Dr. Michael Hart is an associate professor in the Faculty of Social Work at the University 
of Manitoba as well as the Canadian Research Chair in Indigenous Knowledges and Social Work. He specializations include: Indigenous peoples, indigenism, anti-colonialism; 
Indigenous ways of helping, mental health, suicide; 
Indigenous families and fathering; communication skills, counseling, and family practice.

Dr. Hart recently has been a speaker at several presentations including Indigenous People and Social Work hosted through the First Nations University of Canada in Regina, SK (2014); Indigenizing social work: A Manitoba experience in Honolulu, Hawaii (2014); and "Truth and Reconciliation: Indigenist Reflections on Mental Health Services in the Aftermath of the Residential School Era," as part of the Faculty of Medicine's 2012 Lecture Series in First Nations, Métis and Inuit Health.

Dr. Hart’s publications include: Critical Reflection on an Aboriginal Approach to Social Work Practice (in press), Indigenous knowledge and research: The míkiwáhp as a symbol for reclaiming our knowledge and ways of knowing (2007), and Brief reflections on sharing circles and Indigenous worldviews and empowerment (2006).

His current research includes “A Cree model of helping,” where he is working with Cree elders and social workers with Indigenous knowledge of helping, which are being explored in Cree perspectives in relation to social work. Part of this research program will further investigate the Cree model of helping Hart has developed by bringing the model to Cree Elders and social workers for further development and expansion. The goal of his project is to confirm the model's applicability to a wide audience of Cree peoples and strengthen the framework of the model in manner that is applicable to other peoples.