Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 40, Number 3, 1 March 2023 — A Hawaiian Approach to Social Work [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

A Hawaiian Approach to Social Work

V E 'ONIPA'A KAKOU V ^ BE STEADFAST *

By Cheri Tarutani In her majesty's Deed of Trust, Queen Lili'uokalani stated, "all the property of the Trust Estate ... shall be used by the Trustees for the benefit of orphan and other destitute children in the Hawaiian Islands, the preference given to Native Hawaiian (NH) children of pure or part-ab-original blood." Since the 1930s, Lili'uokalani Trust (LT) has been providing social work services to NH kamali'i (children) and their 'ohana, first as an afhliate of the Child Welfare League of America. With our longstanding history of providing social work services, LT recognizes March (locally and nationally) as Social Work Month. To reach our strategic vision of E Nā Kamalei Lupalupa (Thriving Hawaiian Children), we use an Indigenous Social Work Practice fr amework founded upon restoring harmony to Native Hawaiians through elinieal interventions grounded in the knowledge passed down from our kūpuna and those who have eome before us. At LT, our teammates subscribe to the Guiding Responsibilities for Indigenous Soeial Work Practices of the Academy of Cer-

tified Social Workers (2013), "We have four gifts to guide our behavior in exercising our responsibilities; 1) Our languages, our ceremonies, our knowledge and traditions, and our relationship to the land, 2) Our children are recognized as the keepers of our sacred ways: our responsibility is to ensure that they learn and live by these gifts; 3) Our relationships are recognized by keeping with the Laws of Creation through the transfer of ceremony; and 4) Our sacred ways of knowing must be protected for our collective survival." When kamali'i experience our social services, there is no sofa and desk. Instead they may find lauhala mats, a bowl of light, a kahili, or flowers for lei making. Our social services team and the Queen weleome kamali'i into our safe spaces (kīpuka) to hear their mo'olelo and build pilina. Together, they address challenges by connecting to Hawaiian values, embracing lessons ffom the Queen's story and healing through eultural practices. ^ When kamali'i find strength in their eul- • tural identity, they believe in themselves and they will have a better future as expressed by one of our kamali'i, "I never thought I'd do, and I enjoy doing, hula. I'm glad I get to learn some Hawaiian chant. When I finish this program, I would choose to go right instead of the path to hospital, prison or even death." Always, and especially in March, we mahalo social workers for the impact they make. ■ Cheri Tarutani, LCSW, is the managing director ofsocial services for Lili'uokalani Trust. lt is her greatest honor to be a part of carrying out the Queen's wishes.

Keeping kamali'i connected to the Queen is port of the sociol work practice at Lili'uokalani Trust. - Courtesy Photo