Statement of Support for Indigenous Peoples

DADD acknowledges there are disproportionate challenges for Indigenous individuals with disabilities and we have a responsibility to better support them. We express solidarity with Indigenous Peoples who continue to grieve the treatment of their communities. We recognize the need to listen to Indigenous Peoples, to learn, and to act. Here are some resources we found helpful: 

• Learn about what happened at residential and boarding schools.  
• Learn from survivors' histories. 
• Learn about the land you live on, the people from whom it was taken, and their many diverse cultures. Native-land.ca is an interactive map that shares Peoples, languages, and treaties. This map is community-contributed and therefore a work in progress. 

Here are other action steps you can take to express solidarity with Indigenous communities. 

• Read Indigenous journalism, such as Indian Country Today, the Indigenous Environmental Network, and Windspeaker. 
• Learn how to be an ally to Indigenous communities through the Ally Bill of Responsibilities or Amnesty International. 
• Find ways to support the Indigenous communities nearest you. Seek information from local Indigenous communities and from works written by local Indigenous authors. 
• Collaboratively create a Statement of Land Acknowledgement with local Indigenous communities. Here are two examples to get you started: Duwamish Tribe and Seattle Central College.  
• Advocate for transparency in education. Inaccuracies and historical omissions are common in school curricula, particularly around North America's colonial history.  
• Amplify Indigenous voices. Follow and learn from Indigenous Peoples on social media; credit them and share their content on your account. 
• Support Indigenous learners with disabilities and their families. Native American Parent Technical Assistance Center (NAPTAC) is a great place to start. According to NAPTAC and the U.S. Department of Education, 93% of Indigenous youth attend public schools in the United States and many of them feel invisible, unsafe, or alienated from their teachers and peers. Check out DADD’s Diversity webpage for more information.