Mary Anne Clarke

• UM Women’s Centre Women in Social Work Award 2025 
• University of Manitoba Graduate Students’ Association Award, 2012-13 
• Faculty of Graduate Studies Special Award Number 91254, 2011-12 

• SPECTRUM Social Policy Evaluation Collaborative Team Research at Universities in Manitoba 

• Doctor of Philosophy (Peace and Conflict Studies) – University of Manitoba, 2023 
• Master of Peace and Conflict Studies – University of Manitoba, 2015 
• Bachelor of Social Work – University of British Columbia, 1991 
• Bachelor of Arts – Gonzaga University, 1981 

Dr. Mary Anne Clarke uses decolonizing, interdisciplinary, and community-based approaches in her research with the intent to provide opportunities for Indigenous Peoples, governments, and organizations to thrive within their Indigenous and other rights. Using Indigenous, participatory, action and autoethnographic research methods allow for the direct involvement of those most directly impacted, and those who have the Indigenous Knowledges focusing on children, youth and families, in ways that allow for opportunities to address needs as identified.  

 
Her research interests include: 

• Development of First Nations approaches to keeping children safe, healthy, and well through inherent traditional approaches 
• Addressing the limitations within mainstream social services that impact First Nations children and families 
• Comparative analysis of colonial impacts (direct and intergenerational) on children and families for Indigenous peoples in Canada, Ireland, and Scotland, with a focus on the Highlands and the Islands 

Dr. Clarke teaches from an inclusive and decolonizing approach that facilitates safe learning environments. Her goal is to open social work studies to include First Nations and diverse students through multiple teaching methods, and to ensure that the social work academy learns from Indigenous Nations and people, and all people with any unique attributes. This includes teaching from a trauma-informed perspective, making room for creating co-learning spaces, and tailoring courses to meet the unique needs of each class.  

Recent Courses:  

• SWRK 1230 Community Health and Well-being: Imagination for Social Work Practice (Northern Cohort) 

• SWRK 1200 Introduction to Canadian Social Welfare (Fort Garry Campus) 

• SWRK 1240 Social Work and Professional Identity (Fort Garry Campus) 

• SWRK 7740 Indigenous Peoples, Identity, and Social Work (MSW-IK) 

Supervision: 
MSWIK Student Project Advisor  

Dr. Clarke has over 40 years of experience working with First Nations children, families, and Nations’ governance structures, and her consistent objective has been to address First Nations intergenerational traumas and systemic violence in relation to genocidal over-representation of First Nations children in colonial-based child welfare. These experiences as a Celtic Canadian with First Nations family, children, and grandchildren, led her to graduate studies to focus her research on the violence and genocide of colonial child welfare, and the opportunities for peacebuilding through inherent First Nations childcare practices within traditional family relationships rooted in land-based political, legal, childcare and helping practices. 

Most recently, Mary Anne worked with Island Lake Anisininew Okimawin assisting in the articulation of their Anisininew Family Law and Family Services.  

Dr. Clarke is a registered Social Worker through the Manitoba College of Social Work and is a member of the Canadian Association of Social Work and the International Federation of Social Work. 

Mary Anne believes strongly that positive relationships within community are essential for decolonization and effective social work practice. It has always been Mary Anne’s practice to be based within grassroots communities in a wide variety of relationships, roles and responsibilities, particularly informally. This includes ongoing supports when requested to individuals, organizations and governments. 

Formal Membership: 

• UMFSW MSW-IK Hiring Committee  Faculty Graduate Research Committee  

• UMFSW Social Policy Hub   

• UMFSW Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Decolonization and Indigenization (EDIDI) Committee  Prairie Child Welfare Consortium 

• Prairie Child Welfare Consortium Symposium Planning Committee 

• Children in Scotland  

• Society of Highland & Island Historical Research/Comann Rannsachaidh Eachdraidh na Gaidhealtachd  

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles: 

Byrne, S., Clarke, M. A., & Rahman, A. (2018). Colonialism and peace and conflict studies. Peace and Conflict Studies Journal, 25(1), 1–21. 

Clarke, M. A., & Byrne, S. (2017). The Three Rs: Resistance, Resilience, and Reconciliation in Canada and Ireland. The Canadian Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies, 49(2), 105–132. 

Flaherty, M., Sikorski, E., Mckenzie, N., Bell, J., Clarke, M. A., da Costa Rodriques, E., … Zhou, W. (2017). Creating a Collage of Many Peaces. Peace Studies Journal, 10(3), 4–14. 

Rahman, A., Clarke, M. A., & Byrne, S. (2017). The Art of Breaking People Down: The British Colonial Model in Ireland and Canada. The Canadian Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies, 49(2), 15–38. 

Book Chapters:

Clarke, M. A. How do I reconcile Child and Family Services’ practice of cultural genocide with my own practice as a CFS social worker? In Pathways of reconciliation. Indigenous and settler approaches to implementing the TRC’s Calls to Action (pp. 221–248). The University of Manitoba Press.