Journal 2 Reflection

Journal 2 Reflection

Introduction

The need for social work that is relevant to Indigenous societies has prompted the development of Aboriginal social work. Indigenous people form a significant percentage of service users, especially in countries that were colonized. The prevailing social work practice is adopted from Western culture and, therefore, not very helpful for Indigenous people, families, and communities.

Critical Reflection

The assumption that Western thought ought to be the conventional thought in most educational platforms is quite harmful. This assumption has led to the marginalization of Indigenous people in social work education through erroneous penning of their culture, language, and history. Both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal social workers that have gone through the Western system of knowledge might not be adequately equipped to handle the needs of the Indigenous population (Sinclair, 2004). The only sure way for social work students to learn about Aboriginal people is through cross-cultural social work education and practice. This necessitates Aboriginal social work education, which incorporates the history and culture of Indigenous populations to ensure both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal social workers are adequately equipped to handle the problems of Indigenous clients (Sinclair, 2004). Given the high number of Indigenous clients in social work practice, it would be very disastrous if social workers did not have a clear and comprehensive understanding of the historical context of the current problems facing Indigenous populations. Helping and healing is the term given to social work with Indigenous peoples, by Indigenous peoples, which is often referred to as helping and healing (Baskin, 2016). This approach uses an Indigenous perspective based on Indigenous knowledge and experiences that reflect their values on the importance of community, reciprocity, spirituality, and help for the helpers (Sinclair, 2004). Giving Indigenous populations control of social services is necessary for the improvement of their well-being..

Personal Reflection

In my opinion, the omission of the Aboriginal context in social work contributes to a culture of silence. A culture of silence is where the oppressed are not heard, thus perpetuating racism, discrimination, and marginalization (Sinclair, 2004). Awareness of critical issues such as racism and bigotry without taking legitimate action is a tactical maneuver that may be confused for anti-oppressive or anti-racist practice. Being an Indigenous social work student, I do not find studies on how to become an active cross-cultural worker very rewarding since the minority client is always labeled as the ‘other.’ This has often forced me to take a subjective position regarding cross-cultural issues because the system does not request people like me to examine white individuals as cross-cultural. Instead, the system requires Indigenous people to perceive themselves as the ‘others’ who need assistance. Such an approach is very discriminatory and only perpetuates marginalization. Aboriginal social work education seeks to change this approach by achieving cultural relevance and incorporating perspectives and practices that respect Indigenous populations.

Applications

Incorporating culturally sensitive practices into social work education and training fosters the development of critical consciousness (Baskin, 2016). Critical awareness makes social work students aware of the relationship between historical context and oppression. For students with an Indigenous origin, an accurate representation of Aboriginal culture and history provides precise models to assist them in the reflection of their personal experiences in a classroom setting. Through such models, these students get to comprehend their social contexts, political contexts, and the contexts of their future Indigenous clients (Bennett, Zubrzycki & Bacon, 2011). They are better placed to understand the problems of their clients and provide sound solutions.

Conclusion

In the modern-day world, social work education focusing on Indigenous perspectives remains a cultural imperative aimed at developing culturally sensitive practices by redressing the harm colonization has caused.

References

Baskin, C. (2016). Strong helpers’ teachings: The value of Indigenous knowledge in the helping professions. Canadian Scholars’ Press.

Bennett, B., Zubrzycki, J., & Bacon, V. (2011). What do we know? The experiences of social workers working alongside Aboriginal people. Australian social work, 64(1), 20-37.

Sinclair, R. (2004). Aboriginal social work education in Canada: Decolonizing Pedagogy for the seventh generation. First Peoples Child & Family Review, 14(1), 9-21.