Introduction

This chapter outlines the challenges facing contemporary social work arising from a long history of the colonization and exploitation of fellow human beings and the planet. It introduces the aim of the book, which is to invite social workers, students, and community members to imagine decolonizing pathways towards integrative social work. Opening with a brief decolonized acknowledgment of Indigenous Peoples and cultures that have been here since time immemorial, the authors then tell their own stories and how they came to the topic of the book.