Indigenous People and Communities: The Role of Social Workers as Human Rights Workers

Indigenous people are the members of a group of people whose ancestors have lived in the same land since the time immemorial. While there is no universally recognized definition of indigenous people, but according to the United Nations Indigenous people are inheritors and practitioners of unique culture and the ways of relating to people and environment. They consist of a non-dominant group of people that share a common pre-colonial history with a culture, language, and belief system that is separate and distinct from the dominant social group within the larger society. The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples demonstrates the general consensus of the international community of support for the rights of indigenous people. Following points are mentioned in this article such as characteristics of indigenous people and, how social workers can move towards more empowering, rights based practice that develops individual and community capacity. Social Work curriculums across the nation all devote a significant amount of time and focus to looking at skills for working with Indigenous people and communities in the context of historical, social, economic and cultural considerations, so that the social workers of tomorrow are well acquainted in issues that impact on their Indigenous clients.