Ignoring the effects of past oppression does not make them go away. In order to understand the context of an individual’s life, social workers seek to understand the social forces that shaped a cultural group’s experience. For example, eliminating contemporary inequality would not make up for a generation’s worth of accumulated assets that one group gained over another. At the same time, that does not mean social workers pathologize a minority or persecuted group.
Social workers take a strengths-based perspective. Even while analyzing systems of oppression and discrimination, social workers identify and utilize client strengths when addressing these barriers. Social workers seek to empower oppressed populations by validating cultural differences at the micro and mezzo levels and addressing social injustices at the macro level.
This week, you discuss oppression through a Native American lens. You then assess oppressive structures as you navigate your daily world using only a wheelchair-accessible route. Finally, you reflect on your experiences in your Video Journal.
Discussion: Historical Oppression and Discrimination – Through a Native American Lens
What images come to mind when you think of Native Americans and First Nations peoples? Many people think of historical representations of indigenous tribes and not what Native American and First Nations people’s lives look like today. Understanding the experience of a client with indigenous heritage means also knowing about the historical influences that have shaped their present-day context.
As a social worker, you may be associated with the powers that tried to systematically eradicate indigenous cultures through government policies of assimilation and massacre. While you did not engage in these acts, your client who has been impacted by the historical trauma may harbor an inherent mistrust of anyone representing the dominant culture. How might this affect you client’s professional relationship with you?
In this Discussion, you consider the impact of oppression on Native American and First Nations peoples, the effect this has on worker-client relationships, and social work’s ethical responsibility to address historical and institutional discrimination.