Volume 5, November 2003: Articulating Aboriginal Paradigms: Implications for Aboriginal Social Work Practice

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://laurentian.scholaris.ca/handle/10219/398

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"Am I a modern-day missionary? Reflections of a Cree Social Worker"
(School of Native Human Services, 2003-11) Hart, Michael
I have long held a desire to support others as I struggle forward, hopefully forward, in my own life. In the past, I did not reflect on this desire to any great extent: I just accepted it. It was a drive that came from my inner being. To fulfill my desire, I look in several directions and chose social work as the means. I saw that social work has the good intentions of helping people in need. Generally, I agreed with its philosophy that was based upon the values of humanitarianism and egalitarianism. But as I began my life as a social worker, particularly in university where I looked closely at social work, its values, and its practices. I also began to reflect upon social work as a means to helping. More recently, I've been focussing upon Indigenous peoples experiences with helpers and social workers.
"Being a Native researcher in your own community"
(School of Native Human Services, 2003-11) Mandamin, Agnes
Research is about knowing and understanding. It is about re examining issues, problems or questions of which we seek further knowledge or answers (NWSK 3555 Class Notes, September 18, 2001). First and foremost, First Nations research is a different way of knowing which involves understanding people and their perspectives. Who would understand better these "ways of knowing" than someone from the same community? Hiring Native researchers from outside one's own community has, in past experience, resulted in lack of a trust relationship and poor (or skewed) research results. A vital aspect of any First Nations Researcher is to obtain community permission. What needs to be addressed from the outset may include western ethics of "doing" research but not to the neglect of community and cultural-specific ways of "finding out things." An effective and culture-based approach to research ought to be grounded in a holistic methodology. By holistic, I mean understanding the concept of the topic from the physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional aspects, not only from the researcher's point of view, but also from the community members themselves. Personal attributes of the researcher also ought to be taken into consideration. Allocation of time and place is another important aspect of consideration when it comes time for interviews. Face-to-face interviews, in my experience, seem to work best in First Nations communities, likely due to the lack of trust issue.
"Inclusivity and diversity at the macro level: Aboriginal self-government"
(School of Native Human Services, 2003-11) Nabigon, Herbert
Since time immemorial, we the Anishnaabe (Ojibwe) people lived exclusively in the natural world and we governed ourselves as part of that order. Our powers to govern ourselves are inherent in that order and no one can change that order unless by an act of a new creation.
"The social determinants of Aboriginal Health: A literature review"
(School of Native Human Services, 2003-11) Thomas, William
The Assembly of First Nations has identified "the need to develop an integrated, holistic, inter-departmental and inter organizational organism to address the inequities and gaps in health and social service delivery to First Nations" (AFN, 2002). However, there is much work to be done in efforts to reach this goal, as there are many factors that one must take into consideration when examining Aboriginal health from a holistic perspective. For example, it has been reported that in British Columbia (BC) that 20% of Aboriginal people are below the provincial average based on income, employment, and educational attainment and housing (Kendell and Hull, 2002). In addition to national reports, the BC Ministry of Health advocates that there is the need to look at the broad spectrum of health and social determinants to come up with solutions that will improve the health and well being of Aboriginal people. These determinants are comprised of health, gender, biology, culture, coping skills, social environments, social support networks, income and social status, employment and working conditions, education, child development and physical environments. The determinants are interdependent, cannot be examined individually and a holistic approach needs to be utilized when dealing with Aboriginal health issues. It is important for non-aboriginals to observe the difference in fundamental viewpoints of Aboriginal people in their relationship with the natural surroundings, other races, flora and fauna (Driben and Simpson, 2000). The lack of control over one's life plays an important factor in their well-being.
"A search for understanding: A proposal for researching Native homelessness in Northern Manitoba"
(School of Native Human Services, 2003-11) Fidler, Greg; Bonneycastle, Colin
Poverty has been a prevalent issue throughout world history. Despite the United Nation's opinion that we have the best quality of life, Canada cannot say that it is the exception to this rule. Many people live in abject poverty here. Without an official poverty line to help determine the level of poverty, estimating the actual number of poor is a contentious issue. Most official reports base their findings on Statistics Canada's Low Income Cut Offs (LICO's). For example, the National Council of Welfare estimate that in 1997 just over five million Canadians, or 17.2% of the population, were living in poverty (Silver,2000). Such findings generally underestimate the number of poor Canadians as they usually do not include data on Aboriginal people living on reserves, residents of the Yukon, Nunavut, and North West Territories, and people who live in institutions. The costs surrounding poverty are enormous. For example, population health studies show a strong correlation between poverty and people's health. They argue that poverty contributes to many of our social ills, affecting individuals, families, communities and society as a whole (for example, see Layton, 2000). Though there are discrepancies in the actual rates and effects of poverty, poverty rate and population health studies have one major commonality, they indicate that poverty is increasing (Ross, Scott, & Smith, 2000). At the margins of this growing trend, one often finds the homeless.
"Establishing the Aboriginal Social Work Associations: Sharing the Manitoba experience"
(School of Native Human Services, 2003-11) Hart, Michael; Pompana, Yvonne
The impetus for this article arose out of a dialogue with several like-minded people while attending an Aboriginal social work conference in Sudbury in January of 2003. Our discussion revolved around the establishment of a national Aboriginal social work association. During the discussion the people were informed of the ongoing process in Manitoba to establish an Aboriginal social work association, namely the Aboriginal Professional Helpers Society, Inc. What follows is a description of that process beginning with background/history of our association, the identification of a number of challenges we experienced or could potentially experience, the benefits and potentials we see for Aboriginal social work associations, and a number of recommendations to support the development of these associations.
"Honoring community: Development of a First Nations stream in social work"
(School of Native Human Services, 2003-11) Greenwood, Margo; Palmantier, Monty
For the past 20 years First Nations leaders of northern British Columbia have been advocating for a Social Work program that would address the unique needs of First Nations communities. This is not surprising given the historical destruction of First Nations families and communities as a result of colonization. Many would argue that current child welfare practices continue on where residential schools left off in implementing government assimilation policies. Approximately 30% of all children in care in Canada are Aboriginal (Fournier and Crey, 1998). This is no different in British Columbia. In the northern half of the province the number of Aboriginal children in continuing care is as high as 80% (Children's Commission Annual Report, 1998). The need for culturally sensitive child welfare practices is critical to First Nations communities and families. With the opening of a new northern university in 1992, University of Northern British Columbia, there was a renewed hope by northern First Nations leaders for a Social Work program that would meet their needs as well as support their vision for a future of self sufficiency and independence. This paper describes one small step in that vision, that is, the development of First Nations Social Work courses. To better understand this development process it is first important to be aware of the context in which it was undertaken.
"Aboriginal Youth: Risk and resilience"
(School of Native Human Services, 2003-11) Du Hamel, Paula
In 1996, the Royal Commission On Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) discussed the need for role models, mentorship, community programs and family support of Aboriginal youth. Many Aboriginal communities, both urban and rural, identified psycho-social factors (among the physical) within their adult populations that produced ability issues to cope within the family environment. In this paper I propose future exploration and research which is designed to be suppor5tive of the notion of Aboriginal youth resilience. By investigating various psycho social, economic, educational and environmental factors and the impact they have on the socialization experiences of Aboriginal youth, I believe that a strategy for resiliency could be implemented in both urban and rural Aboriginal youth communities. My emphasis is the socialization experiences of Aboriginal youth and examining the factors that contribute to risk and resiliency. To date, I have not found any research recorded on Aboriginal youth risk and resilience in Canada that encompasses the examination of the factors I've identified above as a whole, nor have the impact they have on youth risk been examined. I believe that it is time we consider more than individual areas of Aboriginal youth risk and embrace this circle in its entirety. Specifically, this paper asks and attempts to answer the following: During the socialization process of Aboriginal youth, where are the risk areas, how can they be addressed and how do they contribute to success or personal resiliency in the transition to adulthood?"
"Urban Native Women in recovery from addictions: Towards holistic integration of Treatment and Aftercare Services"
(School of Native Human Services, 2003-11) Harris, Barbara
The purpose of this exploratory study was to determine the adequacy of current addiction services for Vancouver's urban Native women in recovery from addiction. It is evident that urban Native women continue to be at risk of recidivism, due to a multitude of issues that directly affect their ability to maintain a health addiction-free lifestyle. If recidivism is to be reduced, there needs to be a dramatic reconstruction of current addiction services. In fact, there is a need to integrate treatment and aftercare services, in conjunction with systemic changes that provide a holistic approach to addressing the issues faced by this population. Certainly, First Nations women are recovering from addiction, in spite of the failure to meet their needs. Regardless, as this study indicates, urban Native women experience unique difficulties in their efforts to find a new way to live, difficulties that could be mitigated by providing holistic and integrated services.
""Within the Outsider": Challenges of an Indigenous pedagogue"
(School of Native Human Services, 2003-11) Baskin, Cyndy
I am Cyndy Baskin, marginalized Aboriginal woman. I am Cyndy Baskin, university instructor and PhD. candidate. I am made up of multiple identities. Until recently, I never had teachers who were not non Native, readings that were not written by non-Native authors and fellow students who were not non-Native. I was always the only one who was "different". Being at school was painful. I was an isolated, persecuted, sad student. And yet, I learned how to read and write in these places and this became my escape from the hurt. No matter what was done to me, it could not stifle my desire to learn. The harder schooling became for me, the more I delved into my studies. The more I heard that I would not make it to university, the more I grew determined to do exactly that. Great damage was done - some of it has been repaired while some of it never will be. It is a part of who I am. There were many downs, drop outs and changes of direction, but education is clearly my calling. My story is, of course, a familiar one for many Aboriginal people. Education has more often than not been our enemy - a major arm of colonialism. For me, this is a lived reality. Being in the academy and becoming an educator, then, is one of my most powerful acts of resistance and anti-colonial activity.
"Using the gifts of the Trickster: Balancing "Self" in the helping field"
(School of Native Human Services, 2003-11) Stevens, Nancy; St. Germain, Janice
As helpers in an Aboriginal mental health program, we are faced with a number of challenges that constantly reinforce the need for balance in our professional and personal lives. These challenges occur within the helping relationships, within the larger agency and between the other services and service providers that we encounter in our daily work. In order to demonstrate this ongoing struggle for balance, we will share some of the history of B'saanibamaadsiwin and the context in which we work.
"A Case Study in progress: The role of Memorial University's School of Social Work in the context of Aboriginal self-government in Newfoundland and Labrador"
(School of Native Human Services, 2003-11) Baikie, Gail; Decker, Gillian
Newfoundland and Labrador, like other regions in Canada, is in a period of social transformation due to a number of processes to resolve outstanding political and socio-economic issues with the province's Aboriginal peoples. In addition, major initiatives in the region such as the Davis Inlet relocation and the development of the mega Voisey's Bay nickel deposit pose significant social risks and opportunities. Greater political autonomy and self-determination for the Aboriginal governments also creates obligation and responsibility for the social welfare of their citizens. What is the place for the social work profession, Aboriginal social workers and for Memorial University of Newfoundland's School of Social Work during this era of profound social change? This article explores the concurrent journeys of the Aboriginal peoples of the province, the School of Social Work, and an Aboriginal social work student as each grapple for meaning and relevance in building a new more socially just reality.
"Indigenous research in social work: The challenge of operationalizing worldview"
(School of Native Human Services, 2003-11) Sinclair, Raven
This paper arises out of a research project that was designed to gather information about how Indigenous researchers incorporate their worldview beliefs, practices, and protocols with western research methodologies and methods. The focus of this paper is to describe the challenges I experienced as I embarked upon a 'western' research project while trying to incorporate my nascent understanding of Indigenous worldview. The research project was designed to identify the specific descriptions and explications of how indigenous scholars have reconciled worldview issues and integrated these unique ways of perceiving the world within their research methodologies. As a Ph.D. student cognizant of the western standards required in dissertation research, I wanted to find a way to honour my Indigenous roots, and my "Indigenist" ideological stance. An Indigenist stance, according to Churchill (1996), means that one actively strives to hold the rights of Indigenous people as his or her primary political goal, while incorporating his or her traditions in their work. Hence, the need to incorporate Indigenous practices and protocols into a western qualitative research paradigm was the premise upon which the project was designed. The challenges were evident in considering the design of the research, in attempts to weave ceremony and protocol into the various phases of the project, and in considering how to record these elements into the final report. The preliminary findings verified the challenges I faced.
"Divided we fall, United we stand: Internalized oppression and its affects on Community Development within Aboriginal communities"
(School of Native Human Services, 2003-11) Harper, Julie
Community development starts with community healing. This is not a new idea, but one that is needed in order for Native and non-Native communities to peacefully co-exist within Canada. In order to initiate developing new initiatives in a community, that particular community must be ready for new initiatives to be developed. Some communities are not at that level because of factors related to alcohol and drug abuse. Some communities are not yet capable of fully understanding the concepts of "community development" and "community healing." Many people, both Native and non-Native, ask these questions: "Why can't things change in Canada for Native people? Why can't 'they' (meaning Natives) get anything done within their communities? This paper explores these questions. The hypothesis is that, in order to get anything done, whether it is political, social, economical or personal, within this country, Aboriginal people need to stand together as a nation, not just merely independent communities, reserves or cultures. There are theories explaining how people can heal and come together to work towards one common purpose. The ones that will be discussed here are Empowerment Theory, Aboriginal Theory, Community Development Theory and the National Coalition Building Institute Theory. These theories have their strengths and weaknesses when it comes to community development, but 98 how they deal with the internalized oppression that holds people back from their full potential as human beings is a common theme in all of them.
"Using a Jungian model of the psyche to explain traditional Aboriginal approaches to mental health"
(School of Native Human Services, 2003-11) Rice, Brian
When we use the term "psychology," we are using a Euro westem term about how the mind works that has no equivalency in Aboriginal understandings concerning healing. However, there are areas in both Aboriginal and Euro-western practices of healing where we may draw some parallels concerning mental health. This paper will attempt to address some of the similarities and differences between the two with an emphasis on Aboriginal understandings of healing in mental health using a model of the psyche developed by Dr. Carl Jung. According to Jungian psychology as espoused by Dr. Carl Jung, there are three levels to the psyche; in other words, there are three levels on which the mind works. These are the ego conscious, the personal unconscious, and the collective unconscious. Jung (1989) believed that a person's ancestral past was locked up in the collective unconscious. Like Jung, Dr. A.C. Ross, a Lacota educator and psychologist, in his book Mitakuye Oyasin: "We are all related," relates his understanding of Jungian psychology. Dr. Jung declared that the mind could be divided into three levels... The top part of the psyche, or the mind, Dr. Jung called the conscious, also known as the ego. This is the active thinking part of the mind, the part you use when you are awake. Below that level he called the personal unconscious where all the memories since birth are...This area of the mind is repressed or suppressed. The lower level of the mind Dr. Jung called the collective unconscious. He felt that latent memory traces from your ancestral past are stored in this area (Ross 1989, p.12)
"A Community-based approach to the development of a First Nations B.S.W. Program: Community needs assessment and proposed model"
(School of Native Human Services, 2003-11) Harris, Barbara
Over the last 2 years, UBC's School of Social Work and Family Studies has, in collaboration with the Squamish Nation, provided funds and resources for the development of a First Nations BSW program to be delivered off-campus. The project is both interesting and exciting, because of the nature of the process. This paper constitutes a 3 stage process of research conducted over the last 2 years, and focuses on the findings of a) my initial research into Native social work education over the last 30 years, b) a community needs assessment and c) a proposed model for curriculum and program delivery.
"Comparing Euro-Western counselling and Aboriginal healing methods: An argument for the effectiveness of Aboriginal approaches to healing"
(School of Native Human Services, 2003-11) Hill, Gus; Coady, Nick
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of an Aboriginal approach to healing and to establish the theoretical grounds for its effectiveness. Toward this end, this paper considers a number of issues. First, the similarities and differences between various Euro-Western theories of counselling or psychotherapy1 and Aboriginal approaches to healing are examined. Second, an overview of major cumulative findings from research on psychotherapy is presented toward establishing major curative factors that are common across various therapy approaches. Third, related to these psychotherapy research findings, Jerome Frank's (1961, 1982, 1991) theory of common factors is reviewed toward establishing parallels between psychotherapy and traditional healing approaches. Fourth, a traditional (Ojibwe) approach to healing and associated healing methods are discussed. Finally, the theoretical arguments for the effectiveness of Aboriginal healing methods are summarized and implications for Euro-Western helping approaches are considered. The main reason for advancing theoretical versus empirical arguments for the effectiveness of Aboriginal approaches to healing, and doing so by comparing these methods to Euro Western counselling theories and considering the outcome of psychotherapy research, is because there is a scarcity of research on Aboriginal healing methods. Although Lane, Bopp, and Norris 44 (2002) have noted that Athere is considerable anecdotal evidence that traditional healing practices have profound effects" (Lane, Bopp, and Norris,2002, p. 22), they acknowledge the necessity of developing tools and processes to document the outcomes of Aboriginal healing. This is a laudable long-term goal; however, in the meantime, we believe that it is useful to develop theoretical arguments for the likelihood that Aboriginal healing methods will prove to be at least as effective as Euro-Western counselling, particularly for Aboriginal people.
"A pathway to restoration: From Child Protection to community wellness"
(School of Native Human Services, 2003-11) Bellefeuille, Gerard; Ricks, Frances
The administrative devolution of provincial child welfare jurisdiction to Aboriginal authorities, dating back to the early 1980s, has resulted in a number of improvements for Aboriginal families that experience child protection services (Bellefeuille, Ricks and Garrioch, 1997; Hamilton, 2001). The larger political objective, however, of Aboriginal Peoples to govern and self determine their own culturally distinct, integrative and holistic community healing approach to social wellness and tackling the pressing concerns of child maltreatment, family break down, and vanishing sense of community, has failed to come about under the prevailing deficit oriented child protection paradigm.' Our experiences for over thirty years as a front line social work practitioner and past director of the largest First Nation child welfare agency in the country, and as a researcher, academic, and organizational consultant to several First Nation agencies leads us to conclude that the realization of the Aboriginal vision for an alternative child welfare model is untenable under the force of the imposing protection paradigm. In this article, we share both our thoughts about the devolution process, the traditional protection paradigm under which Aboriginal agencies are required to operate, and our experience in helping to shape the alternative paradigm which we believe must be built upon new themes that emphasize "community"and"wellness."
"Articulating Aboriginal Paradigms: Implications for Aboriginal Social Work Practice"
(School of Native Human Services, 2003-11) School of Native Human Services, Laurentian University

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