Skylar Truax, Kristal Means, Meliza Poleahla

Title:

Integrating Cultural Humility in Social Work: Addressing Gaps in Practice with Indigenous Populations

Abstract:

Despite increasing recognition of the need for culturally responsive practice, gaps remain in social work research regarding the role of cultural humility when working with Indigenous populations. Specifically, there is limited research conducted with Indigenous populations that emphasize the importance of cultural humility. Current social work curricula and practices often fail to adequately address historical and intergenerational trauma, resulting in culturally incompetent interventions that may retraumatize Indigenous individuals (Middelton-Moz et al., 2021). Existing research has emphasized cultural competency, however, cultural humility, centered around self-reflection and power balance, remains under-researched concerning social work practice with Indigenous populations (Lekas et al., 2020). We are conducting a mixed methods study incorporating qualitative interviews with Indigenous peoples to examine how cultural humility influences social work practice. Through analyzing lived experiences and existing social work frameworks, this research seeks to identify effective interventions for integrating cultural humility into social work education and practice. The anticipated findings will highlight the necessity of improving the current protocols and values of social work curriculum practices to include cultural humility. Through addressing these gaps, practitioners in human services can engage with Indigenous individuals in a manner that respects cultural identity, addresses historical trauma, and fosters ethical care. This study contributes to the discourse on culturally responsive social work and the broader movement toward decolonizing social services for Indigenous communities.

Keywords: cultural competency, cultural humility, social work, intergenerational trauma, historical trauma, Indigenous peoples