Working within Indigenous Communities asks for us to step outside of our “professional self”, the hierarchy and the system of our science, and return to our complete human self—spirit, emotion and all.
We are all created in beauty and are a gift to the world. Most people come to the helping professions with a strong desire for connection and relationships with others. At times the limits of our profession, our training and how our science is commonly applied, can muddy these waters for us. We are asked to act in a particular way on behalf of the systems we represent. In my experience in the world as an Indigenous person, when we limit ourselves to this lens, this is not our best starting point and this is not walking in this world in a good way. This presentation will look at the power of our origin stories within the field of ABA, the continued impacts of colonization and colonialism within our field, indigenous perspectives on strengths and protective factors, and working as ABA professionals alongside Indigenous clients at the levels of the individual, the family, the community, and the Nation in a decolonized and culturally responsive way.
1.5 CEU Session