Chapter 8 Further Resources

Indigenous Peoples and Social Work 

Recommended Readings

Brownlie, R.J. (2009). First Nations perspectives and historical thinking in Canada. In A.M. Timpson, First Nations, first thoughts: The impact of Indigenous thought in Canada (pp. 21–50). Vancouver: UBC Press.

Carter, S. (1989). Two acres and a cow: ‘Peasant’ farming for the Indians of the Northwest, 1889–97. Canadian Historical Review, 70(1), 27-52.

Gray, M., Coates, C., Yellow Bird, M., & Hetherington, T. (Eds.) (2013). Decolonising social work. London: Ashgate.

Long, D., & Dickason, O.P. (2016). Visions of the heart: Issues involving Aboriginal Peoples in Canada. (4th ed.). Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.

Sinclair, R. (2009). Bridging the past and the future: An introduction to Indigenous social work issues. In R. Sinclair, M.A. Hart & G. Bruyere, Wícihitowin: Aboriginal social work in Canada (pp. 19–24). Halifax, NS: Fernwood.

St-Onge, N., Podruchny, C., & MacDougall, B. (2014). Contours of a people: Métis family, mobility, and history. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press.

Wachowich, N. (2001). Saqiyuq: Stories from the lives of three Inuit women. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press.

Wieman, C. (2009). Six Nations mental health services: A model of care of Aboriginal communities. In L. Kirmayer & G. Valaskakis (Eds.), Healing traditions: The mental health of Aboriginal peoples in Canada (pp. 401–418). Vancouver: UBC Press.

Recommended Videos

  1. Crazywater (2013) by Dennis Allen. 56 min 18 sec. National Film Board. https://www.nfb.ca/film/crazywater/?hpen=feature_7

    This documentary, directed by Inuvialuit filmmaker Dennis Allen, is an emotional, honest, and revealing exploration of substance abuse among First Nations Peoples in Canada. The documentary chronicles the stories of two men and two women who courageously share their experiences.
  1. Richard Cardinal: Cry from a Diary of a Métis Child (1986) by Alanis Obomsawin. 29 min 13 sec. National Film Board. https://www.nfb.ca/film/richard_cardinal

    This documentary chronicles the life of Richard Cardinal, a Métis adolescent who committed suicide in 1984. Taken from his home at the age of 4 due to family problems, he spent the rest of his 17 short years moving in and out of 28 foster homes, group homes, and shelters in Alberta.
  1. Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance (1993) by Alanis Obomsawin. 119 min 24 sec. National Film Board. https://www.nfb.ca/film/kanehsatake_270_years_of_resistance

    This feature-length documentary records the events that began in July 1990, in Kanehsatake and the village of Oka, Quebec. Director Obomsawin spent 78 days and nights filming the armed stand-off between Mohawks, Quebec police, and the Canadian army. This documentary is also available in French.
  1. Urban. Indigenous. Proud: Some Stories (2018) by Clayton Windatt. 8 min 3 sec. National Film Board. https://www.nfb.ca/film/urban-indigenous-proud-some-stories/

    Friendship Centres started in the 1950s as a grassroots movement to create places of belonging in urban settings. This short documentary shares the stories of youth who are a part of the North Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre in North Bay, ON.
  1. Making Waves (2014) produced by Todd Lamirande. 23 min 54 sec. APTN Investigates, National News. https://aptnnews.ca/2014/02/22/making-waves/

    This news piece highlights the issue of trafficking of Indigenous women between Canada and the United States, based on research by Christine Stark, MSW.
  1. Finding Dawn (2006) by Christine Welsh. 73 min 31 sec. National Film Board. https://www.nfb.ca/film/finding_dawn

    Métis filmmaker Christine Welsh presents a documentary that puts a human face on a national tragedy: the murders and disappearances of over 500 Indigenous women in Canada over the past 30 years. Finding Dawn provides a moving illustration of the deep historical, social, and economic factors that have contributed to the epidemic of violence against Indigenous women in Canada.

Recommended Websites

  1. Assembly of First Nations. http://www.afn.ca/

    This is the website of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), a national advocacy organization representing First Nation citizens in Canada, which includes more than 900,000 people living in 634 First Nation communities and in cities and towns across the country. The website is available in English and French.
  1. Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada First Nation Profiles Interactive Map. https://geo.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/cippn-fnpim/index-eng.html

    This clickable map provides information about Indigenous communities, including links to First Nation community websites and profiles.
  1. First Nations Child and Family Caring Society. https://fncaringsociety.com/7-free-ways-make-difference

    This webpage, a page of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society website, highlights 7 free campaigns for First Nations children and their families that can make a difference. The site includes a short video from Dr. Cindy Blackstock reviewing each campaign.
  1. Aboriginal Youth Opportunities. http://www.ayomovement.com/

    AYO! (Aboriginal Youth Opportunities) is a youth movement from Winnipeg’s North End. Volunteer-led, the movement utilizes relationships with organizations, media partners, and businesses in order to empower one another. Volunteers are committed to helping the North End to heal and will work with those who share their vision to provide Indigenous youth with more opportunities.
  1. Métis Nation. https://www.metisnation.ca/index.php/who-are-the-metis/citizenship

    This website contains information about the Métis Nations across Canada, with background information, statistics, and links to the Métis Nation of Ontario, the Manitoba Métis Federation, the Métis Nation–Saskatchewan, the Métis Nation of Alberta, the Métis Nation British Columbia, and Les Femmes Michif Otipemswak operating as the Women of the Métis Nation.
  1. Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. https://www.itk.ca/about-canadian-inuit/

    This website highlights the advocacy work of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), which is the national voice of 55,000 Inuit living in 53 communities across the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (Northwest Territories), Nunavut, Nunavik (Northern Quebec), and Nunatsiavut (Northern Labrador). Founded in 1971, ITK represents and promotes the interests of Inuit on a wide variety of environmental, social, cultural, and political issues and challenges facing Inuit on the national level.
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