Role of Social Workers in Serving Marginalised Communities: An Analysis of Anishinaabe Tribe of Canada

Running head: SOCIAL WORK
SOCIAL WORK
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1SOCIAL WORK
Working for and with disadvantaged or marginalised groups of people require an in-
depth understanding of the concept of marginalisation and its impacts on the aboriginal or
indigenous people of a particular area. Aboriginal people comprises of the various ethnic
groups or communities, who were the original dwellers of a particular region, before
colonization by external settlers and businesspersons. Indigenous people have always been
deprived of the basic necessities and privileges and economically dominated by the society of
colonizers. Impacts of such gross marginalization are huge—poor health, increased chronic
disorders, lack of education and awareness, little to no access of health or other social
services, and more.
In this essay,I aim to analyse the role of a social worker, who is working with
marginalised or disadvantaged people, and support it with new perspectives and skills that
could be inculcated in order to enhance efficiency
Various marginalised communities have various kinds of disadvantages: needs and
challenges. According to Marshall & Rossman (2014),committing as a social worker serving
indigenous marginalised groups requires vivid knowledge of the particular community, their
history of origin, culture, practices, religion, beliefs and more. Exclusion from the dominant
power structures of a society results in their exclusion from the mainstream source of income,
and hence from accessing social and health services too. Marginalised people evidently suffer
more from chronic disorders than the non-indigenous, privileged settlers. In this essay, I
would explore and analyse the history and existing conditions of the Anishinabe tribe of
Canada, in order to define my role as a social worker and make helpful contributions by
offering new perspectives in the system.
The most important role of a social worker serving marginalised communities is to
have a thorough understanding of power structures existing in the society that lead to

2SOCIAL WORK
suppression and marginalisation of the minority and also, to device appropriate mechanism to
make an effective change in the system structure and establish social equity. Various
aboriginal tribes of Canada, who share similar culture, history andlanguage, together form the
Anishinaabe group of people. Traditionally, most Anishinaabe people were populated in
Northeast Woodlands and Subarctic. The Anishinaabe group includes various tribes, like—
Odawa, Ojibwe, Chippewa, Potawatomi, Chippewa and Algonquin peoples. The Anishinaabe
tribes are autonomous in structure with their own set up of laws, government, police and
other services. Each community of the Anishinaabe tribe have their own registered lands that
belong to them and do not come under the jurisdiction of the Canadian government. Various
social service groups, like Anishinabeg Child and Family Services and other Child and
Family Services across Canada, work in collaboration to serve the tribal people, especially
children and families (Walter, 2015). Their aim is essentially to safeguard the basic rights and
privileges required for the survival of the Anishinaabe tribal people.
Working with the marginalised people of Canada would require me to carry out an in-
depth study of their history and culture. Taking into account the Anishinaabe group of tribes,
a thorough conception of their cultural specifics is mandatory before taking on the task of
serving them. My primary motive should be to take care of the best interests of the
marginalised communities by diminishing external and internal threats and boosting their
safety. As a social service provider, I would be responsible for their well-being and
supporting them to develop mechanisms that would help them to cope with their challenges
more proficiently. As per Asch (2014),apart from guiding the communities with appropriate
awareness regarding legal, social and health related processes, there are workers specifically
catering to connecting the needs of the community with the respective solution areas. For
example, connecting an aboriginal individual, who is in need of legal advice, with a culturally
competent Indigenous community solicitor.