Locating Sámi social work in Finland:Meanings produced by social workers in working with Sámi people

This article examines culturally and locally relevant social work. Social work knowledge and practices are usually constructed on the basis of values and norms of the dominant culture. Our aim is to examine social work that is sensitive to local traditions by studying social work being carried out i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International Social Work
Main Authors: Järvensivu, Linda, Pohjola, Aili Anneli, Romakkaniemi, Marjo Kristiina
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2016
Subjects:
Online Access:https://research.ulapland.fi/fi/publications/bf16710d-2195-4ba6-8f64-1f8ec251ab1d
https://doi.org/10.1177/0020872816646817
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Summary:This article examines culturally and locally relevant social work. Social work knowledge and practices are usually constructed on the basis of values and norms of the dominant culture. Our aim is to examine social work that is sensitive to local traditions by studying social work being carried out in Finland’s Sámi region. Our focus is on the meanings produced by social workers working with Sámi people. Sámi social work was found to be multidimensional. It was special, yet shared common features with mainstream social work. Cultural sensitivity is constructed in each encounter between a Sámi client and a social worker.