Week 3: Settlerhood, Settler & Social Work - Introduction to Social Welfare in the North
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This document explores social welfare practices in a historical context, focusing on the impact of settler colonialism on Indigenous communities. It examines how social work has historically aided in the dispossession and control of Indigenous land and resources, and proposes alternative decolonizing approaches.
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[Intro to Social Welfare in the North] [Week 3: Settlerhood, settler & social work] Social welfare & social conditioning - Social welfare provision rooted in authoritarian relationships - Early traders & missionaries imposed Christianization & civilization conditions - Era came before...
[Intro to Social Welfare in the North] [Week 3: Settlerhood, settler & social work] Social welfare & social conditioning - Social welfare provision rooted in authoritarian relationships - Early traders & missionaries imposed Christianization & civilization conditions - Era came before mass migrations of white settler populations Technologies of dispossession - Core technology of settler mechanism - Promoted radical transformation of Indigenous communities\' production modes - Facilitated ongoing dispossession - Elizabethan Poor Laws - Creates Indigenous dependence on settler state\'s welfare - Prioritizes self-reliance as virtue of liberal capitalism - Leading social welfare practitioners, publications, associations perpetuated & defended social hierarchy - Assimilation program -- created by SWrs, under guise of helping Indigenous self-determination Social work\'s roles - Aiding in dispossession & extraction of Indigenous peoples - Supporting the reproduction of the settler state - Buffer zone - contain & pacify Indigenous communities facing crises due to resource extraction & dispossession practices - Facilitate assimilation & proletarianization (moving them to a lower class) - Delegitimize Indigenous practices of caring & social support - impose a professional class of social service providers to \"help\" communities \"adjust\" - Remove Indigenous children from families & communities - call it "humane" Social work as a reproduction technology - Fosters white civility within settler society - Mobilizes reconciliation to alleviate settler guilt - Absolves state/settler society of responsibility for transformative change - Upholds state\'s property claims thru saviour complex - Aims to maintain settler control over Indigenous peoples & communities - Promotes white civility -- assimilation & exclusion of non-white peoples (i.e. Black, Indigenous, POC) Social workers & cops in Indigenous communities - Collaborate with law enforcement to quell rebellion - Create \'social order\' for resource extraction - Target individuals, groups, communities asserting sovereignty Decolonization of social work - Radical transformation required - Must be led by Indigenous folks - Requires ongoing conversation between Indigenous & settler communities - Focus on one-on-one casework -- hides view of problems from collective trauma of settler colonialism lens - Deinstitutionalization - challenging non-profit industrial complex & settler colonial mindset, could assist in redefining social work\'s relationship w/ Indigenous peoples
