Page 13 - An Intersectional Exploration of Disabled and Native Identities

Disabled & Native Intersections:

Struggle, Culture & Solidarity

Across Justice Movements

Schweik writes that the distinct Disabled and AI/AN “histories of exclusion, removal,
dependence, interdependence, and independence are not in any way separate stories” (420).
Disabled and Native people share similar pasts of violent oppression, with “eugenic, eudemic,
and euthenics origin (social evolutionary thought)”; the dominance of a Eurocentric worldview
locate problems in individual bodies and do not encourage a collective, community-oriented
mindset (Eckert). These worldviews have led to widespread oppression of and violence toward
Disabled and Native communities, consistently blurring the lines between the two identities.
AI/AN and Disabled people both experience high rates of exclusion and lack of access to
economic security, educational equality, culturally appropriate and quality health care, political
participation, and employment opportunities

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine posted a status from the #NoDAPL Standing Rock base camp
just hours after I had expressed my own desire to travel to South Dakota, but I was also aware
and cautious of what that trip might look like because of my bone condition, Osteogenesis
Imperfecta. When I saw Kayln’s post I was filled with pride and love for my friend, as she has
this ‘brittle bone’ condition’ too, with just as much reason to play it safe. Risking a lot for
solidarity’s sake; It’s often been the noticeable case in my life that Disabled and Native people
are there for each other in equally important small ways and big ways, not only to support
Disabled AI/AN people, but also because there is a strong sense of solidarity even among those
who do not belong to both communities. Disabled and Native communities, because of their
shared struggles and similar ways of knowing and being, often profess their solidarity in the
form of assistance and unified collective effort in striving to get up and over the hill, like in the
Navajo tale of Early Dawn Boy, on their way to liberation.

For example, the American Indian Disability Summit in Phoenix is sponsored by Ability360, a
non-Native-specific disability organization that recognizes the importance of creating a summit
for AI/AN young people to connect and inspire one another in a culturally-centered space
designed with and respectful of their own languages, knowledges, and traditional worldviews.
Another example of cross-justice solidarity occurred after the massacre of 14 disabled people
last year, 2015, in San Bernadino, CA. The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians and the
Morongo Band of Mission Indians of Southern California together donated $600,000 to aid the
victims and their families. Lynn Valbuena, chair woman of the San Manuel tribe, said, “This
region of southern California is our home, our shared community… San Manuel and Morongo
have joined together at this time to reach out to those impacted so our community might recover
to a place of normalcy” (Moya-Smith).