JISD Volume 03, Issue 02. Papers From the Second International Conference of Indigenous Voices in Social Work

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https://hdl.handle.net/10125/34168
A selection of papers submitted to the Second International Conference of Indigenous Voices in Social Work held in Winnipeg, Manitoba July 8-11, 2013.

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    Whānau kōpepe: A Culturally Appropriate and Family Focused Approach to Support for Young Māori (Indigenous) Parents
    (Myron B. Thompson School of Social Work, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-12) Ware, F.J.R.
    Young indigenous parents resiliently raise children despite ill-founded stigmatisation. The problems arising from pregnancy while young, intertwine with culture and contribute to poor outcomes and hinder provision of appropriate support. The historical impacts of colonisation and urbanisation on family composition and intergenerational support and knowledge of childrearing, aid in the explanation of the current disadvantages associated with young indigenous parents. An exploration of Māori (indigenous to Aotearoa New Zealand) perspectives of procreation and concepts of whānau (family, to birth) and childrearing values provide a cultural understanding of childrearing. This paper proposes an approach to conducting research with young Māori parents that confronts the complex challenge of being Māori, being young and being a parent. Being able to understand the actual lived experiences, needs and aspirations of young Māori parents will be invaluable for informing policy, research, practice and services that enhance their health and wellbeing and that of their children.
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    Aboriginal People ‘Talking Back’ to Policy in Rural Australia
    (Myron B. Thompson School of Social Work, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-12) Walden, I. ; Dennis, B. ; Walgett Gamilaraay Aboriginal Community Working Party
    How does a geographically remote Australian Aboriginal community ensure that culturally and locally important priorities are recognised in policy? This paper discusses a case study of Indigenous community engagement in policy making, revealing some of the challenges community leaders face and the strategies they implement in their struggle for a strong say and hand in designing appropriate policy responses to local problems. The case study community is Walgett, a remote New South Wales community with a large Aboriginal population, distinguished in history for its part in the 1965 Freedom Ride which highlighted racial segregation and discrimination across outback Australia. Today Walgett ranks as one of Australia’s most disadvantaged communities (Vinson, 2007), and hence was chosen as one of 29 priority remote Aboriginal communities to be the focus of the Australian Government’s Remote Service Delivery commitment, part of the Closing the Gap agenda.
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    Women’s Narratives: Resistance to Oppression and the Empowerment of Women in Uzbekistan
    (Myron B. Thompson School of Social Work, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-12) Tursunova, Z.
    The article presents women’s narratives to understand gendered aspects of socio-economic and political transformations in women’s lives in post-Soviet Central Asia. The author considers that narrative functions within a multi-disciplinary theory, research, and practice of livelihood, empowerment and conflict resolution. Given the colonial representations of women in the past and the storytelling ambiguity in misrepresenting women’s lives and locating them in marginal spaces in the narrative and society, the Soviet authorities claimed to end the seclusion of women ignoring women’s voices and social movements for equality and social change in the society. The article aims to understand gendered aspects of socio-economic and political transformations in women’s lives in post-Soviet Central Asia through women’s narratives. These narratives, based on oral history and autobiography rather than writings based on Soviet sources, demonstrate a complex picture of women’s struggles in their families and communities. Women describe their social, economic and environmental stresses and the ways they learn to live with social changes and empower themselves.
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    Social Work in Schools in New Zealand: Indigenous Social Work Practice
    (Myron B. Thompson School of Social Work, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-12) Hollis-English, A. ; Selby, R.
    Social workers have found a new professional presence in New Zealand schools since 2001 following a pilot program in a small cluster of schools in 1999. Schools that are in low socio-economic communities have been selected to engage the services of in-school social workers. These schools have a high proportion of Maori and Pacific Island children and families in a country where Maori make up 15% of the population and Pacific Island families now make up 7% of the population. Maori social service providers are keen to employ Maori social workers so that there is congruence with their clients. These workers must then manage the multiple relationships they encounter in small rural communities in New Zealand. School social work enables helping professionals to work in health and counselling teams with families, contributing to positive Maori development and empowering families.
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    Implementing Indigenous Ways of Knowing into Research: Insights into the Critical Role of Dreams as Catalysts for Knowledge Development
    (Myron B. Thompson School of Social Work, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-12) Rowe, G.
    This research project expressed a Muskego Inninuwuk methodology as a foundation to explore experiences of individuals who possess both Indigenous and non-Indigenous ancestry in the development of their identities. The overall goal of this research was to create a space for individuals to express the impacts of systems, relationships and the ways in which people come to understand their overall wellbeing and connection to ancestors through stories in personal identity development. As an Indigenous researcher engaging with a Muskego Inninuwuk methodology meant that a foundational mechanism for knowledge development included inner knowing and dreaming; this article describes the process and experiences as a result of incorporating Indigenous ways of knowing. In this way, Indigenous research methodologies are catalysts toward healing, decolonization and resurgence.