Page 8 - An Intersectional Exploration of Disabled and Native Identities

Current State of Affairs for

Disabled American Indians:

Security, Education & Access

Health Care Traditional therapies for healing from PTSD, like “[s]weat lodge ceremonies, purification
lodge ceremonies, spiritual ceremonies involving sacred songs and, among horse cultures,
equine therapy,” are greatly more effective than conventional Western medicine (Walker).
Friendship House is an example of a rehabilitation center than utilizes traditional therapies;
so is the Native American Rehabilitation Association.

OJ Semans, a voting rights activist, says of the
lack of access AI/AN people have to voting,
““Native Americans have been the victim of the
Political Participation States. What we need to do is organize in order to
political process since the creation of the United
protect what our ancestors passed on to us… But
it’s hard to do when everything you’re trying to
have your people participate in, they put
stumbling blocks” (Lukusiak). American Indians,
and especially Disabled American Indians, are
restricted by the frustrating obstacles that prevent
getting to the polls and having correct ID.
http://www.friendshiphousesf.org/what-we-do/program
Native Americans Confront Voting Challenges:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PQ_yfwxNB8

The Chair of the National Council on Disability, Clyde Terry, speaks about how best to
achieve independence for disabled people: “Many public policies developed decades ago
came from the assumption that recipients with disabilities were dependent and must stay
Employment expectations for, or the reality of, Americans with disabilities in the 21st century. Today,
on assistance programs for survival forever. That mindset no longer reflects the
perhaps the best definition of independent living is a paycheck and money in the bank. In
order to work, public policy must progress with the times in order to facilitate maximum
self-sufficiency and independence” (National Council on Disability). Poverty compounds
disability, making it even more difficult to access “education, employment, transportation
and housing,” and disability co-creates poverty, as Disabled people are three times more
likely than nondisabled people to live in poverty (National Council on Disability). For
AI/AN Disabled Americans, the likelihood of economic struggle is even greater. Vocational
Rehabilitation programs like the Chickasaw Nation’s attend to Disabled AI/AN people and
their families, providing resources and opportunities for employment.