ach es, Lum a rg u e s th a t is one of th e m o st im p o r ta n t

a sp ec ts of being su ccessfu l in a h e lp in g profession (2002). It is

com patible w ith A boriginal w orkers s ince th ey reflect u p o n th e ir ow n

a n c e s to rs ’ w ays an d th e ir co n n ec tio n s to th e fam ily and co m m u n ity a n d

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u se th is know ledge a s w ays to inform prob lem solving a n d ch o ices in

th e ir p rac tice. In keep ing w ith th e u s e of self in th e an ti-co lo n ia l

ap p ro ach each p e rso n spoke a b o u t th e ir fam ily a n d th e ir ow n o rig in s a s

A boriginal people a n d how th a t h a s sh a p ed th e ir practice. E ac h p e rso n

spoke a b o u t th e re la tio n sh ip a n d how th ey u se d the ir ow n ex p erien ces to

help th o se in th e ir com m un ity an d agency. The co n n ec tio n th a t

A boriginal w orkers have to th e ir own se n se of loss of h is to ry , c u ltu re ,

lan d a n d iden tity h e lp s th e m to co n n ec t to th e com m unity m e m b e rs to

w hom they a re giving service. The re la tio n sh ip goes fu r th e r th a n ju s t

t ru s t; it m ea n s th a t for A boriginal social w orkers th e re is a n eed to

connec t on all levels w ith th e ir com m un ity m em ber. T h is co n n ec tio n is

w h a t is valued in th e eyes o f th e w orker a n d probably in th e eyes of th e

com m unity m em ber. D uring th e co u rse of th e in terview s e ac h w orker

w as a sk ed to ta lk a b o u t a su ccessfu l tim e or case and th is n e a r ly a lw ays

yielded a resp o n se a b o u t how it w as th e connec tion w ith th e c o m m u n ity

m em ber th a t in itially gave th em a sen se of sa tisfac tion , w h e th e r th e

outcom e w as g rea t or not. For exam ple, in c a se s w here th e p a re n ts h a d

th e ir ch ild ren a p p reh en d ed th e w orker w ould see it a s a su c c e ss if th e

p a re n ts tru s te d th e A boriginal w orker enough th a t they w ou ld com e b a ck

to th e cen tre a n d a sk for he lp , even in th e ir w o rs t of tim es. W hen a sk e d

a b o u t u n su c ce ss fu l c a se s re sp o n d e n ts still m entioned th e co n n ec tio n in

th e re la tionsh ip . All e ight re sp o n d e n ts sa id th a t it w as th e sy s tem or

p ro cess th a t failed th em in th e specific s itu a tio n b u t th a t th e only good

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th in g w as th e connection m ade w ith th e com m un ity m em ber. A boriginal

w orkers do no t believe th is connec tion is possib le in m a in s tre a m

organ izations. I th in k th a t th e connec tion is n o t on th e sam e level in a

m a in stream organ ization , it is m ore a b o u t em pathy w here a s in a n

Aboriginal o rgan ization it is im p o rtan t to relate . They re la te on m ore th a n

one level. There is a blood, com m unity , cu ltu ra l a n d h is to rica l

re la ted n ess b u t th e w orker a lso h a s a reference to m an y of th e

experiences th a t th e com m un ity h a s . T h is re la ted n ess is e ith e r b e c a u se

th e w orker experienced th e exac t sam e th in g o r they have a s ign ifican t

connection to the com m un ity m em ber a n d th e ir issue.

I th ink m ainly it’s hard fo r a m a instream w orker to relate to an Aboriginal one because w e are com m unity orientated; w e are not a fra id to share; w e are open to that; w e have a w hole d ifferent w a y th a t goes w a y back to colonization and und ersta n d in g th a t history. A lot o f p eop le w ho aren ’t Aboriginal d o n ’t u n d e rs ta n d it; it’s on a blood level w h ich is hard fo r other peop le to u n d ersta n d a n d hard to explain.

The w orkers interview ed w ere all w ork ing in u rb a n se ttin g s . However,

they see th e u rb a n A boriginal co m m u n ity a s its own com m unity . M ost of

th e ir re la tio n sh ip s form ed by th e A boriginal w orkers w ere a lso b a se d on

how connected they a n d th e co m m u n ity m em ber w ere to th e u rb a n

Aboriginal s itu a tio n s o r challenges. The In u it w orker in p a r tic u la r saw

“clien ts” a s n o t only com m un ity m em b ers b u t anyone w ho is co n n ec ted

to O ttaw a’s u rb a n In u it com m unity . Therefore it could be a n e d u c a to r ,

foster p a re n t o r even a n en tire school. For Aboriginal w orkers th e “c lien t”

is no t ju s t som eone m an d a te d to u s e a service, it is an y o n e w ho h a s a

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re la tionsh ip or connec tion to th e people, to fam ily m em bers, to w orkers

a n d to th e b ro ad e r com m unity th a t th e “clien t” in te rac ts in . T h is is a

com pletely an d in ten tiona lly inclusive re la tio n sh ip . This i s n ’t n ecessa rily

th e case in a m a in s trea m com m unity .

I f you are connected to the culture fo r exam ple, i f yo u ha ve lived in the north or have an Inuit child you still can be a t the fro n t o f our issu es . So i f I w a s not Aboriginal I w ou ld w a n t to gain th e respect o f the com m unity and th ink about how I connect.

S hared experiences a lm ost a s m u c h a s cu ltu ra l o r rac ia l id en tity

appeared to be ju s t a s im p o rtan t to m o st of th e A boriginal w orkers.

M any of th em spoke of th e ir own co n n ec tio n s an d sh a re d experiences

w ith com m unity m em b ers a n d m an y ta lk ed abou t “o th e rs”, su c h a s

su p p o rt w orkers, ed u ca to rs e tc ., all hav ing a co n n ec tio n to th e

Aboriginal com m unity . M ost w orkers spoke ab o u t hav in g m ore t r u s t

w ith those from o u tside th e com m unity only if th ey h ad a n experience or

connection to th e people o r th a t p a rtic u la r com m unity . It is th o u g h t

th a t if you have sh a red experience th e n you m ay u n d e rs ta n d w h a t k in d s

of m ech an ism s a re needed to fight o pp ression . In th e s to ry below th is

Aboriginal Social W orker spoke a b o u t how sh e w as able to in te rv en e in a

life-th reaten ing s itu a tio n w here a co m m u n ity m em ber co u ld have b een

m arginalized beyond help. W hat m ade th e difference sh e ex p la in s is th e

fact th a t th e ir re la tio n sh ip w as m ore o n a n equal level a n d th e re w as

t ru s t a n d connection .

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One o f m y clients recently decided sh e w an ted to s to p ta k in g her m edications w hich sh e h a d been on fo r more than 2 5 years . S h e deteriorated quite quickly a n d w e encouraged h er to a ccess services, fill her prescriptions a nd try to elim inate a n y barriers o f w h y sh e cou ldn 't access services or ta ke her Rx, ex) m oney. She still chose no t to a n d a t th e end o f the d a y sh e becam e a sa fe ty risk fo r m e to continue w orking w ith her. She w a s actively hom icidal a n d su icidal so proving outreach serv ices d id n ’t provide sa fe ty at all. S h e becam e too unpredictable to p rov ide services to a s an outreach client. W hen som eone comes in yo u h a ve the pan ic button or other s ta f f or a transport vehicle available to you. S h e w a s very trusting w ith m e because s h e believed h er issu es w ere rela ted to traum a more so than m en ta l hea lth a n d I supported her, w e h a d a connection , w e h ad a d ifferen t relationship th en sh e h a d w ith o ther w orkers a t other agencies, w e w ere on more equa l p laying fie ld , m ore on her level, w e related, sh e tru sted me.

B ecause of th e overw helm ing a n d u n iq u e sense of lo ss experienced

by Aboriginal people th e re w ere o th e rs th a t felt th e m ain co n n ec tio n w as

th a t of th e ir sh a red rac ia l a n d c u ltu ra l experiences of o p p ress io n . It is

m ore im p o rtan t for som e w o rk ers th a t th ey have sh a re d o p p ressio n .

W hen one p a rtic ip a n t w as a sk ed specifically w h a t it m e a n t to have a

sh a red experience w ith th e com m un ity a n d how does it h e lp th e ir w ork

a s social w orker th ey spoke a b o u t th e connections th ey h a d th ro u g h

th e ir m ore trad itiona l fam ily m em bers .

S taying connected to o ther Aboriginal p eo p le have g iven m e that, m eeting m y m other’s fr ie n d s a n d fr ie n d s a t school, traditional fa m ily m em bers, I th ink ju s t having th a t know ledge a n d exposure h a s m a d e m e more adept.

Every exam ple given in re sp o n se to th is question a n d th ro u g h o u t

m ost of th e in terview s cen tred a ro u n d a n A boriginal a p p ro a c h to h e lp in g

w hich focuses n o t only on j u s t th e p e rso n seek ing help b u t a lso on th o se

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offering it. H art (2009) exp la in s th e im portance of th e h e lp ing

re la tionsh ip a n d th e u s e of ind igen ism a n d an ti-co lon ial a p p ro a c h e s to

social work:

Helping p ro cesses a re focused on th e re la tio n sh ip s of th e people being he lped , in c lu d in g th e re la tionsh ip betw een th e people seek ing help a n d th o se offering help. The people offering he lp a re n o t th e experts.In stead , th e re is a focus on sp eak in g from th e h eart, w hich su g g ests speak in g w ith p e rso n a l em otional experience, in tu itio n a n d honesty . F inally th e help ing p ro cess is a sh a re d experience, th u s th e experience of th e he lp ing p ro cess is re lev an t to b o th th e life of th e p e rso n seek ing help a s well a s th e person offering help (p.37).

III. S y s te m s and P ro cesses

a. The p ro cess o f th e sy s te m

I th in k w h a t is m ost fru stra tin g fo r m e is w h e n yo u ca n 't do anyth ing to help a client because the p ro c ess g e ts in the w a y .

Five of th e p a rtic ip a n ts spoke in de ta il a b o u t w hat it m e a n t to have

a n u n su c c e ss fu l s itu a tio n or a m o m en t w hen th ey were ch a llen g ed to th e

po in t of fru s tra tio n . In m o st in s ta n c e s th ey did n o t m en tio n th e

ind iv idua ls’ o r com m unity m em b ers’ ac tio n s or responsib ilitie s in th e

failure. W hat w as ta lk ed a b o u t w as th e specific b a rr ie rs in th e

m ain stream system a n d th e in te rru p tio n s in healing th a t w ere c a u se d by

the system . For exam ple, som e w orkers interview ed w orked a t one p o in t

w ith com m unity m em bers w ho w ere a lso engaged w ith th e p rov incia l

h e a lth care system o r th e C h ild ren ’s Aid Society. W hat m a d e th e ir w ork

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difficult w as try ing to connec t th e ir agency’s w ay of w ork ing w ith th e

m a in s trea m one.

B ecause I recognize th a t certain p ro cess is a part o f th e dom in a n t s y s te m I u n d ersta n d w h a t is happening. I really believe th a t being involved in the circle o f care p ro cess th a t w e are trying and , th a t th e dom inant sy s te m acknow ledges th a t th ey have been doing th in g s w rong and the w a y they have been treating fa m ilie s is no d ifferen t th a n residentia l school it's j u s t the continuation o f colonization, a n d sa y in g no w onder th is is happening. I really believe th ey are trying.

O ne w orker from each of th e th re e u rb a n A boriginal c u ltu ra l

com m unities believed th a t th e m a in s tre a m agencies w ere b eg in n in g to

becom e aw are of th e ir m is ta k es w hen it cam e to w orking w ith d iverse

g roups in p a rticu la r, F irs t N ations, M etis a n d Inu it g ro u p s . All of th e

w orkers interview ed believed th a t a t th is po in t in tim e A boriginal a n d

m a in s trea m o rgan izations still have to find a w ay to w ork to g e th er. The

exam ple of th e Circle of C are is a new p ro ce ss th a t c re a te s a lia ison

system betw een th e two d ifferent k in d s of. agencies, A boriginal a n d

m ain stream , in th is case th e ch ild w elfare system . T h is m odel is a

collaborative prac tice in p lan n in g a n d decision-m aking w ith In u it, M etis

a n d F irs t Nation fam ilies involved w ith ch ild welfare serv ices in O ttaw a.

The child welfare sy stem h a s acknow ledged th a t th e re is a n obv ious

problem w ith p rev ious w ays of w ork ing w ith the u r b a n A boriginal

com m unity in O ttaw a. T h u s, th e C ircle of C are is a sp a ce w here th e

Aboriginal worldview a n d fam ily s tru c tu re a re considered d u rin g th e tim e

th e child or fam ily is involved w ith th e C h ild ren ’s Aid Society. The Circle

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p u ts Aboriginal w orkers r ig h t in th e p ro cess sim ila r to w h a t m a in s tre a m

agencies w ould call a c u ltu ra l lia ison . Som e of th e w ays th is is do n e is

th ro u g h u s in g A boriginal m eth o d s of reso lu tion for exam ple one

p a rtic ip an t ta lked a b o u t hav ing all th e w orkers inc lu d in g th e ch ild

pro tec tion w orkers from th e C h ild ren ’s Aid Society be in a h ea lin g circle

w ith th e fam ily m em bers.

In som e of th e in terv iew s th e p a rtic ip a n ts to ld s to rie s a b o u t

specific s tru c tu ra l b a rrie rs su c h a s , rac ism , p u b lic tra n sp o rta tio n o r la c k

of a child care system a n d how th e se s tru c tu ra l b a rr ie rs a long w ith

hav ing is su e s in m en ta l h e a lth w ould m ak e it even h a rd e r to nav iga te th e

p ro cess to healing . The p a rtic ip a n t in th is case believed th a t th e p ro ce ss

w as le ss d a u n tin g b e ca u se th ey w ere ab le to accom pany th e ir co m m u n ity

m em ber.

M ental hea lth is a barrier in term s o f their racial iden tity , in term s o f accessing service, th ey n e ed to fe e l com fortable accessing service, so m e peop le have a real hard tim e advocating fo r their own n e e d s or th e y j u s t c a n ’t s a y w h a t th ey need because o f trust to a m ainstream p e rso n so th e y j u s t need som eone like m e to m a k e th a t call to explain w h a t it is th e y need. Som e barriers are transportation, child care w hen accessin g th e se services. I f I can go w ith th em fo r exam ple to CAS and m a k e th em fe e l more comfortable, th en I really en joy doing tha t fo r them.

The only th in g w orse for th e w orker th a n having a n o u ts id e sy s tem

a n d p ro cess sta ll th e ir com m un ity m em b er’s p rogress is w h en th e

com m unity m em ber c a n n o t u n d e rs ta n d w hy it is h a p p en in g , b u t th e

w orker does. On th e one h a n d com m un ity m em bers see how qu ick ly a n d

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easily th e A boriginal w orker can nav iga te th ro u g h the d o m in a n t sy s tem

an d w ork w ith th e m a in s tre a m w orkers. O n the o th e r h a n d th e

com m unity m em ber h a s n o t experienced th is kind of su c c e ss in a

m a in s trea m agency. T his difference betw een th e w orker’s a n d co m m u n ity

m em ber’s experience of th e m a in s tre a m system would often lead to t r u s t

issu e s betw een th e w orker a n d th e co m m u n ity m em ber o r it led to

fam ilies a n d c lien ts giving u p .

You have to ge t fru s tra te d w ith th e s y s te m because tim e a n d tim e again it s e ts u s up to fa il. H aving to go from agency to agency I w ou ld im agine is fru stra ting fro m both s ides .

T here w ere c o u n tle ss exam ples given by the p a r t ic ip a n ts a b o u t

having to be involved w ith m ore th a n one agency in o rd e r to ga in th e

healing th ey needed . T his m ay be sim ila r to th e experience a c lien t h a s in

a m a in s trea m o rgan ization how ever, for th e com m unity th e lac k of

holism w ith in th e agencies goes a g a in s t th e ir worldview on th e h ea lin g

process. For d ecad es Ind igenous g ro u p s have told m a in s tre a m society

an d th e v a rio u s governm ent sy s tem s th a t th ey them selves know w h a t

they need to re s to re a n d b e tte r th e ir social, econom ic, m en ta l a n d

physical h e a lth realities. In m y ow n p rac tice I also s tru g g led w ith th e

“h o t po tatoeing” of c lien t is su e s a n d of th e lack of in teg ra ted serv ices in

m a in s trea m agencies. O ne re a so n for th is is the la c k of re so u rc e s

available a t p a rtic u la r o rgan iza tions. Som etim es it is sim ply rac ism , in

th a t m a in s trea m o rgan iza tions do n o t w an t to deal w ith th e “u rb a n

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Aboriginal prob lem ” o r w an t to tak e co n tro l a n d rescue A boriginal people.

W hen I am m ost fru s tra te d it is u su a lly because the client n e e d s multiple services an d the m ultiple serv ices d o n ’t s e e eye to eye . I f y o u h a ve been w orking w ith a fa m ily a nd you have k n o w n them fo r yea rs , yo u w ere at the birth o f their child, then th a t child got apprehended a n d th en the fa m ily is required to do extra work. The C AS w orker w a lk s in a n d g ives them com pletely d ifferen t info then w h a t w e ha ve been giving th em ex) co- sleeping. It creates hostility b e tw een organizations, b e tw e en u s a n d the client. I kn o w our fu n d e r s w a n t to kn o w how th e y are being he lped a n d are w e giving them th e right referral, bu t a t the e n d o f the d a y I d o n ’t care i f it’s here or som ew here e lse a s long a s w h a t tha t child n e e d s is w h a t th ey are getting.

In a n Ind igenous se tting a ho lis tic ap p ro ach is a lw ays p re fe rred

(Baskin, 2009, H art 1999, H art, 2 0 0 2 , H art 2009 a n d M cKenzie a n d

M orrissette 2003). Im agine th e n if th is is th e system a n d s tru c tu re th a t

you are u se d to a n d you m u s t now engage w ith one th a t y ou perceive

does n o t u n d e rs ta n d th e connec tion be tw een your ow n p h y sica l,

em otional, sp iritu a l a n d m en ta l h e a lth a n d y o u r ability to ra ise y o u r

ch ild ren . It is possib le th is is b e c a u se of th e different v a lu e s p laced on

p a re n tin g a n d on healing in m a in s trea m organ izations, a n d th is is w h a t

Aboriginal w orkers a re p ick ing u p on. A boriginal w orkers w ith sim ila r

c ase s will ap p ro ach th e com m un ity m em b er a n d th e s itu a tio n m ore

holistically ra th e r th a n a s u n co n n ec ted . A no ther exam ple of so m e th in g

th a t I have often found in m y ow n p rac tice is the la c k of in te g ra te d

services a n d th e effect it h a s on o n e ’s ab ility to heal. In som e c a se s a

p a re n t is n o t ab le to w ork b e ca u se th e ch ild welfare sy s tem h a s

m an d a te d th em to a tte n d a p a re n tin g c la ss in one centre d u rin g th e d ay

a n d an an g er m an ag em en t in a n o th e r cen tre a t an o th e r tim e a n d th e n be

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available to a n access c en tre for superv ised v isits a t th e o th e r e n d of

town. In m any Aboriginal c e n tre s w orkers will try and com bine all of th e

n eed s of p a ren tin g an d h ea lin g to g e th er in one program . T h is w ay a

com m unity m em ber can still go to w ork o r school p lus h e a l in a w ay th a t

com plem ents th e ir belief sy stem , som etim es in th e end th e very sy stem

th a t c la im s to w an t to he lp y o u r fam ily h a s w eakened y o u r ab ility to be

econom ically stab le .

We can still w ork together w hile respecting our m a n d a te s a n d boards. It shou ld not m a tter i f I am Aboriginal or m ainstream , s y s te m integration is im portant a n y p a re n t sh o u ld be able to g e t w h a t th e y n eed fo r their child w ithout having to go to m a n y different sources. The redundancy is ridiculous a n d orgs tha t w o n 't re fer to this one a n d th a t one w o n ’t w ork w ith th is one, sh o u ld not becom e th a t p a re n t’s problem .

M any of th e w orkers in terview ed recognized th a t th e re is v a lu e in

w orking toge ther a s m a in s tre a m a n d A boriginal agencies, a n d th a t it is

possib le to try an d c rea te a ho listic system for th e ir sh a re d c lien t. It is

in te res tin g for fu tu re s tu d y to u n d e rs ta n d b e tte r w hat in te g ra te d sy s te m s

an d p ro cesses m ean to e ac h o th e r a n d w h e th e r there is ev idence th a t

in teg ra ted services a re indeed helpfu l. However the m essag e in th e

interview s w as m ore a b o u t hav ing serv ices th a t a u s e r c a n easily

nav igate an d th a t a re less d isjo in ted ra th e r th a n a one s to p shop . It

a p p ea rs th a t for A boriginal w orkers m o st com m unity m em b ers u su a lly

end u p receiving m an y serv ices from one location . W orkers believe th a t ,

by com bining services, b o u n d a rie s w ould w eaken to som e e x te n t a n d

b o th m a in stream a n d A boriginal o rgan iza tions would be ab le to w ork

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together be tte r. Social w ork ap p ro a ch e s , su c h as r is k a s se s s m e n ts ,

w ould be m ore acc u ra te if each o rgan iza tion could c o m m u n ica te a n d

refer m ore seam lessly .

IV. R acisma. th e ex p er ien ce o f id e n tity racism

So i f I had grow n up w ith the life in O ttaw a bu t m in u s th a t connection I d o n ’t th ink I w ould be or do the position ju s tic e i t’s hard enough fro m m e tha t peop le have to hear m y s to ry before th ey tru s t m e unlike som eone w ho is visib ly Aboriginal th ey w ill trust th a t p e rso n ligh t aw ay, th is could be dangerous because th a t p e rso n might no t k n o w w here the client is coming from . Its racism bu t it is unavoidable. T he p eo p le w h o d o n ’t m a ke those a ssu m p tio n s are th e p eop le w h o have b een exp o se d to cerem ony a n d to our culture an d I f in d th a t i f I m eet an e ld er or som eone w ho is on th a t p a th th ey can s e e right a w a y th e y don’t m a k e ju d g e m e n ts right aw ay , bu t som eone w ho h a s h a d a hurtfu l or difficult experience w ith m ainstream w estern society m ay. I th in k it is a fo rm o f racism th a t w e all have it is unavoidable.

Q u estio n s 7 a n d 8 in th e in terview schedule fo cu sed on self-

iden tity an d being Aboriginal. T hese q u e s tio n s yielded d isc u ss io n a n d

acc o u n ts of different experiences of rac ism . E xperiences of p a r tic u la r

in te re s t a re th e ones w here th e w orker-com m un ity m em ber re la tio n sh ip

d isp lays or e n co u n te rs ten s io n b a sed on perceived rac ia l iden tity . It is

n o t su rp ris in g th a t rac ism ex is ts am o n g st Aboriginal people , s in ce we

have d iscu ssed a lready how rac ism a g a in s t Aboriginal peop les is

en tren ch ed in C an ad a ’s in s titu tio n s , for exam ple the schoo l sy s tem s. It

follows th a t Aboriginal people have lea rn ed to be rac is t to w ard e ac h o th e r

b ased on th e system th a t h a s o p p ressed them ; it is a n effect of

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colonization. Also th e re have been m an y o th e r ste reo types th a t a re

affecting Aboriginal w orkers, su c h a s rac ia l essen tia lism .

The idea th a t in o rd er to be accep ted a s A boriginal w ith in th e g roup you

m u s t have p a rtic u la r biological c h a ra c te ris tic s is an o th e r exam ple w here

th e views of th e d o m in an t society have over shadow ed th e In d ig en o u s

one.

I a sk e d the teacher to fill ou t an eva lua tion form a fte r w e w ere done. One o f the questions is “i f there is an Inuit child in y o u r c la ss d id th a t presen ta tion help th a t child?” a n d the teacher w rote I do n 't h a ve a n y Inu it s tu d e n ts in m y class. A fte r the Inuit child had d one the w ho le p re sen ta tio n the teacher still d id not believe th a t he w a s Inuit. All b eca u se he d o e s n ’t look stereotypically Inuit. The n ex t thing w a s th e teacher a s k e d m e h o w long w e h ad been living in C anada. I j u s t laughed it off; I g e t th is all m y life. I did po in t out th a t teachers shou ld p a y a ttention bu t m o st o f th e tim e th ey u se th is a s a break to do paperw ork , th is teacher on ly s ta r te d to p a y attention once the children w ere in terested , th is is m ost fru stra ting .

W orkers a re a lso dealing w ith rac ism a n d racial e sse n tia lism from

th e o u tside a s well. In th e u rb a n In u it com m un ity a lot of lia ison w ork is

done w ith th e schools. P art of th e ir c u ltu ra l way of h e lp in g is by

becom ing p a r tn e rs a n d allies w ith th e d ifferent n o n -In u it c o m m u n itie s

th a t a re connected to th e com m unity . T his w ould in c lu d e th e school

system especially if th e re a re ch ild ren from th e u rb a n In u it co m m u n ity

a tten d in g . Exclusion of A boriginal ch ild ren in th e public schoo l sy s tem is

a n o th e r form of rac ism a n d n o t u n co m m o n su c h as, n o t acknow ledging

th e ir c u ltu ra l a n d rac ia l u n iq u e n e ss in a positive way. At th is p o in t in

tim e one could a rg u e th a t th e exclusion is n o t a s in ten tio n a l a s in th e

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days of segregated schooling. However th e re is a deep s e n se of aversive

rac ism being experienced by th e w orkers, in th a t th e te a c h e r in th is

exam ple m ay no t exh ib it overt rac ism b u t h a s sim ply avoided in te rac tio n

w ith th e In u it s tu d e n t a n d th e In u it w orkers. T he aversion is b a se d on

“o thering”, th e te a ch e r know s th e s tu d e n t is n ’t like them b u t is n ’t w illing

to acknow ledge th is in a positive way. T he te a c h e r in th is exam ple c a n n o t

really see the p u rp o se of th e w orkers ac tio n s n o t only b e c a u se th e ch ild

d o esn ’t look stereotypically In u it b u t also becau se h e still c a n n o t

recognize th e fact th a t A boriginal people a re n o t foreigners.

There h as been th is k in d o f tension before here “w h a t do you k n o w about th is life”, “w h a t do yo u k n o w abou t living on the re s”. This racism h as affected m y w ork and crea tes barriers. I even fe e l it w ith th e k id s n o w som etim es. That d a y I got called all so rts o f n a m e s “yo u p ro b a b ly n ever sp e n t one d a y on the res in yo u r life” “you 're ju s t a city In d ia n ”. The fa c t tha t it turned to racism is w h y th is is so d issa tisfying , it w a s n 't th e f ir s t tim e I had fe l t it fro m the w o m en before; “w h a t do you k n o w abou t th e situation tha t I ’m in?”.

In o rder to survive th e effects of rac ism th e w orkers h a d d ifferen t

w ays of coping. M uch of th e so lu tio n s tow ard rac ism cam e from w ith in

th e cu ltu re itself. The rac ism experienced by Aboriginal w o rk e rs from th e

Aboriginal com m unity is a form of la te ra l violence or in te rn a lise d

colonization a n d in c lu d es n am e calling, bu lly ing and o th e r d isp lay s of

violence. W hat is o ccu rring is th a t w ith in th e m arginalized g roup itse lf

the oppressed becom e th e o p p resso rs o f them selves a n d o th e rs in th e ir

circle. At tim es, it is relayed in th e in terv iew s th a t th is b eh av io u r w ould

keep positive re la tio n sh ip s a n d tran sfo rm ative change from h ap p en in g .

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Som e A boriginal re sea rch e rs , su c h a s F irs t N ations fem inist Lee M aracle,

have a rgued th a t la tera l violence is a n exp ression of an ti-co lon ia l rage ,

Since “Uncle Willie” s ta r te d giving u s “h u s h m oney”, we have s tepped u p th e cam paign a g a in st ourselves w here th e E u ro p ean s left off. We fight ag a in s t each o ther w ith a fierceness we have n o t show n since fo refa thers’ early res is tan ce . The an g er inside h a s a ccu m u la ted g en era tio n by generation , an d b e ca u se it w as left to decay, it h a s becom e h a tre d . By its very n a tu re , rac ism only p e rm its th e victim ized race to engage in h a tre d am ong its ow n.L ateral violence am ong Native people is a b o u t o u r an ti-colonial rage w orking itse lf o u t in a n expression of h a te for one a n o th e r (1996, p i 1).

In o th e r w ords M aracle m e a n s to say th a t th e h a te is n o t rea l b u t it

is a cover for th e anger th a t we feel a s Ind igenous ind iv idua ls , a n d it is

system ic. Knowing th is , w orkers u se th e ir own trad itio n s in c lu d in g th e

u se of Ind igenous w ays of he lp ing su c h a s k in d n ess a n d love in o rd e r to

persevere in a n Aboriginal a n d an ti-co lon ial approach .

We m ight not have a n M SW bu t w e have skills a n d th e y recognize th a t The university degree h a sn 't really done anything fo r m e. I th in k I w ould have been in th e exac t sa m e position w h e th er I h a d one or n o t B u t I kn o w it's helped m e a t lea st change m y view poin t because I w a s ed u ca ted in the dom inant sy s tem . I g rew up hating m y s e lf and culture once I got here I reclaimed m yself. B eca u se I w e n t to university I try a n d f in d a balance be tw een th a t and m y culture. I th ink I fina lly fo u n d it, b eca u se I u se to ignore m y culture e ve n m y w hite s id e a n d w here I a m n o w I a m ok. E specially th e racism I receive fro m In u k peop le w ho don 't s e e m e a s Inu it because I am urban an d m ixed. I kn o w I a m In u k tha t is j u s t the ir position . I hope I can instill th a t in p eop le here th a t everyone exp resses th e m se lv e s differently. This com es from a stren g th s perspective .

M ost of th e w orkers w ere challenged by overcom ing th e ir ow n

in ternalized rac ism on a positive no te th is is a c lear step to w ard a n a n t i ­

colonial app roach . The w o rk ers all challenged th e ir ow n feelings a b o u t

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feeling a n d being A boriginal in o rd e r to con fron t the in te rn a lized beliefs.

M ost of th em are aw are of th e a d v an tag e they have over o th e rs in th e ir

com m unity . The challenge is to u n p a c k a n d u s e th is in fo rm atio n a s a

w ay to sh ift th e pow er a n d he lp o th e rs in th e ir com m unity realize th e ir

own po ten tial.

I p h ysica lly look Aboriginal a n d the m eeting changes, I have credibility a nd I d o n ’t even have to s a y anyth ing . Most o f th e th ings I got fro m m y culture w ere fro m being around th e com m unity a n d being connected to it. I k n o w though th a t m y experience as a n Inu it is d iffe ren t fro m others and I try a n d teach th is to m a instream people, “w e d o n ’t all ea t raw m eat.

A lot o f peop le d o n ’t th in k I ’m Aboriginal w hen th e y f in d out th en th ey ta ke m e more seriously.

U n d erstan d in g y o u r privilege a s a n Aboriginal social w orker h a s

enab led m an y of th e w orkers to advocate on b eh a lf of th e ir com m unity .

Privilege is d u e to v a rio u s fac to rs one of w hich can be a socia l w ork

ed u ca tio n back g ro u n d coup led w ith th e realization th a t you a re

benefitting from th e o th e r d isa d v an tag e s of o th e rs . The A boriginal w orker

sees th ese d isad v an tag es a s a w ay to seek b a la n ce in socie ty a n d re s to re

th e role of Aboriginal co m m u n ities in C a n a d a a n d not a d u ty to re scu e .

V. Aboriginal S oc ia l S erv ice W orkers u se o f In d igen ou s K now ledge

T h roughou t th e th e s is th e concep t of Ind igenous w ays of know ing

a n d help ing have been d isc u sse d a s w ays in w hich a w ork e r c a n re s is t

th e d o m in an t system . Ind igenous know ledge is not a co n cep t th a t is

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un ifo rm or pan-A boriginal in C a n ad a (S h a h jah a n , 2005). H a rt (2010)

a n d McKenzie & M orrissette (2003) affirm th a t th e re is a c lose co n n ec tio n

betw een Ind igenous worldview s a n d In d ig en o u s knowledge. T h is w as

evident in th e interview s, m an y p a rtic ip a n ts to ld stories in w h ich th ey

spoke a b o u t trad itio n a l n o rm s a n d social v a lu es th a t h e lped th e m w ork

th ro u g h a problem or m ake sen se of a com m un ity m em b er’s s itu a tio n .

W hen ask ed a b o u t th e case s tu d y o n e of th e p a r tic ip a n ts ta lk ed

specifically ab o u t u s in g som e of th is know ledge ra th e r th a n calling on

m a in s trea m tools. T his A boriginal w orker believes th a t by u s in g

trad itio n a l knowledge - su c h a s d ru m -m a k in g or c ra fts - in a circle

se tting will w ork b e tte r th a n sen d in g W a n d a ’ to a program .

In the urban Aboriginal com m unity there are zero su p p o rts fo r yo u n g Aboriginal mothers, its e ither you th , adu lts , children a n d sen io rs a n d m others not young Aboriginal m om s (because o f fu n d in g issues). You w ould be pu tting the girl in a situa tion w here sh e is isolated; s h e w ill either fe e l left out because s h e can 't p a r ta k e w ith the other y o u th or m a y b e le ss comfortable w ith a d u lts a n d o ther m om s because s h e is younger. There is a gap. So w e m a ke u p fo r it. There are things s h e can do: d rum m aking, more even ts a nd structured things, like craft w h ere yo u are fo c u se d more on the ta s k ra ther th a n th e p e e r or social se tting . M ost o f th ese e ven ts have childcare.

In th is case th e p a rtic ip a n t even re la ted b a c k to h e r ow n

experiences a n d how sh e u se d h e r own sm all piece o f In d ig en o u s

know ledge to find h e r w ay o u t of h e r ow n oppression a n d m ove from th e

m a in s trea m system to a n u rb a n A boriginal one. She a lso acknow ledges

th a t being w ith h e r own com m un ity em pow ered her. S h e felt sh e knew

w h a t she needed a n d rem em bered h e r co nnec tion to In d ig en o u s v a lu es .

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With all o f our s tree t y o u th serv ices YSB (Youth Services Bureau), OGH (O ttawa General Hospital), it w a s over tw o years on th e s tre e t th a t I learned, there w ere Aboriginal on es an d tha t w a s only b eca u se som eone cam e to a drop in to do a little p o w w o w . A n d th en I k n ew th a t th e y w ere there I had no idea, even w h e n I have lived here since I w a s 4 y e a rs old. E ventually w h en I w a s 18 a n d expecting m y f ir s t child I rem em ber th a t p o w w o w a nd I rem em bered m eeting th a t w orker, and running into m y cousin. So I w e n t to the fr ien d sh ip centre a nd I told th em I w a n te d a n Aboriginal doctor a n d tha t I w a n te d p ren a ta l c la sses, it w a s good to k n o w tha t th ey w ere there.

The exam ple below is a lso in reg a rd s to W an d a ’ th e y o u n g Ojibwe

m o th e r in th e case study . T he p a rtic ip a n ts ta lk abou t u s in g In d ig en o u s

w ays of help ing w here th e v a lu es of ho lism a n d u s e of c u ltu ra lly specific

p rog ram s su c h a s , A boriginal H ealthy B ab ies H ealthy C h ild ren (AHBHC),

a p rogram sim ilar to th e City ru n H ealthy B abies H ealthy C h ild ren

(HBHC), except th e n u rs e s a n d social w orkers are all A boriginal a n d

prom ote Aboriginal values.

I f I k n e w more about her, i f sh e u se d in th e p a s t th en I w ou ld ha ve p u t more supports in p lace fo r her, m ore th ings to m a in ta in a h ea lth y lifestyle. I w ould have p u t more supports in p la ce tha t w ere holistic in perspective because sh e se e m e d to ta k e good care o f h e rse lf during pregnancy. This is a typical scenario I d o n 't like that it a p p ea rs to read negatively th a t sh e is 17 w h e n I ha ve s e e n yo u n g er girls p a re n t well. A lso the po in t about her being urban Aboriginal appears to read a s i f it is a risk factor. I am not sure i f there is a need to call in a C AS (C hildren 's A id Society) or a social w orker right a w a y sh e ha s support there w ith her, also th ey shou ld also give her the option o f AH BH C (Aboriginal H ealthy B ab ies H ealthy Children) since it is a lso available in th e urban setting . W hy is it n ecessary to label her a t all? 1 7 shou ld be s e e n as a n age w h ere it is possib le to support not a s a negative.

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Holism com es u p in m any of th e in terv iew s a s a p a rt of th e In d ig en o u s

W orldview an d th e Aboriginal way of doing th ings.

W hat w a s m ost sa tis fy in g w a s th e combination o f see in g her quit sm oking and seeing both s y s te m s w ork together to help a n A boriginal w om an. B u t m ost o f all to have her m a k e a com plete change holistically, a n d learned more about her culture sh e m ade a 3 6 0 degree turn around inside an d outside. She now had to try a nd g e t o ff th e ‘s y s te m ’ s h e w a n ted som eth ing to get up fo r in the morning. She w a s e ve n able to decrease her depression medication; th is h a s all been very rew arding.

I fe e l coming fro m a n Aboriginal background, w ith in a m a instream life, off-reserve, brought u p in a w h ite culture a s well. I a lso h a v e a connection to the reserve life. I can naviga te bo th sides, th e w h ite s y s te m a nd the Aboriginal one. W orking in a n Aboriginal health cen tre a n d being Aboriginal I se e how w e really have a holistic approach in w h a t w e do, w e d o n ’t ju s t se e one thing w e ha ve to en co m p a ss everyth ing in all th a t w e do. That is not a lw a ys the w a y in social w ork a n d especially m a instream social work.

M any p a rtic ip a n ts felt like th e case s tu d y scenario a b o u t W a n d a ’ w as

very realistic b u t it d em o n s tra ted th e fact th a t m a in s trea m o rg an iza tio n s

do no t tak e th e tim e to co n n ec t w ith th e ir c lien ts.

This is a typical scenario to me. I w o u ld n ’t have a d vo ca ted to the CAS w orker tha t sh e got involved w ith traditional or com m unity organization because m ainstream h ea lth y b a b ies is fa n ta s tic b u t fo r m y com m unity it is very different. AHBHC d o e s n ’t have a checklis t like the m ainstream one ask ing how m uch m oney you m ake, h o w m u ch schooling w hich is m anda ted by the City to develop a p la n o f care. W e go in to th e hom es a nd ta lk a nd sh a re together a n d develop a p lan o f care together, w hich is a lm ost com pletely opposite to w h a t is happening here.

A s fa r a s her being high risk I can se e it happening to all 1 7 y e a r olds, bu t th ey a ren ’t considering all her fa m ily su p p o rts w h ich are traditional supports fo r us. S h e h a s realistic p la n a lready w ith h e a lth y choices w here sh e p u ts her child first.

A t our organizations w e have the tim e to ta k e care a n d becom e m ore connected a nd involved w ith our clients a nd com m unity. W e u n d e rs ta n d

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w h a t is happening to our clients beca u se o f th is tim e w e take . W e s it a n d m eet about h e r / their care a s a group.

The p a rtic ip a n ts all gave exam ples a b o u t th e im p o rtan c e of

in te rgenera tiona l know ledge a s be ing a p a r t of th e healing p ro c e ss a n d

em bedded in th e Ind igenous w ays of he lp ing a n d knowing. E ith e r th ey

feel th a t it is th e ir responsib ility a s A boriginal service p ro v id ers to c re a te

a circle th a t in c lu d es all ages, E lders a n d th e young, o r u s e th e c irc le to

p a ss dow n Ind igenous Knowledge. Along w ith in te rg en era tio n a l v a lu e s

th e p a rtic ip a n ts ta lk a b o u t th e im portance of connecting c o m m u n ity

m em bers to services w here th e A boriginal w ay of do ing th in g s is

su p p o rted a n d prom oted . In O ttaw a, serv ices su c h a s d iversion

p rog ram s, Aboriginal H ealthy B ab ies H ealthy C hildren (AHBHC) a n d

p rog ram s facilitated by o th e r A boriginal people a re cited.

I have seen th is before w ith even younger girls. W hat f ir s t com es to m ind is th a t w h en th is happened in our centre so m any w o rkers sa id “oh I w ish I could ju s t ta ke her hom e” bu t a n d I w ish I could ra ise her a n d her baby. B u t in th is situation the supports are clearly in p lace. I d o n ’t k n o w m uch about the HBHC (H ealthy B a b ies H ea lthy Children) p rogram I a ssu m e sh e g e ts v isits fro m to her home. There are obviously A boriginal resources right here in O ttaw a in p la ce a lready, Perinatal p ro g ra m s a t our centre a nd exposure to the cultural approaches a n d traditional approaches to therapy w hich I th ink are obviously extrem ely important. That sh o u ld have defin ite ly an option I d o n ’t th in k tha t should h a ve e ve n been questioned, especially w h e n you are Aboriginal. For exa m p le the ju s tic e s y s te m shou ld refer our y o u th to our d iversion program s in s te a d o f right to som ew here like the boys a n d girls club w h ich th en has to re fer ba ck to u s a n yw a y . They shou ld recognize th a t th e y are Aboriginal so th a t th a t perso n do es not have to go through their story over and over again, until th ey agree tha t the Aboriginal program is the p lace fo r them . E specia lly w h en th ey have a client w ho clearly h a s a direct connection to a p h y s ic a l com m unity a nd not ju s t “oh m y grea t g randm other w a s A borig inal”. This girl is obviously connected to her culture; I d o n ’t th ink yo u w o u ld f in d th is

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sa m e sort o f intergenerational traditional support s y s te m w ith a m ainstream fa m ily like in th is exam ple. Recognizing that su p p o rt a n d th a t there are more culturally appropriate w a y , a nd g ive her th e benefit o f the doubt to in recognizing tha t fa m ily s ta r ted early in life is a va lue a n d not ju s t som e m ista ke tha t happened . Som e girls m ake th is choice; large fam ilies early on and get an education later, th is is com pletely acceptable in stead o f treating them like th ey c a n ’t h a n d le a baby. In s te a d s a y “congratulations you are starting a fa m ily , how ca n we su p p o rt y o u ”.

The value p laced u p o n in te rg en era tio n a l know ledge is a p p a re n t

even for m an y of th e w orkers them se lves n o t j u s t for th e co m m u n ity

m em b ers’ healing p lan s . O ne p a rtic ip a n t sp eak s a b o u t th e Seven

G ran d fa th er T eachings, (wisdom , love, re sp ec t, co u rag e , h o n esty ,

hum ility an d tru th ), a n d th e tea ch in g s of th e ‘circle’. T he p a rtic ip a n t

exp la ins th a t it w as h e r ow n G ran d m o th e r w ho gave h e r th is know ledge

in order for h e r to p a s s dow n to o th ers .

My grandm other h a s a d eep nostalgic respect fo r our culture, a s 100% Algonquin, her a nd her w hole fa m ily w ere tricked o f f th e reserve, a n Indian agent tricked her fa th e r into signing docum ents sa y in g th a t th e y w ere not N ative a n d he could not read E nglish he though t it w a s fo r hunting rights. B u t fo r m y great-grandm other sh e knew h er language a n d culture. Our fa m ily is a su c c e ss s to ry because th e governm ent w a n te d to ta ke the Ind ian out o f our fa m ily a n d d id not succeed; it is in m y heart it is there a n d in th a t w a y I w ou ld a lw a y s learn a s m uch a s I could s o a k up. I go to cerem onies all across the country a n d m y n e w teachers are not m y relatives but th ey are still m e fa m ily . So w h e n I decided to go into the social w ork se tting it w a s really obvious tha t I w an ted to w o rk in a n Aboriginal se tting because to m e social w ork is so m ainstream a n d so cu t an d dry, y e s or no bu t w h en you can p u t it into a circle con tex t espec ia lly here in C anada or a nyw here around the w orld a n d use th o se va lues o f th e Seven G randfather Teachings listen in a good w a y it se em s to be a na tura l w a y to problem solve. It fe e ls like you are going w ith the f lo w o f th e river rather than aga inst it.

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Reid (2009) ag rees th a t th e Ind igenous helper o r social w orker

lea rn s from th e g en era tio n s th a t cam e before a n d th a t , th ey , th e n e x t

generation p a sse s th a t know ledge or ‘te a c h in g ’ th ro u g h th e w orker-

com m unity re la tio n sh ip to th e n ex t g en era tio n an d so on. O ne

p a rtic ip an t exp la ins in th e in terview th a t som etim es th e fu n d e rs c a n p u t

a n age res tric tio n on th e ir p ro g ram s w hich is p rob lem atic b e c a u se

Aboriginal people do no t alw ays fit in to m a in s tre a m defin itions in re g a rd s

to age a n d developm ent. A boriginal co m m u n ities va lue th e collective

s tru c tu re a n d often inc lude all ages a n d s tag es o f developm ent to fo ste r

healing.

M ainly Native y o u th 13 to 18 bu t I also se rv e the yo u n g er children; I am not restricted by ages th a t are desig n a ted b y the fu n d e r s . W hich is good fo r m e because th is the more Aboriginal w a y o f doing th in g s a n y w a y .

Along w ith a va lue p laced over he lp ing people of all ages in a

collective se ttin g th e A boriginal service prov iders interview ed felt s trong ly

th a t com m unity could in c lude m an y people in th e circle n o t j u s t only

Aboriginal people. It depended on th e con tex t b u t som etim es th e circle

n eed s to inc lude m ore th a n ju s t th e A boriginal m em bers to c re a te a

healing a tm o sp h ere . In s tead it m u s t inc lude everyone w ho h a s h a d a

h a n d in th e healing or been a p a r t of th e in d iv id u a l’s jo u rn ey , once ag a in

re ite ra tin g th a t th e ind iv idual is seen in th e con tex t of fam ily, th e local

com m unity o r th e collective a n d n o t j u s t in isolation (H art, 2 0 1 0 8 s

S h a h jah a n , 2005).

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E ssen tia lly I w ould s a y i t’s the Inuit com m unity o f O ttaw a, bu t really it is more than that. It can be som eone w h o has a n In u k child w h o does not have their In u k p a rtn er anym ore. It is all the peop le connected to th is com m unity m ainstream included. It could be the m a in strea m w o rker even tha t calls m e fo r information. M y fu n d e r w ould s a y w e are to se rv e Inuit children. B u t children d o n ’t com e on their o w n they are connected to a fam ily , tha t fa m ily is connected to a k in sh ip o f grandparents, uncles, aunties, cousins or m a yb e no t even a blood relation, they are connected to a com m unity. I f you have a n in terest in one o f our children’s lives th en yo u are a p a r t o f it (our community).

Ind igenous w ays of he lp ing are im p o rta n t to A boriginal service

providers. M any of th em sp e ak a b o u t giving b a c k to o u r co m m u n ity a n d

being a p a r t of th e healing jo u rn ey . The Aboriginal social service

w orkers interview ed all d isc u sse d th e p ro cess th a t th e y go th ro u g h to

u n d e rs ta n d th e ir own Ind igenous w ays of know ing w ith th e m a in s tre a m

social w ork know ledge th ey have. N egotiating a n d tra n s la tin g b o th th e

trad itiona l a n d th e m a in s tre a m w ays c o n tin u e to be a challenge b u t a re

all believed to be n ecessa ry in o rd er to w eaken th e harm th a t th e p ro c e ss

of colonization h a s done to th e u rb a n A boriginal com m unity . Reid (2009)

a rg u es th a t w hen a n In d igenous w orker n eg o tia te s the m a in s tre a m a n d

trad itiona l sy s tem s th e Ind igenous social w orkers are c u rren tly , “in th e

p rocess of defining how th e ir trad itio n a l va lues, beliefs a n d a p p ro a c h e s

to help ing apply w ith in th e v a rio u s social w ork a re a s” (p.203). In d ig en o u s

social w orkers have to w ork w ith in m a in s trea m law s a n d to som e e x te n t

w ith in th e d o m inan t sy s te m s’ v a lu e s a n d p rac tices . How ever, by u s in g

Ind igenous knowledge th ey advocate for th e c u ltu ra l and h u m a n r ig h ts of

th e ir Ind igenous com m unity . As m en tioned before, th e re is no p a n -

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Aboriginal ap p ro ach an d a s we see in th e interview s all of th e w o rk e rs

h a d a different perspective on th e ir rac ia l or c u ltu ra l id en tity a n d how it

helped th em work, w ith th e ir u rb a n com m unity . As th e v a rio u s w orkers

told th e ir s to ries m any of th em m en tioned th e d ifferent c u ltu ra l or

trad itio n a l tools th ey w ould u se w hen w orking, th e y lis ted sim ple

protocols su c h as: offering food a t all g roup m eetings, hav in g tra d itio n a l

ea ting u te n s ils available a t feasts , m ak ing u se of Aboriginal sp a c e s like

th e C edar Lodge or W om an’s Lodge for sess io n s , and m ak in g su re th e re

w ere E lders, w isdom keepers o r trad itio n a l te a c h e rs availab le o r p re s e n t

d u rin g program s. A lthough th e re m ay be differences in th e w ays th e se

eight w orkers u n d e rs ta n d a n d u se th e ir Ind igenous know ledge th e y all

conveyed th e sam e m essage: th ey all w ish to be a p a r t of c re a tin g a n d

su s ta in in g a h ea lth y u rb a n A boriginal com m un ity in w hich th ey a re a

p a r t of a n d can p a ss on th e re s is tan c e a n d resiliency of th e ir a n c e s to rs

an d re la tions.

I have honestly only w orked a t N ative organizations, a n d I p robab ly w o u ld n ’t w ork a nyw here else. It is im portant to help my peop le , m y peop le are im portant to m e a nd th a t’s w here I w ould like to be right now . I f I could be a p a r t o f one p e rso n ’s or a couple p eo p les healing jo u rn e y right n o w then that is w h a t I w a n t to do.

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CHAPTER FIVE: C on clu sion s an d R ecom m en d ation s

T hrough th e re se a rc h in th is th e s is I w as able to iden tify th e

s tre n g th s a n d w eak n esses of th e A boriginal front-line w orker. In

p a rticu la r, I uncovered how th ey d e co n s tru c t th e w ays th e effects of

colonization have on th e w ays th ey c a red for th e ir com m un ity . W ith in

th is d eco n stru c tio n th e re w ere te n s io n s p re se n t b e tw een w h a t th e

Ind igenous w ays of know ing is co m p ared to o r in co n tra s t to m a in s tre a m

beliefs o r ap p ro ach es. The In d ig en o u s w ays of know ing p re se n te d

them selves anti-colonially th ro u g h d ifferen t ideas a n d a p p ro a c h e s

a ro u n d connec tions, b o u n d a rie s , sh a re d experiences, p ro c e sse s a n d

experiences of rac ism or la te ra l violence. Som etim es th is is a c o n sc io u s

decision m ade by th e w orker to em ploy a n anti-co lon ial a p p ro a c h

th ro u g h th e Ind igenous w ay of he lp ing a n d som etim es n o t. T he m o st

a p p a re n t em p h asis of an ti-co lon ial a p p ro a ch e s is the focus A boriginal

w orkers have on th e com m unity . The com m unity a n d i ts m em b ers

rep re se n t w h a t w ould have b een s im ila r to a clan sy s tem o r fam ily

system before colonization w orked to w eaken th a t sy stem (Bopp e t al,

1984, H u n te r e t al., 2006 & McKenzie a n d M orrissette , 2003).

A boriginal w o rk e rs’ u se of th e pow er of th e collective a n d th e tra d itio n a l

va lues of th e com m unity u ltim ate ly c rea te pow er and re la tio n sh ip s th a t

help re s is t th e effects of colonialism . U ltim ately it was th e ir beliefs a n d

love for th e ir com m unity th a t reflect th e w ay the w o rk e rs u s e a n ti-

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colonial app roaches.

The u rb a n A boriginal O ttaw a popu la tion a n d th e g en era l

Aboriginal popu la tion in C a n a d a a re growing, m ean ing th e re will b e a

need for m ore access to u rb a n social services. It is im pera tive th a t

Aboriginal service p roviders co n sid er an ti-co lon ial practice a s a n ongoing

ap p ro ach while caring for th e A boriginal com m unity . W ith in th e la s t five

y ears th e Aboriginal p o p u la tio n in C a n ad a h a s grown by 22% (S ta tis tic s

C an ad a , 2008). O ne of th e fa s te s t grow ing u rb a n Aboriginal p o p u la tio n s

is in th e na tio n a l cap ita l w hich a lso h o u se s th e largest In u it p o p u la tio n

ou tside of th e N orthern te rrito rie s (S ta tistics C anada , 2008). P a rticu la rly

w ith resp ec t to th is th e s is it is a p p a re n t th a t an ti-co lon ial a p p ro a c h e s to

th e In u it popu la tion are a m e a n s to co n tin u e th e ir ow n w ay of ca rin g

w hich ex ten d s to anyone connec ted to th e ir env ironm ent, peop le a n d

cu ltu re .

Aboriginal people in C a n a d a do n o t sh a re th e sam e q u a lity of life

a s th e ir non-A boriginal c o u n te rp a r ts a n d th e re is a long p ro c e ss a h e a d

for activ ists , advocates a n d social w orkers to rectify th is . How ever, th e

Aboriginal com m unity of O ttaw a is aw are of w h a t services th ey n eed in

o rder to do th is . The s tru c tu ra l c a u se s of inequality in c lu d in g system ic

rac ism , poverty, a n d in ad e q u a te econom ic, social a n d c u ltu ra l

o p p o rtu n itie s all co n trib u te to th e social d isparities th a t A boriginal

people experience. C om pliance w ith th e n o n -trad itio n a l m a in s tre a m

m eth o d s of social w ork is n o t possib le for Aboriginal people w ith o u t

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b reak in g dow n th e m u ltip le r isk s th ey experience. T h is is w hy a n t i ­

colonial ap p ro ach es c an reaffirm th e ir own w ays of h e lp in g a n d caring .

A nti-colonial ap p ro ach es u se d by A boriginal social w orkers b re a k dow n

th e m any r isk s th a t th e co m m u n ity m ay experience a n d re -a ffirm s th e

s tre n g th s of th e com m un ity a s a w ay to re s is t th e ongoing in fluence of

colonization.

R esearchers agree th a t th e re is a c lear n eed for A borig inal people

to reclaim th e ir c u ltu re a s p a r t of th e hea ling p rocess (H art, 2 0 1 0 ,

S h a h jah a n , 2005 , McKenzie & M orrissette 2003 a n d Reid 2010). Policies

th a t consider th e collective a n d special political a n d social c irc u m s ta n c e s

of Aboriginal people in C an ad a , su c h a s th e h isto rical re la tio n sh ip , wall

also co n trib u te to th e p ro cess of healing . A lthough social serv ices have

im proved a n d developed s ince th e p o s t W orld W ar II period , th e re still

n eed s to be m ore co n sid era tio n of w h a t it m e a n s for A borig inal people

to reclaim th e ir cu ltu re a s p a r t of social a n d econom ic p ro cesses ,

especially in th e p rocess of social policy developm ent. A boriginal people

need far b e tte r access to serv ices on a n d off-reserve th a t reflect th e ir

perspectives on w ellness a n d collectivity in o rd e r to he lp revive th e ir

c u ltu re s an d resto re som e of th e au to n o m y lost th rough co lon iza tion a n d

th ro u g h m ore specific experiences like res id en tia l schooling a n d child

welfare in terven tions.

T here m u s t a lso be m ore co llabora tion b e tw een A boriginal

an d non-A boriginal social serv ices an d sy s tem s a s well a s a c o n sc io u s

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effort by th e A boriginal com m un ity in rec ru itin g and re ta in in g th e ir ow n

social w orkers a n d h ea le rs . The N ational A boriginal H ealth

O rgan ization ’s (2006) re sea rch su g g ests th a t policy m a k e rs o u g h t to

consider a fram ew ork of c u ltu ra l safety w hen developing h e a lth a n d

social p rog ram s in C an ad a . T his could th e n re su lt in b e tte r a c c e ss to

c u ltu ra lly re levan t services a s well a s th e em pow erm ent o f b o th p ro v id ers

an d u se rs .

M ost of th e w orkers interview ed saw th e lack of th e tw o sy s te m s

co llabora ting a s a m ain p rob lem w hen w ork ing w ith th e A boriginal

com m unity . A lthough th ey h a d th e ir ow n w ay to w ork th ro u g h th is

challenge s tru c tu ra lly in o rd e r for social w ork to rem ain p rog ressive th e re

rem a in s a need change th e w ay th a t m a in s tre a m o rg an iza tio n s w ork

w ith th e u rb a n A boriginal ones.

W aterfall (2003) a rg u e s th a t A boriginal experiences c o n tin u e to be

con tro lled by those in pow er a n d th a t even social w orkers have b een

tra in ed by w estern E u ro cen tric u n iv ers itie s w hich have fu r th e r co n fu sed

th e is su e s b ro u g h t on by colonialism . Aboriginal people hav e th e

p o ten tia l to have agency th ro u g h th e ir ow n lives and s tru c tu ra l social

w ork can be a m ea n s to en ab le th is by inco rp o ra tin g In d ig en o u s w ays of

he lp ing w ith th e p rac tice. S tru c tu ra l social w ork will h e lp prov ide th e

w orker an d com m unity m em ber fill a gap in u n d e rs ta n d in g th e ir ow n

p erso n a l s itu a tio n a n d its lin k to s tru c tu re s w ith the tra d itio n a l w ays of

helping. T his can provide a vehicle tow ard healing. A c ru c ia l s te p in

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applying a n an ti-co lon ial a p p ro a ch to p rac tice is first to acknow ledge th e

colonial p rocesses in h e re n t in m a in s trea m social w ork a n d seco n d to

acknow ledge th a t all d isco u rse a n d m o s t social work c u rr ic u lu m a re

co n stru c ted w ith in th e con tex t of colonial re la tio n s (Dei 8 s A sgharzadeh ,

2001 an d W aterfall, 2003). U sing oppositiona l pa rad igm s b a se d on th e

validity of Ind igenous know ledge a n d th u s incorpora ting it in to everyday

p rac tice w ith A boriginal c lien ts is p rogressive a n d n ecessa ry for e th ica l

p rac tice a s a s tru c tu ra l social w orker. U n d erstan d in g c u ltu ra l fram es of

reference a n d analyzing sy s tem s th ro u g h th e lens of In d ig en o u s

know ledge m ea n s w orking w ith in a n an ti-co lon ia l, d iscursive fram ew ork

(Dei & A sgharzadeh , 2001).

M organ (2003) in S incla ir e t al. (2009) ex p la in s th a t o u r

Ind igenous w ays, th o u g h ts , beliefs, a p p ro a ch e s a n d p ra c tic e s a re

m arginalized d u e to neg lect o r th ro u g h the direct effect of co lonial-

in fluenced w ritings a b o u t o u r w ay of he lp ing a n d in tu r n a s A boriginal

w orkers we have little choice b u t som etim es to p a rtic ip a te fully in th is

m arginalization . Therefore, in reg a rd s to Aboriginal o r rac ia lized social

w orkers a n d e d u ca to rs , actively res is tin g colonial p a rad igm s a n d align ing

them selves w ith an ti-co lon ial th o u g h t a re difficult yet n e c e ssa ry p o sitio n s

to take . As well, b o th A llan (2006) a n d B a ttis te (1998) a rg u e th a t a

“postcolonial” experience for A boriginal people is im possible w ith o u t th e

incorpora tion of Ind igenous know ledge a n d worldview. S h a h ja h a n (2005)

a rg u es th a t it is Ind igenous worldview a n d knowledge th a t h e lp s a n

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Ind igenous service provider w ork in a n an ti-co lonial fram ew ork . If

A boriginal a n d /o r racialized w orkers d o n ’t acknow ledge th is th e n th e re

s ta n d s a ch an ce th a t th ey will u n d o u b ted ly subscribe to w este rn w ays of

he lp ing in th e m a in stream a n d A boriginal he lp ing p ro fessions.

W hether o r n o t th e C a n ad ian social w ork p ro fession h a s th e

capab ility of help ing A boriginal people w ith in a neo-colonial rea lity rea lly

d ep en d s on how m u ch th e p ro fession acknow ledges th a t specific

h is to rica l e n co u n te rs have p ro d u ced theory , d iscourse a n d c u rr ic u lu m

th a t a re b a sed p redom inate ly on w estern p rinc ip les of h e lp in g th a t do n o t

often include Ind igenous ones. In o th e r w ords, th e p ro fession n e e d s to

purposefu lly position itse lf in opposition to w estern d iffusion ism .

W estern diffusionism is th e belief th a t colonial values w ere su p e rio r to

Aboriginal ones an d needed to be sp read a c ro ss th e c o n tin en t in o rd e r for

A boriginal people to p rog ress (W aterfall, 2003). W aterfall (2003) th a t

Aboriginal social w orkers n eed to u n d e rs ta n d th is p ro c e ss a n d th e

colonial th o u g h ts a n d sy s tem s in o rd e r to successfu lly w ork w ith

po p u la tio n s affected by th e W estern agenda . In order to su ccessfu lly

w ork w ith Ind igenous people s tru c tu ra l social work a n d o th e r a n ti-

oppressive schools of th o u g h t will need to critically reflect on th e ir

position in th e c u rre n t colonial con tex t. A lthough acknow ledging th a t

colonization took place is a s ta r t it is n o t enough to care a b o u t a n d offer

services to th e Aboriginal com m unity . W hat needs to h a p p e n is th e

inc lu sion of w ays of he lp ing th a t a re cen tra l to th e p rac tice th a t a re n o t

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considered th e “o th er” w ay or a n o th e r “perspective”. If s t ru c tu ra l social

w ork does n o t do th is th a n th e re is th e th re a t th a t the h is to ry of C a n a d a

a n d th e re la tio n sh ip be tw een th e s ta te a n d Ind igenous people a re

ac tu a lly being deliberately ignored o r forgotten. T his d o e sn ’t j u s t app ly to

th e s tru c tu ra l p rog ram s b u t to all w este rn or E urocen tric p ro g ram s th a t

a re ta u g h t on Aboriginal te rrito rie s w h e th e r th ey be u rb a n or ru ra l.

M ost im p o rtan t for rac ialized w orkers a n d those w ho iden tify a n d

ex p ress them selves a s Ind igenous people is th e idea th a t in ad d itio n to

an ti-co lon ial ap p ro ach es th e re is a n a rg u m e n t th a t deco lon ization m ay

be n e ce ssa ry to re-ba lance th e ir p rac tice . This is difficult in itse lf a s it

req u ire s dialogue betw een In d ig en o u s g roups and n o n -In d ig en o u s

people. The in terv iew s d isp layed a n u m b e r of exam ples of in te rn a lized

colonization w here w orkers h a d accep ted th e values of th e m a in s tre a m

a n d h ad lea rn ed to m arginalize th e ir own cu ltu ra l w ay of know ing.

Before I s ta r te d th is th e s is I really d id n ’t th in k it w as po ssib le to

decolonize oneself, especially if som eone h ad no connection to h e r /h i s

a n ce s to rs of th e land . However, I now see th a t decolonizing o nese lf in th e

social w ork profession is hav ing a n h o n e s t conversa tion w ith n o n -

A boriginal a n d Aboriginal g ro u p s a b o u t the different w ays of h e lp ing

an d , ra th e r th a n ju s t com pletely re jecting th e m ain stream I w a n t to try to

“u n th in k ” th e w estern perspective a n d a s se r t m y an cestra l v a lu e s even if

th e re is little su p p o rt w ith in th e agency. I am n o t argu ing to b re a k th e

m an d a te of m a in stream o rgan iza tions b u t for th em to tak e se rio u sly th e

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h isto ry of colonial re la tio n s a n d A boriginal cu ltu ra l a p p ro a ch e s .

F u rtherm ore , th e m a in s tre a m o rg an iza tio n s need to see th e se

ap p ro ach es a s a n a d eq u a te if n o t b e tte r so lu tion to re -b a lan c in g society

an d res to rin g the role of o u r Ind igenous way of being. By do ing th is a n d

by retelling an d re in te rp re tin g o u r h is to ry it becom es va lida ted w ith in th e

h isto ry of C an ad a a n d th u s h e lp s w ith th e healing in a n e th ica l a n d

h o n e s t way. This w ould be o u r w ay of he lp ing ra th e r th a n re -a sse r tin g

colonial ac ts . For exam ple, to rem em b er th a t b o u n d a rie s c a n be defined

in different w ays th a t a re still h e a lth y w ould reflect a m ore rea lis tic

a tm o sp h ere for a n A boriginal p e rso n to h ea l in. This cou ld sim ply m ean

som e w orkers see th e ir co m m u n ity m em b ers o u t of the agency o r sim ply

a way of sh a rin g o n e’s self w ith th e com m un ity a s seen in m an y of th e

sto ries d u rin g th e interview s.

S tru c tu ra l Social W orkers w ho a re e ith e r m a in s trea m o r rac ia lized

can be e th ica l an d su ccessfu l w ith in a c u ltu ra lly com peten t fram ew ork

by relying on th e skill a cq u ired th ro u g h th e u se o f self. T he m o st

im p o rtan t a sp ec t is to be carefu l to n o t a ssu m e th a t th e re is a sh a re d

cognition of c u ltu ra l feelings a n d m ean in gs , by be ing aw are a s a

p rac titio n er of th e possib ility of in tersub jec tiv ity . P ractitioners c a n strive

for a conscious level o f sub jectiv ity th ro u g h c ritica l self reflection a n d by

tak in g a lea rn e r’s s tan ce . C u ltu ra l com petency used a lo n e c a s ts a n

illusion over social w ork p rac tice in th a t it c re a te s a belief w ith in w o rk e rs

th a t they can po ten tia lly becom e ex p erts in finding th e so lu tio n to

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a n o th e r p e rso n ’s problem a n d in th is case u n d e rs ta n d in g th e A boriginal

experience, w hich is co u n te rp roductive to s tru c tu ra l, an ti-co lo n ia l a n d

an ti-oppressive work. T herefore, considering th e u s e of self a s a

p ro fessional developm ent tool a n d th e o p p o rtu n ity to u s e th e le a rn e r ’s

s ta n ce ra th e r th a n th e p rac titio n e r a s ex p ert is fu n d am en ta l to w ork ing

w ith Ind igenous groups. C onsidering th e im portance of th e sh a re d

experience in th e A boriginal co m m u n ity th is concept of th e u s e of self

m ay go even fu rth e r for th o se w ho identify a s Aboriginal w orkers. In fact

b a sed on an ti-co lon ial perspec tives an d th e interview s th e re seem s to be

less ten s io n a n d m ore re s is ta n c e w hen w orkers share th e ir ex p erien ces

e ith e r d irectly or ind irectly w ith th e com m unity . It w ould be in te re s tin g

for fu r th e r re sea rch to exam ine w h e th e r th is is tru e in a s itu a tio n w here

th e w orker is non-rac ialized a n d /o r non-A borig inal b u t is w illing to u s e

th e se ap p ro ach es. How deep a n d u n iq u e is th e A boriginal co n n ec tio n to

th e ir com m unity a n d c u ltu re especially in co n sid era tio n th a t som e

c u ltu ra l know ledge is a n d will rem ain u n a tta in a b le w ith in th is n e o ­

liberal society?

C om bining an ti-opp ressive p rac tice w ith cu ltu ra l sa fety h e lp s

reveal th e sociopolitical co n tex t th u s inform ing u s a b o u t pow er

im b a lan ces w hich help foster w o rk e rs’ a w a re n e ss of th e im p o rtan ce of

‘u n th in k in g ’ d o m in an t w este rn values. A boriginal w orkers c an ta k e th is

fu rth e r by u s in g an ti-co lon ial ap p ro ach es . R em em bering a n d re te lling

Ind igenous w ays of he lp ing is one w ay th a t w orkers a re re s is tin g th e

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colonial im p acts on th e ir ow n p rac tice , th u s help ing th e ir c o m m u n ity in

a n em pow ering way. U sing In d ig en o u s w ays in everyday social w ork is a

c lear way th a t A boriginal w orkers in a n u rb a n env ironm en t a re u s in g

anti-co lon ial app roaches. O ne recom m endation for fu r th e r re se a rc h

w ould be to explore fu r th e r Lee M aracle’s co n cep t of la te ra l violence a s

an ti-colonial rage. The g rea te s t challenge th a t followed in c id e n ts o f n o n ­

collaboration betw een m a in s tre a m a n d A boriginal p ro ce sse s w as th e

w orkers’ experience of la te ra l violence o r rac ism w ithin th e com m un ity .

In terestingly , th is co rre sp o n d ed well w ith th e ideas a ro u n d w o rk e rs ’

iden tities a n d w h eth er o r n o t th ey believed their “A borig inalness”

im pacted th e ir work. O n th e one h a n d com m unity m em b ers w ould

ch astise th em for no t being “rea l In d ian s” or a n “u rb a n In u it” yet, on th e

o th er h a n d m ost of th e w orkers believed th a t it w as th e a u th e n tic ity of

th e ir iden tity - m ixed or w hole - th a t he lped th e m m ake c o n n ec tio n s to

th e w ork a n d ap p ro ach p rac tic e in a n an ti-co lon ial m a n n e r . In fu r th e r

re sea rch I w ould like to look a t th e value of a m a in s trea m e d u ca tio n a s

well. P a rt of w orking an ti-co lon ially is to accep t life experience a t a lm o st

th e sam e level a s a form al ed u ca tio n . At tim es there seem ed to be le ss

rac ia l ten s io n betw een w orker a n d com m unity w hen th e experience w as

legitim ized yet, w hen co llabo ra ting w ith m ain stream o rg an iza tio n s a n d

funders , a form al ed u ca tio n a n d “looking Aboriginal ” w en t a long way.

Therefore if an Aboriginal w orker h a d p a rtic u la r racial c h a ra c te r is tic s

th a t a re a ttr ib u te d to A boriginal people it helped c lien ts a n d o th e r

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o rgan izations tak e th em seriously . However in the ex p e rien ces of th e

p a rtic ip a n ts , Aboriginal co m m u n ity m em b ers would ta k e th e w orker

seriously if they h a d a sh a red experience a n d n o t j u s t e sse n tia l rac ia l

ch arac te ris tic s .

The m ost in sid ious challenge for Aboriginal w o rk e rs w ho a re

a lready u s in g a n an ti-co lon ial a p p ro a ch to prac tice is C a n a d a ’s

co n tinued m ovem ent tow ard a neo-liberal society. R e se a rc h e rs a rg u e

th a t m ore Aboriginal people need to be engaged in social w ork

sch o larsh ip w ith a n an ti-co lon ial len s. T h is c a n be sa id to app ly to

electing progressive federal, provincial, territo ria l a n d m u n ic ip a l

governm ents in C anada. By th is I m ean th a t C a n ad a n e ed s m ore

progressive, social dem ocratic A boriginal m en an d w om en to lead in

various governm ent e s tab lish m en ts , p rim arily w ith in th e federal

governm ent. Sham efully, th e A boriginal worldview is com plete ly m iss in g

from m ost of th e provinces policy fram ew orks a n d to a la rge e x te n t from

th e C onservative m ajority governm ent a n d th e New D em ocratic P arty

opposition on th e federal level. T h is m ak e s for a challeng ing fu tu re w hen

secu ring fund ing a n d p rog ram m ing for serv ices th a t a re c u ltu ra lly

re levan t a n d safe. W ithin th e re sea rch th e re is a c lear u n d e rs ta n d in g

th a t w hen it com es to fu nd ing a n d governm ent e x p ec ta tio n s th e

Aboriginal w orker m u s t be creative in com ing u p w ith a so lu tion . O ne

could a rgue th a t th is is a g rea t exam ple of re s is tin g since th e w orkers a re

n o t allowing th e governm ent to define th e w ay they offer service. O ne

121

step b e tte r w ould be to com pletely re ject th e p a ra m e te rs if th e y do n o t fit

in w ith th e Aboriginal worldview. However, in today’s po litica l a n d

econom ic env ironm en t th is is n o t rea lis tic . C anada a t th is tim e is

increasing ly neo-liberal in its ideological ap p ro ach to go v ern m en t a n d

favours a u s te rity m e a su re s to red u ce fu n d in g a n d cut p u b lic serv ices in

all a re a s n o t ju s t A boriginal ones.

D espite th e in fluence of th e d o m in an t society’s w ay of h e lp in g th is

th e s is concludes th a t A boriginal w orkers are successfu l in re inv igo ra ting

th e Ind igenous w ay of he lp ing , th ro u g h indigenism a n d an ti-co lo n ia l

app roaches. Moving tow ard th e fu tu re A boriginal w orkers c an rely on

acknow ledging th a t th e re is a n ex te rna l an d in te rn a l o p p ress io n a t w ork

in th e p re se n t an d th a t by m a in ta in in g In d ig en o u s beliefs, s tre n g th s a n d

va lues of collectivism , love, carin g a n d sh a rin g they will s e t a n a n t i ­

colonial agenda for th e n ex t g en era tio n s of w o rk ers to com e.

122

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