Abstract
In settler colonial countries, Indigenous children are disproportionately represented in child welfare systems, with increasing debates voiced by Indigenous leaders on the appropriateness of these systems to respond to Indigenous needs. This entry centres Indigenous restoration, repair and practice as a pathway forward, shifting statutory child welfare responses towards restoration, abolition, allyship and the relational. The entry offers decolonial principles and guidance that can be applied to social work legislation, policy, and practice, disrupting entrenched settler colonial norms. The author examines the foundations of colonial child welfare systems alongside understandings from Canadian, American, Australian and New Zealand First Nations developments. The entry lays a challenge to social work, to ally against oppression through strengthened relationships, demonstrating a commitment to Indigenous solutions and decolonizing, pushing for shared leadership and authority between Indigenous communities and colonial governing systems.