IMPLICATED SUBJECTS: SOCIAL WORKERS, SETTLER COLONIALISM, AND THE QUEST FOR NON-INNOCENCE

Drawing from Michael Rothberg’s (2019) concept of the “implicated subject,” this paper examines Canadian social work’s implication in settler colonialism from past to present through its role in Indigenous child removal from the Indian Residential Schools to the Sixties Scoop and contemporary child...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inCanadian social work review Vol. 41; no. 1; pp. 113 - 132
Main Author Hoselton, Jill
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Ottawa Canadian Assn for Social Work Education 01.01.2024
Subjects
Antisemitism
Child welfare
Children
Colonialism
Employment
Genocide
Holocaust
Holocaust studies
Indigenous peoples
Marginality
Morality
Native peoples
Oppression
Political action
Social justice
Social work
Social workers
Society
Victimization
Violence
France
Canada
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Summary:Drawing from Michael Rothberg’s (2019) concept of the “implicated subject,” this paper examines Canadian social work’s implication in settler colonialism from past to present through its role in Indigenous child removal from the Indian Residential Schools to the Sixties Scoop and contemporary child welfare. The “implicated subject” untangles social work from dominant discourses that position social workers as morally superior, innocent, and good, which prevents practitioners from seeing how their professional role perpetuates unintentional harm towards service-users. A practice of non-innocence is proposed, which centres the development of a critical consciousness among social workers regarding the profession’s implication in historical and contemporary harm towards Indigenous Peoples (and other marginalized populations) by way of settler colonial practices. This awareness positions practitioners as political actors with a responsibility to engage in political action dedicated towards social justice.
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ISSN:0820-909X
2369-5757
DOI:10.7202/1111863ar