Indigenous Rights

CSWE Statement of Accountability and Reconciliation for Harms Done to Indigenous and Tribal Peoples

From the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE)

Social workers promote social justice and focus on empowerment of people who are vulnerable and oppressed, yet there is no doubt that social workers have also functioned as agents of social control, upholding the norms of a colonial, racist society and encouraging clients to assimilate into the larger American culture and to adapt to its norms and values.

This 2021 CSWE publication acknowledges that the social work profession and social work education are steeped in colonial influences and that social work practices have supported government priorities, including eradicating and assimilating Indigenous and Tribal Peoples.

The actions of individual social workers and our profession have caused harm in multiple ways, through actions and inactions. Recommendations in this statement of reconciliation call for change and healing.

Read the CSWE Statement of Accountability and Reconciliation for Harms Done to Indigenous and Tribal Peoples

NASW Foundation Consuelo W. Gosnell Memorial Scholarship

The Consuelo W. Gosnell Memorial Scholarship is awarded to master's degree candidates in social work who have demonstrated a commitment to working with, or who have a special affinity with, American Indian/Alaska Native and Hispanic/Latino populations. Candidates who have demonstrated a commitment to working with public or voluntary nonprofit agencies or with local grassroots groups in the United States are also eligible.

Learn about the Consuelo W. Gosnell Memorial scholarship