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Webinar – Disability in Indigenous Communities

Date: Thursday, November 14, 2024
Time: 1:00 – 2:00 PM ET

Register for the Webinar

Three in ten Indigenous people are living with a disability in the United States. Structural forms of marginalization, including racism, ableism, and gender bias, are inextricably linked, and exacerbate the stigma and discrimination experienced by Indigenous people with disabilities.

In this webinar, we will center disabled Indigenous leaders as they share their lived experiences. The discussion will highlight why philanthropy must heed the leadership of disabled Indigenous people in order to support justice for Indigenous communities.

CART will be provided. If you require another accommodation to fully participate in the webinar, please note it in your registration, or contact us at communications@disabilityphilanthropy.org. This free webinar is presented by the Disability & Philanthropy Forum.

About the Panelists

Jen Deerinwater, a white coded femme presenting person with black glasses, brown, wavy, shoulder-length hair worn down, sits in a park with stone masonry and trees behind hir. Jen’s left fist is raised in the air, exposing tattoos and a Native designed bangle bracelet. Hir right hand is holding onto one side of a Native made beaded medallion with the Crushing Colonialism logo in the center. Jen is wearing a black, short sleeve shirt and large, yellow earrings.

Panelist: Jen Deerinwater, Founding Executive Director, Crushing Colonialism

Jen Deerinwater is a bisexual, Two-Spirit, multiply-disabled, citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and an award-winning journalist and organizer who covers the myriad of issues hir communities face with an intersectional lens. Jen is the founding executive director of Crushing Colonialism and a 2019 New Economies Reporting Project and 2020 Disability Futures fellow. Jen is a contributor at Truthout and hir work has been featured in a wide range of publications, including several anthologies, such as Disability Visibility: First Person Stories from the Twenty First Century and Crip Authorship: Disability as Method. Jen is currently editing the anthology, Sacred and Subversive (Jessica Kingsley Publishers).

Héctor has long hair pulled back in a ponytail, and their black hair now has streaks of gray. Héctor is wearing a red shirt that reads "United Farm Workers" and has a redwood pendant tied around their neck with a string.

Panelist: Héctor Manuel Ramírez, Inter-Tribal Disability Advocacy Council

Héctor Manuel Ramírez (they/them) is a member of the Inter-Tribal Disability Advocacy Council (IDAC), established in 2023 by the Native American Disability Law Center (NADLC) and Borealis Philanthropy, they amplify Indigenous American voices with disabilities. Héctor is of Apache & Mexican descent, Two-Spirit, Autistic, DV & psychiatric survivor, hard of hearing, & Long COVID. Héctor resides in Tongva (Los Angeles, California)-unceded ancestral lands of the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians. Héctor serves on the California Commission on Disability Access & Los Angeles County Commission on Disabilities and is an emeritus board member with the National Disability Rights Network and Disability Rights California.