Aboriginal and Social Work Practice

The primary points shared on how to practice with Aboriginal people is developing awareness and understanding of indigenous traditions and their wealth of knowledge. Social work is not restricted to the office and as a result, the practicing social worker must immerse themselves in the things that are important to the people. Genuineness is important, and the worker or helper must be willing to actively engage the indigenous people by allowing them to know who they are; and conversely, who they are not.

Traditional knowledge is important to acknowledge when working with the Aboriginals because there cannot be a real sense of 'helping' if the worker operates from conventional knowledge and disregards or minimizes the indigenous people's wealth of knowledge. Understanding the importance of spirituality and the relationship to the land is very important to the Aboriginals. Because imbalance has been created due to colonization...
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