Is Decolonizing Social Work a Lost Cause? Asking the Questions No One Wants to Answer

This roundtable invites a bold and unfiltered conversation about whether or not social work can be decolonized or if decolonial social workers are reaching towards an ideal that the field has no genuine will nor capacity to make a reality. This conversation will feature perspectives from Indigenous and allied social work scholars, community organizers, and practitioners involved in grassroots efforts; the guiding questions anchor this discussion: (1) Do social workers truly want to do the radical, uncomfortable work required to decolonize? (2) Is social work so entrenched in its colonial foundations, from child protective services (CPS) to doctoral training programs and community organizations, that any attempts at transformation are quickly watered down or dismissed? Drawing from a paper modeling decolonized research through Indigenous methodologies and relational accountability, this roundtable addresses alignment between social work science, policy, and practice by exploring what decolonization could become in practice and what barriers prevent achieving this goal. The discussion will address topics such as the "old guard" and institutional gatekeeping in academia and social work, the marginalization of Indigenous knowledge systems, and the push to make social work into a rigid evidence-based science at the expense of relational and community-grounded practices. Panelists will analyze treatment received by social workers who challenge the norms, be it censure or loss of support, and whether it is possible for social work institutions like CPS to be reformed. We will also wrestle with the implications of these questions, including the costs and benefits of decolonial social workers' investment in reform efforts as well as strategies for maximization of impact on bringing social work science, practice, and policy into better alignment with social justice, as mandated by the code of ethics. Rather than offering neat answers or consensus, the goal is to create space for a wide range of perspectives, including discomfort, disagreement, and honest self-reflection. We hope to disrupt the comfort of surface-level equity conversations and challenge attendees to think critically about their roles in maintaining or transforming the status quo. While this roundtable is grounded in theory and research, it is also deeply personal and political. It reflects the lived experiences of those trying to carve out spaces that go against the grain inside a field that seems to pride itself in being more acceptable by Westernized science and academia. The audience will be invited to engage throughout the session in an open conversation that bridges academia, practice, and community wisdom and to move beyond buzzwords toward actual transformation.