Anti-oppressive social work practice in child welfare

Abstract

This article explores the journey of reconciliation, both personal and professional, required for the social work profession to shed its history of colonialism in the context of its relationship with Canada’s Indigenous People, particularly in the realm of child welfare. This process involves becoming accountable for past harms such as the residential school system, the mass removal of children during the ‘60’s scoop’, as well as the contemporary over-representation of Indigenous children in Canada’s child welfare system. Further, this process demands that non-Indigenous social workers locate their privilege in order to become effective allies and partners along this path of reconciliation.