The need for social workers to appreciate the frame of reference of their clients, particularly as affected by culture and ethnicity, has become recognized as essential for effective practice. As Collier (1993) notes, "every society has its own explanation for illness. Every society has healers and its own way of reintegrating the disturbed or diseased person. These understandings emerge from a world view, that is, from the way that a people look out on and explain the world" (p.57). These issues need to be addressed by all social workers including those working in a northern and rural context. For social workers practicing in northern and rural areas, the likelihood of encountering an Aboriginal client or clients and the accompanying issues of ethnicity and culture is not a remote possibility but inevitability. Thus, some consideration of models for working with Aboriginal peoples becomes important.