How can reflective practice better our relationships with Indigenous people?

In this week’s group supervision, we explored the groundwork of how social work practitioners can demonstrate cultural competency when working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients. A significant theme arising from the discussion was the acknowledgement of the ongoing trauma colonisation, and in particular the child welfare system has imposed upon generations of Indigenous people. Through consideration of the power imbalances colonisation has produced, we were able to decipher ways in which we can strive to work in more culturally responsive & inclusive ways.

Perhaps you have heard it before, ‘you are the expert of your own life, you are the hero of your own story’. Through reflection of our own cultural lenses, we determined that when working with culturally diverse clients it is crucial our western ways are momentarily put aside and that we acknowledge and enact the wealth of information that Indigenous and culturally diverse client groups hold. The Australian Association of Social Workers emphasises that social workers must strive to understand the culturally inclusive ways in which we can enrich the lives of clients. An example discussed, was during consultation with Aboriginal people we should resist the urge to propose solutions, but rather act as facilitators guiding our clients to achieve their own holistic outcomes.

After viewing the presentation, we deemed that it is okay to be culturally curious and that strengthening our knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, is a far better approach than enforcing our own culturally bias assumptions. An initial consideration that was raised in the presentation was acknowledging that if a service states it has consulted with Indigenous people [Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people inclusive], both parties should have a genuine involvement, if not a disclaimer should exist illustrating only one group has been involved. A second point highlighted was understanding the involvement of kinship and Country in the upbringing of a child, acknowledging this does not resemble the nuclear family structure endorsed by our Western culture.

For the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families we work with, we should ensure that measures are in place that enable a child or young person to deeply explore their cultural identity, connection, and sense of belonging to their family, community, and Country. As social workers it is crucial, we expand our world-view and seek to understand how we can play a part in mending the oppression our institution has so devastatingly caused. I leave you with a quote from Peggy McIntosh, 1988 encouraging us to reflect on how our society is constructed among racial inequality.

“[Whiteness] an invisible weightless [unearned] knapsack of special provisions, assurances, tools, maps, guides, codebooks, passports, visas, clothes, compass, emergency gear and blank checks... which I can count on cashing in each day"