Actualizing Indigenist Social Work: Being Relational but Being Ourselves

Being Indigenist does not mean “being Indigenous”; Indigenous social work focuses on the nature of being, holistic interventions, and processes of metaphysical dynamism when working with Indigenous Peoples. Indigenist social work, on the other hand, opens the door to culturally responsive practice whereby White practitioners can critically and safely engage with Indigenous knowledge systems and community. White people do not hold or share an Indigenous worldview, and therefore they require the guidance from First Nations practitioners to understand the lived experiences and sociocultural context of Indigenous groups. Part of that task requires social workers to be relational in their efforts toward combatting racism and division across the broader helping professions. Indigenist social work is an approach for theorizing useful concepts and ensuring that practice remains inclusive with a commitment to establishing collaborative partnerships. The question is – How does one “be” or “become” Indigenist? This chapter considers two fundamental principles related to Indigenist social work, which are cultural humility and intrapersonal intelligence. To help contextualize Indigenist social work, this chapter provides specific examples from Aotearoa–New Zealand and Australian Aboriginal Peoples. Indigenous social work approaches, with Māori and Aboriginal communities, specifically draw on the practice wisdom and inherent worldviews which have been developed by Indigenous practitioners for Indigenous practitioners, whereas Indigenist social work approaches encourage more diverse perspectives and a subjective set of best practices across a lifetime.