| Summary: | The delivery of youth protection services by indigenous social workers in native communities is a fairly recent development in Quebec. This research project is a qualitative study of the practice experience of Inuit community workers located on the Ungava Bay coast of Arctic Quebec. Using participant observation and dialogue as methods of inquiry, an attempt is made to render an account of the workers' day-to-day experience of youth protection work. The findings suggest that their conditions of work encourage a passive subordination to the bureaucratic organization of practice. This tendency emerges in response to the difficulties workers encounter while trying to conform to the requirements of the Youth Protection Act and, at the same time, to the norms and realities of Inuit village life. The resultant tension is central to the Inuit workers' experience and not amenable to any simple resolution. Implications for social work practice, policy and research are examined in light of these findings.
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