Guadalupe Ortiz
Oppression and Discrimination
I have learned that discrimination has been apparent in their society throughout their history. They faced oppression when the Europeans first landed in the Americas and still facing the same issues in present times. I believe the problems have just manifested to what is "acceptable" in current society for example although, they are not being forcefully removed from their land like before they still face disruption in their reservations. The strengths of the strategies that are put in place to help the Native Americans focuses on what needs immediate attention which is their education, economy, and self-sufficiency. Despite that the Native Americans are helping their own community the outside help they are getting is little to none, which can be seen as a weakness in the strategy because not a lot of social action is occurring from society as a whole.
Ethics
This population has been understudied making it hard for social workers and other allies to assist the needs of the Native Americans. Some of the ethical issues this community is facing is that they are not receiving proper health care, education, recognition of their rights, and job opportunities. In the preamble of the NASW code of ethics it states that "...with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty" (NASW, p. 1). This quote states as future social workers we need to pay attention to populations like the Native Americans to help them obtain basic needs like proper education and economic stability particularly because they are currently being oppressed and living in poverty. I believe the most prominent ethical principle is social justice because they have lacked to receive this justice. Considering, most people lack to acknowledge this population it is important that we show advocacy for this group to get them social justice. Code 6.04 of the NASW states "Social workers should engage in social and political action that seeks to ensure that all people have equal access to the resources, employment, services, and opportunities they require to meet their basic human needs and to develop fully" (NASW, p. 11). This means that we should be fighting for this population to receive equal access that other non-vulnerable populations receive automatically.
Social Work Profession
I would say that although they are strategies put in place to help this community the efforts are mostly being made by people that are within the community. I feel that social workers are helping, but they aren't helping as much as they help other minority groups. This population has lacked attention for many years, but now that more attention has recently focused on the Native Americans I believe more advocacy will begin to occur. This assignment has helped me realize that this population has been slipping through the cracks for many years and until now we are acknowledging the help they need and that in the social work profession we have allowed this group to remain in the shadows for too long. That as social workers we should be aware of their issues and their culture. As a future social worker I believe that we must understand what needs to be fixed internally first then concentrate on helping externally. By helping in the communities first, we can begin to understand what kind of help the Native Americans need then, advocate for them in a larger scale. I would like to unify multiple minority groups because a lot of issues they face other groups do too so, by unifying groups I believe it will bring lasting changes for all.
I have learned that discrimination has been apparent in their society throughout their history. They faced oppression when the Europeans first landed in the Americas and still facing the same issues in present times. I believe the problems have just manifested to what is "acceptable" in current society for example although, they are not being forcefully removed from their land like before they still face disruption in their reservations. The strengths of the strategies that are put in place to help the Native Americans focuses on what needs immediate attention which is their education, economy, and self-sufficiency. Despite that the Native Americans are helping their own community the outside help they are getting is little to none, which can be seen as a weakness in the strategy because not a lot of social action is occurring from society as a whole.
Ethics
This population has been understudied making it hard for social workers and other allies to assist the needs of the Native Americans. Some of the ethical issues this community is facing is that they are not receiving proper health care, education, recognition of their rights, and job opportunities. In the preamble of the NASW code of ethics it states that "...with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty" (NASW, p. 1). This quote states as future social workers we need to pay attention to populations like the Native Americans to help them obtain basic needs like proper education and economic stability particularly because they are currently being oppressed and living in poverty. I believe the most prominent ethical principle is social justice because they have lacked to receive this justice. Considering, most people lack to acknowledge this population it is important that we show advocacy for this group to get them social justice. Code 6.04 of the NASW states "Social workers should engage in social and political action that seeks to ensure that all people have equal access to the resources, employment, services, and opportunities they require to meet their basic human needs and to develop fully" (NASW, p. 11). This means that we should be fighting for this population to receive equal access that other non-vulnerable populations receive automatically.
Social Work Profession
I would say that although they are strategies put in place to help this community the efforts are mostly being made by people that are within the community. I feel that social workers are helping, but they aren't helping as much as they help other minority groups. This population has lacked attention for many years, but now that more attention has recently focused on the Native Americans I believe more advocacy will begin to occur. This assignment has helped me realize that this population has been slipping through the cracks for many years and until now we are acknowledging the help they need and that in the social work profession we have allowed this group to remain in the shadows for too long. That as social workers we should be aware of their issues and their culture. As a future social worker I believe that we must understand what needs to be fixed internally first then concentrate on helping externally. By helping in the communities first, we can begin to understand what kind of help the Native Americans need then, advocate for them in a larger scale. I would like to unify multiple minority groups because a lot of issues they face other groups do too so, by unifying groups I believe it will bring lasting changes for all.
Rebekah Reagan
Oppression and Discrimination
I feel that the most important thing we learned about this oppression, is that it has been present overtime, and continuous. This is a group who has faced oppression since colonization, and is still facing severe discrimination and oppression to this day. I feel that the strengths of strategies was understanding the importance of Native American culture in many of the social issues. I feel that it is important to focus on this aspect, because the culture is important. I feel that some of the weaknesses to addressing oppression is that Native American oppression is often ignored, and although there are strategies to combat this oppression, the social action is not enough. There needs to be more policies and action to benefit this group.
Ethics
I feel that equity is the most relevant to addressing this issue. It is important that we understand the oppression that Native Americans have faced throughout time to be able to respond to the problems properly. We also need to see the disparities between Native Americans and other populations to address the issues. Social justice is the most prominent value within the NASW Code of Ethics, relating to this group. I feel this is important because this is a group where the oppression is often ignored, and not known to most individuals. As social workers, it is our job to promote learning about this population, and push policies that would help empower this group. Native Americans have faced social injustice at a major level, and deserve to receive the same rights and opportunities that dominate populations receive.
Social Work Profession
I feel that this is a group that hasn’t received involvement from social workers on the level that they need. One contribution I feel that social worker profession has received from this group is the necessity for cultural competence practice. It is important to understand Native American’s culture, in order to fix major social injustice that this group faces. I feel that by completing this assignment, I understand that there is still more work to be done as social workers, and that we must continue to improve our practice to benefit this population. We can see that this group is still experiencing injustice, and that Social Workers need to be involved in this process and be allies to the Native American people. As a professional social worker, I hope to be an ally to Native American people, and work on governmental policies that protect Native American populations while creating programs and services that focus on their needs.
I feel that the most important thing we learned about this oppression, is that it has been present overtime, and continuous. This is a group who has faced oppression since colonization, and is still facing severe discrimination and oppression to this day. I feel that the strengths of strategies was understanding the importance of Native American culture in many of the social issues. I feel that it is important to focus on this aspect, because the culture is important. I feel that some of the weaknesses to addressing oppression is that Native American oppression is often ignored, and although there are strategies to combat this oppression, the social action is not enough. There needs to be more policies and action to benefit this group.
Ethics
I feel that equity is the most relevant to addressing this issue. It is important that we understand the oppression that Native Americans have faced throughout time to be able to respond to the problems properly. We also need to see the disparities between Native Americans and other populations to address the issues. Social justice is the most prominent value within the NASW Code of Ethics, relating to this group. I feel this is important because this is a group where the oppression is often ignored, and not known to most individuals. As social workers, it is our job to promote learning about this population, and push policies that would help empower this group. Native Americans have faced social injustice at a major level, and deserve to receive the same rights and opportunities that dominate populations receive.
Social Work Profession
I feel that this is a group that hasn’t received involvement from social workers on the level that they need. One contribution I feel that social worker profession has received from this group is the necessity for cultural competence practice. It is important to understand Native American’s culture, in order to fix major social injustice that this group faces. I feel that by completing this assignment, I understand that there is still more work to be done as social workers, and that we must continue to improve our practice to benefit this population. We can see that this group is still experiencing injustice, and that Social Workers need to be involved in this process and be allies to the Native American people. As a professional social worker, I hope to be an ally to Native American people, and work on governmental policies that protect Native American populations while creating programs and services that focus on their needs.
Ahlam Shaikh
Oppression and Discrimination
By working on this project, I learned that there has not been much progress made in addressing social problems of Native Americans. They are still dealing with the oppression and discrimination they faced historically in the past. Though Americans may have stopped assimilation, they are still actively reinforcing demeaning stereotypes against Native Americans and their culture through mascots and Halloween costumes. History is repeating itself today, as the sacred land at Standing Rock is under the threat of pipeline construction. It is evident that the American government still does not value or respect Native American land and culture. The conditions of Native Americans, on and off reservations, have continued to deteriorate due to the lack of resources, rights, sufficient healthcare, employment opportunities, adequate housing, and culture-focused education.
Ethics
While researching, I realized there is a severe shortage in research and social services for the Native American community. It is extremely important that we explore the issues of vulnerable populations in depth in order to form policies that fulfill their needs. The few social responses we discovered focused on the ethical principle of service to define the social problems and identify response strategies. They were highly dependent on volunteers “with no expectation of significant financial return” (NASW). The social services also disregarded their own self-interests, and worked to provide necessary resources to Native Americans. They utilized the “knowledge, values, and skills” available within their own community in order to “address social problems” (NASW). However, I believe increased efforts towards advocating for macro-level policy changes can solve the root of the social problems, rather than attempting to solve the symptoms of the social problems.
Social Work Profession
I think there is much more work to be done by social workers towards meeting the needs of Native Americans. They are not receiving the same level of attention and advocacy by social workers as other vulnerable populations. By completing this project, I learned the importance of cultural awareness, and cultural knowledge when working with vulnerable populations. I also realized the true value of policy work in addressing the systematic oppression, and discrimination against Native Americans. This assignment has developed my understanding of the role played by culture, and language in the empowerment of Native Americans, as well as the success of policies and social work practice. As a future social worker, I feel more compelled to become an ally, and advocate for policies and programs promoting the rights and well being of Native Americans.
By working on this project, I learned that there has not been much progress made in addressing social problems of Native Americans. They are still dealing with the oppression and discrimination they faced historically in the past. Though Americans may have stopped assimilation, they are still actively reinforcing demeaning stereotypes against Native Americans and their culture through mascots and Halloween costumes. History is repeating itself today, as the sacred land at Standing Rock is under the threat of pipeline construction. It is evident that the American government still does not value or respect Native American land and culture. The conditions of Native Americans, on and off reservations, have continued to deteriorate due to the lack of resources, rights, sufficient healthcare, employment opportunities, adequate housing, and culture-focused education.
Ethics
While researching, I realized there is a severe shortage in research and social services for the Native American community. It is extremely important that we explore the issues of vulnerable populations in depth in order to form policies that fulfill their needs. The few social responses we discovered focused on the ethical principle of service to define the social problems and identify response strategies. They were highly dependent on volunteers “with no expectation of significant financial return” (NASW). The social services also disregarded their own self-interests, and worked to provide necessary resources to Native Americans. They utilized the “knowledge, values, and skills” available within their own community in order to “address social problems” (NASW). However, I believe increased efforts towards advocating for macro-level policy changes can solve the root of the social problems, rather than attempting to solve the symptoms of the social problems.
Social Work Profession
I think there is much more work to be done by social workers towards meeting the needs of Native Americans. They are not receiving the same level of attention and advocacy by social workers as other vulnerable populations. By completing this project, I learned the importance of cultural awareness, and cultural knowledge when working with vulnerable populations. I also realized the true value of policy work in addressing the systematic oppression, and discrimination against Native Americans. This assignment has developed my understanding of the role played by culture, and language in the empowerment of Native Americans, as well as the success of policies and social work practice. As a future social worker, I feel more compelled to become an ally, and advocate for policies and programs promoting the rights and well being of Native Americans.
Jennifer Reyes
Oppression and Discrimination
Throughout the research, I learned that Native Americans are continuously persecuted. They are oppressed on every level and are not heard. Today, this population is experiencing the same thing they were back in the day. The pipeline is an example of a current oppression because it is taking away land. The strategies we chose were okay at identifying the problem more than solving it. I, honestly, think we need to do a better job at creating policies for Native Americans.
Ethics
This population is not researched enough. There is no possible way that this is okay. They have been here for so many years but are not given the light of day. I believe the problem and response strategy were chosen through the fairness ethical principle. We looked for strategies that helped ‘even out the playing field’. Because of past injustices to Native Americans, we simply just gravitated towards those response strategies.
Social Work Profession
From the research done, I did not notice a big, if any, contribution of social work practice. There were social worker like actions done for the group but not by social workers. An example is Running Strong and how they provided a lot of resources to tribes. After completing the assignment, I think social work has not gone far enough. It has touched these groups, but we need to completely dive in if it is permitted. There is no way I can be happy as a social worker if Native Americans are still being ignored. I do plan on advocating more for this group as a social worker where I might have more power than I do now.
Throughout the research, I learned that Native Americans are continuously persecuted. They are oppressed on every level and are not heard. Today, this population is experiencing the same thing they were back in the day. The pipeline is an example of a current oppression because it is taking away land. The strategies we chose were okay at identifying the problem more than solving it. I, honestly, think we need to do a better job at creating policies for Native Americans.
Ethics
This population is not researched enough. There is no possible way that this is okay. They have been here for so many years but are not given the light of day. I believe the problem and response strategy were chosen through the fairness ethical principle. We looked for strategies that helped ‘even out the playing field’. Because of past injustices to Native Americans, we simply just gravitated towards those response strategies.
Social Work Profession
From the research done, I did not notice a big, if any, contribution of social work practice. There were social worker like actions done for the group but not by social workers. An example is Running Strong and how they provided a lot of resources to tribes. After completing the assignment, I think social work has not gone far enough. It has touched these groups, but we need to completely dive in if it is permitted. There is no way I can be happy as a social worker if Native Americans are still being ignored. I do plan on advocating more for this group as a social worker where I might have more power than I do now.