The Contradiction of Helping: Inuit Oppression(s) and Social Work in Nunavut

Abstract

Significant differences in privilege, material resources, and decision-making power exist between Inuit and Qallunaat (or non-Inuit) in Canada’s Nunavut Territory. Holding serious implications, the disproportionate advantages afforded Qallunaat require an examination of the relationship between social work and the State (as employer). The role of credentialism and professionalism in the maintenance of neocolonial relations reveals a professional paradox and a barrier to pursing the objective of social justice within the profession. The transition experienced by Inuit—from a predominantly hunting culture to the logic of industrial capitalism—necessitates an examination of the role Qallunaat social workers have played and continue to practice within this transition and in the institutional structures that protect their interests.

KEYWORDS:

• class
• colonial
• Inuit
• neocolonial
• Nunavut
• power
• privilege
• professionalism
• social work

Notes

¹ In fact, from 2001 to 2006, the number of recipients of State financial assistance rose from 8,100 to almost 14,000, representing almost half of the population of the entire territory (HRSDC, 2012).

² This has turned child welfare into child protection and increased the focus on apprehension over service provision and family support.

Additional information

Funding

Research related to this paper was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and ArcticNet.