Interrogating settler social work with indigenous persons in Canada

Abstract

Summary: This article, towards decolonizing social work, reports on a study that examined the record of Canadian social work regarding Indigenous Canadians through the lens of the national professional association's journal. Noting that the broad dataset of over 1,500 journal articles represents legitimized knowledge within the discipline, the study aimed to develop a history of the present to interrogate the discourses relating to such practice. The study involved an analysis of the contents over the life of the journal from 1932 to 2019. Findings: The study found that minimal attention was given to Indigenous issues in Canadian social work, only 30 articles touching on Indigenous issues directly. These articles portray contrasting discourses on Indigenous subjectivities and social work responses, reflecting conflicting perspectives in social work. Applications: These observations should inform the interrogation of contemporary social work practice in Canada regarding its positionality in relation to Indigenous persons. Further, it should contribute to forging social work's future in recognizing the injustices and challenges accompanying its colonial history and present.