Mary Kate Dennis
Biographic Data
| ID | 632345 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Mary Kate Dennis |
| GIVEN NAMES | Mary Kate |
| FAMILY NAME | Dennis |
| SIGNATURE | DENNIS M K |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Manitoba |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-0311-6274 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 19 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 46 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 19 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2009 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Indigenous social work: Knowing, being and doing
Covid-19 pandemic, climate change and Indigenous knowledges informing the future of social work
The COVID-19 pandemic revealed more fully social, economic, racial, and environmental disparities and offers a glimpse into the future. We recognize this moment as an opportunity to not only address the current pandemic, but also the climate crisis, which promises even more intense disruptions and disasters. This is not new for Indigenous people who have already experienced the end of their worlds through colonization. Indigenous people have adap…
Indigenous social work: Knowing, being and doing
Up in smoke or down with worms? older adult environmentalist’s discourse on disposal, dispersal, and (green) burial
Environmentalists target their own behaviour choices as part of their identity, including recycling, transportation, and clothing. Based on interviews with older adult environmentalists, we investigate whether their environmentalism extends beyond their lives. That is, do they want to be disposed of or dispersed upon their death? In terms of environmentalism, then, considering the materials involved, including one’s body, how might we explain old…
Collecting grief: Indigenous peoples, deaths by police and a global pandemic
Qualitative Research in Communities of Color: Challenges, Strategies, and Lessons
In its quest to improve social work practice and design interventions to reach a broader swath of its diverse clientele, the discipline of social work continues to recognize and encourage research within underserved communities of color. Researchers are increasingly turning to qualitative methods to better understand marginalized groups and the nuances of their experiences. Although there are a number of benefits to conducting qualitative researc…
Doing Hope”: Ecofeminist Spirituality Provides Emotional Sustenance to Confront the Climate Crisis
Environmental crises caused by our changing global environment evoke intense and difficult emotions, particularly the paralysis that often results from despair. Understanding how people who are deeply engaged in environmental activism deal with their emotions can help in emotionally equipping people to address the climate crisis. Ecofeminist spirituality directly addresses these issues through an environmental stewardship that offers hope and hea…
Indigenous Women, Water Protectors, and Reciprocal Responsibilities
Indigenous women in North America have traditionally had reciprocal relationships with and responsibilities to the Earth. The process of colonization violently transformed both the treatment of the Earth and of Indigenous women. Current environmental crises highlight not only the vulnerability of Indigenous women, but also their long-standing leadership in resisting environmental injustices affecting their families, relationships, and nations. In…
Feeding Indigenous people in Canada
Historically, hunger was used as a tool of coercion and manipulation, and as a weapon to eradicate Indigenous populations. Through policy decisions, the support for and removal of Indigenous children, and other assimilative practices, social work has contributed to the perpetuation of ‘helping practices’ which damaged Indigenous cultures and well-being. Today, experiences of hunger are still tied to colonialism. There is a need to examine the com…
Healing Through Storytelling: Indigenising Social Work with Stories
Indigenous storytelling is an important site of knowledge for Indigenous peoples around the world. It is imperative that studies of Indigenous people incorporate a style that matches the interconnectedness of Indigenous knowledge. We use an inter-disciplinary approach to examine how Indigenous storytelling can inform current social work practice and pedagogy with the end goal of promoting healing for Indigenous people. Utilising an Indigenous res…
Green grey hairs: A life course perspective on environmental engagement
Older adults provide a long view of understanding environmental engagement from their early beginnings to their current community activities. This study draws on interviews with self-described environmentalists and follows a life course analysis that employs social work values and practice skills as they work towards environmental justice in their Midwestern communities. We conclude that the older adults of this second generation of environmental…
Collective survival strategies and anti-colonial practice in ecosocial work
Oppressed communities have long used strategies of caring for and protecting each other to ensure their collective survival. We argue for ecosocial workers to critically interrogate how agency, history, and culture structure environmental problems and our responses to them, by developing a resilience-based framework, collective survival strategies (CSS). CSS consider power, culture and history and build upon the strengths of oppressed communities…
A land neither here nor there: Voices from the margins & the untenuring of Lakota lands
It’s a generosity loop”: Religious and spiritual motivations of volunteers who glean produce to reduce food insecurity
Food insecurity is a common social issue and households look to assistance from food pantries, which often have difficulty supplying fresh or nutritious food. A substantial amount of produce is left in the fields, which can be collected through gleaning. In a focus group with volunteer gleaners at a faith-based nonprofit organization that attempts to fill the gaps of food insecurity, the motivations, challenges, and benefits of volunteering were …
Rearing Generations: Lakota Grandparents’ Commitment to Family and Community
American Indian elders share personal stories of alcohol use with younger tribal members
In this Great Lakes Indian reservation qualitative study we utilized focus groups in the form of talking circles to elicit tribal members' views of alcohol use. We report on how the elder participants utilized the talking circles to inform the youth of the deleterious effects of alcohol use and abuse. Indigenous research methods were utilized so elder tribal members were consulted about the study; an elder was hired as a research associate; youth…
Ways of Grieving Among Ojibwe Elders: “They’re All Around Us. They’re Always.”
Death, grief, and loss are common experiences for many individuals who identify as American Indian/Alaska Native, yet decidedly little is known about the lived experience of grieving in this population. To address this gap in the literature, researchers conducted a qualitative descriptive study exploring ways of grieving among 20 elders residing on a North American Ojibwe reservation. Findings derived via thematic analysis illustrate the variety …
American Indian Women Report on the Community Impact of a Tribal Casino
Risk and Protective Factors for HIV/Aids in Native Americans: Implications for Preventive Intervention
HIV/AIDS has steadily increased in Native American and Alaska Native populations, and despite efforts at control many challenges remain. This article examines historical, biological, social, and behavioral cofactors related to the spread of HIV/AIDS within the context of Native American culture. Special attention is given to vulnerable subgroups and to the need for culturally appropriate efforts at prevention and intervention that respect the uni…
Collective survival strategies and anti-colonial practice in ecosocial work
Oppressed communities have long used strategies of caring for and protecting each other to ensure their collective survival. We argue for ecosocial workers to critically interrogate how agency, history, and culture structure environmental problems and our responses to them, by developing a resilience-based framework, collective survival strategies (CSS). CSS consider power, culture and history and build upon the strengths of oppressed communities…
Indigenous Women, Water Protectors, and Reciprocal Responsibilities
Indigenous women in North America have traditionally had reciprocal relationships with and responsibilities to the Earth. The process of colonization violently transformed both the treatment of the Earth and of Indigenous women. Current environmental crises highlight not only the vulnerability of Indigenous women, but also their long-standing leadership in resisting environmental injustices affecting their families, relationships, and nations. In…
Qualitative Research in Communities of Color: Challenges, Strategies, and Lessons
In its quest to improve social work practice and design interventions to reach a broader swath of its diverse clientele, the discipline of social work continues to recognize and encourage research within underserved communities of color. Researchers are increasingly turning to qualitative methods to better understand marginalized groups and the nuances of their experiences. Although there are a number of benefits to conducting qualitative researc…
Feeding Indigenous people in Canada
Historically, hunger was used as a tool of coercion and manipulation, and as a weapon to eradicate Indigenous populations. Through policy decisions, the support for and removal of Indigenous children, and other assimilative practices, social work has contributed to the perpetuation of ‘helping practices’ which damaged Indigenous cultures and well-being. Today, experiences of hunger are still tied to colonialism. There is a need to examine the com…
A land neither here nor there: Voices from the margins & the untenuring of Lakota lands
Doing Hope”: Ecofeminist Spirituality Provides Emotional Sustenance to Confront the Climate Crisis
Environmental crises caused by our changing global environment evoke intense and difficult emotions, particularly the paralysis that often results from despair. Understanding how people who are deeply engaged in environmental activism deal with their emotions can help in emotionally equipping people to address the climate crisis. Ecofeminist spirituality directly addresses these issues through an environmental stewardship that offers hope and hea…
Healing Through Storytelling: Indigenising Social Work with Stories
Indigenous storytelling is an important site of knowledge for Indigenous peoples around the world. It is imperative that studies of Indigenous people incorporate a style that matches the interconnectedness of Indigenous knowledge. We use an inter-disciplinary approach to examine how Indigenous storytelling can inform current social work practice and pedagogy with the end goal of promoting healing for Indigenous people. Utilising an Indigenous res…
Green grey hairs: A life course perspective on environmental engagement
Older adults provide a long view of understanding environmental engagement from their early beginnings to their current community activities. This study draws on interviews with self-described environmentalists and follows a life course analysis that employs social work values and practice skills as they work towards environmental justice in their Midwestern communities. We conclude that the older adults of this second generation of environmental…
Rearing Generations: Lakota Grandparents’ Commitment to Family and Community
Risk and Protective Factors for HIV/Aids in Native Americans: Implications for Preventive Intervention
HIV/AIDS has steadily increased in Native American and Alaska Native populations, and despite efforts at control many challenges remain. This article examines historical, biological, social, and behavioral cofactors related to the spread of HIV/AIDS within the context of Native American culture. Special attention is given to vulnerable subgroups and to the need for culturally appropriate efforts at prevention and intervention that respect the uni…
Risk and Protective Factors for HIV/Aids in Native Americans: Implications for Preventive Intervention
HIV/AIDS has steadily increased in Native American and Alaska Native populations, and despite efforts at control many challenges remain. This article examines historical, biological, social, and behavioral cofactors related to the spread of HIV/AIDS within the context of Native American culture. Special attention is given to vulnerable subgroups and to the need for culturally appropriate efforts at prevention and intervention that respect the uni…
American Indian Women Report on the Community Impact of a Tribal Casino
American Indian elders share personal stories of alcohol use with younger tribal members
In this Great Lakes Indian reservation qualitative study we utilized focus groups in the form of talking circles to elicit tribal members' views of alcohol use. We report on how the elder participants utilized the talking circles to inform the youth of the deleterious effects of alcohol use and abuse. Indigenous research methods were utilized so elder tribal members were consulted about the study; an elder was hired as a research associate; youth…
Ways of Grieving Among Ojibwe Elders: “They’re All Around Us. They’re Always.”
Death, grief, and loss are common experiences for many individuals who identify as American Indian/Alaska Native, yet decidedly little is known about the lived experience of grieving in this population. To address this gap in the literature, researchers conducted a qualitative descriptive study exploring ways of grieving among 20 elders residing on a North American Ojibwe reservation. Findings derived via thematic analysis illustrate the variety …
It’s a generosity loop”: Religious and spiritual motivations of volunteers who glean produce to reduce food insecurity
Food insecurity is a common social issue and households look to assistance from food pantries, which often have difficulty supplying fresh or nutritious food. A substantial amount of produce is left in the fields, which can be collected through gleaning. In a focus group with volunteer gleaners at a faith-based nonprofit organization that attempts to fill the gaps of food insecurity, the motivations, challenges, and benefits of volunteering were …
Rearing Generations: Lakota Grandparents’ Commitment to Family and Community
A land neither here nor there: Voices from the margins & the untenuring of Lakota lands
Healing Through Storytelling: Indigenising Social Work with Stories
Indigenous storytelling is an important site of knowledge for Indigenous peoples around the world. It is imperative that studies of Indigenous people incorporate a style that matches the interconnectedness of Indigenous knowledge. We use an inter-disciplinary approach to examine how Indigenous storytelling can inform current social work practice and pedagogy with the end goal of promoting healing for Indigenous people. Utilising an Indigenous res…
Green grey hairs: A life course perspective on environmental engagement
Older adults provide a long view of understanding environmental engagement from their early beginnings to their current community activities. This study draws on interviews with self-described environmentalists and follows a life course analysis that employs social work values and practice skills as they work towards environmental justice in their Midwestern communities. We conclude that the older adults of this second generation of environmental…
Collective survival strategies and anti-colonial practice in ecosocial work
Oppressed communities have long used strategies of caring for and protecting each other to ensure their collective survival. We argue for ecosocial workers to critically interrogate how agency, history, and culture structure environmental problems and our responses to them, by developing a resilience-based framework, collective survival strategies (CSS). CSS consider power, culture and history and build upon the strengths of oppressed communities…
Indigenous Women, Water Protectors, and Reciprocal Responsibilities
Indigenous women in North America have traditionally had reciprocal relationships with and responsibilities to the Earth. The process of colonization violently transformed both the treatment of the Earth and of Indigenous women. Current environmental crises highlight not only the vulnerability of Indigenous women, but also their long-standing leadership in resisting environmental injustices affecting their families, relationships, and nations. In…
Feeding Indigenous people in Canada
Historically, hunger was used as a tool of coercion and manipulation, and as a weapon to eradicate Indigenous populations. Through policy decisions, the support for and removal of Indigenous children, and other assimilative practices, social work has contributed to the perpetuation of ‘helping practices’ which damaged Indigenous cultures and well-being. Today, experiences of hunger are still tied to colonialism. There is a need to examine the com…
Collecting grief: Indigenous peoples, deaths by police and a global pandemic
Qualitative Research in Communities of Color: Challenges, Strategies, and Lessons
In its quest to improve social work practice and design interventions to reach a broader swath of its diverse clientele, the discipline of social work continues to recognize and encourage research within underserved communities of color. Researchers are increasingly turning to qualitative methods to better understand marginalized groups and the nuances of their experiences. Although there are a number of benefits to conducting qualitative researc…
Doing Hope”: Ecofeminist Spirituality Provides Emotional Sustenance to Confront the Climate Crisis
Environmental crises caused by our changing global environment evoke intense and difficult emotions, particularly the paralysis that often results from despair. Understanding how people who are deeply engaged in environmental activism deal with their emotions can help in emotionally equipping people to address the climate crisis. Ecofeminist spirituality directly addresses these issues through an environmental stewardship that offers hope and hea…
Indigenous social work: Knowing, being and doing
Up in smoke or down with worms? older adult environmentalist’s discourse on disposal, dispersal, and (green) burial
Environmentalists target their own behaviour choices as part of their identity, including recycling, transportation, and clothing. Based on interviews with older adult environmentalists, we investigate whether their environmentalism extends beyond their lives. That is, do they want to be disposed of or dispersed upon their death? In terms of environmentalism, then, considering the materials involved, including one’s body, how might we explain old…
Indigenous social work: Knowing, being and doing
Covid-19 pandemic, climate change and Indigenous knowledges informing the future of social work
The COVID-19 pandemic revealed more fully social, economic, racial, and environmental disparities and offers a glimpse into the future. We recognize this moment as an opportunity to not only address the current pandemic, but also the climate crisis, which promises even more intense disruptions and disasters. This is not new for Indigenous people who have already experienced the end of their worlds through colonization. Indigenous people have adap…
Sociology (19 works) · Political science (17 works) · Psychology (13 works) · Indigenous (10 works) · Law (8 works) · Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights (7 works) · Law (7 works) · Social science (7 works) · Environmental ethics (6 works) · Medicine (6 works)