 Content note: residential schools, genocide, colonial violence
On this inaugural National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, we commemorate and honour survivors of residential schools, those who never came home, and their affected families who withstood generations of colonial, genocidal violence which continues to this day. Happening on September 30th, Orange Shirt Day was started by Phyllis Webstad, a Northern Secwepemc author and residential school survivor. We hold that decolonization and reconciliation is a responsibility of us all. What are we personally and collectively doing to interrogate the disrupt the colonial state, prevent the destruction of Indigenous lands/water/air, support #LandBack movements, and ensure that Indigenous sovereignty is respected and Indigenous ways of being, doing, and knowing continue to thrive? Beyond wearing orange shirts*, we have compiled a few suggestions below, but we encourage you to seek out more ways to participate and support, as we all strive to reflect, learn, and act on this day and throughout our lives. *Please do your research if you’re buying orange shirts or Indigenous artwork, to verify that you’re buying from Indigenous artists! Settlers, please also be mindful that the orange shirt is a symbol of residential school violence. Do not make this into a day for wearing orange shirts and taking selfies just to alleviate guilt, and instead consider deeply on how to support and act meaningfully. 🟠 PARTICIPATE IN EVENTS 🟠 There are many events happening throughout the week, in-person and online. Many are also being recorded. National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (events all week, including YouTube video links) nctr.ca/education/trw/general-public-schedule/ www.youtube.com/c/NationalCentreforTruthandReconciliation Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc #DrumForTheChildren September 30, 11 am - 3 pm, Drumming at 2:15 pm Pacific Time tkemlups.ca/drum/ Online conversation with legal scholar Tamara Starblanket on genocide, Indigenous Nations and the Canadian state. Sept 30, 7-8:30 pm Eastern Time Link to register: bit.ly/3kbGnnC APTN Programming www.aptn.ca/ndtr/ 🟠 LEARN AND SHARE 🟠 Decolonization Reading Lists: decolonization.wordpress.com/decolonization-readings/ docs.google.com/document/d/1Hrxir_IMWU48ye1_WuIEF4DvxQ1R7HOEY1kiIaSk9Tk/edit Orange Shirt Day Resources & Supplies www.orangeshirtday.org/resources--supplies.html What is Land Back? briarpatchmagazine.com/articles/view/what-is-land-back-a-settler-faq CBC's interactive tool monitoring Canada's progress on the 94 calls to action in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report newsinteractives.cbc.ca/longform-single/beyond-94 Decolonizing On-Demand with Nahanee Creative: Six online mini-courses www.nahaneecreative.com/collections/national-day-of-truth-and-reconciliation-course-bundle 🟠 REDISTRIBUTE WEALTH 🟠 Settlers can give one day’s pay to Indigenous organizations: www.onedayspay.ca/ This website only shares a few. We ask settlers to also research and support Indigenous organizations in your local area. Black and Indigenous Healing Fund (for those on the stolen territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Peoples, so-called “Vancouver”): ca.gofundme.com/f/BIselfcarefund 🟠 CONTACT YOUR MPS 🟠 Contact the Prime Minister and your MPs and keep them accountable to the TRC’s 94 calls to action: www.ourcommons.ca/members/en One specific demand you can tell them is to stop fighting Indigenous children in court and to not appeal the recent Federal Court decision regarding compensation of children in reserves neglected through the child welfare system. Template here: www.facebook.com/AutisticsUnitedCA/posts/1482868082074913 🟠 MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT 🟠 For those that need support on this day: Mental health supports and resource list nafc.ca/news-media/mental-health-supports-and-resource-list [Image: Black text against orange background: “RESOURCE LIST Residential School Survivors: - Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419- -Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program: Use link provided in social media post -Indian Residential Schools Survivors Society: 1-800-721-0066 MMIWG2S Survivors: -National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls’ Toll-free Support Phone Line: 1-844-413-6649 -Family Survivors Circle: Use link provided in social media post Additional Resources: Hope for Wellness Help Line: Online chat or phone line available at 1-855-242-3310 Talk4Healing Line (Ontario): 1-855-554-HEAL (4325) Kids Help Phone: Online chat or phone line available at 1-800-668-6868 Bottom left is the logo of the National Association of Friendship Centres / Association nationale des centres d'amitié depicting a cone in the middle of two rectangular prisms In a circle with a branch with leaves on top, the words "every child matters", with matters in cursive. ]
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 We have updated our #AutisticsVote Federal Election Toolkit for the 2021 election! Read and download the guide here: https://bit.ly/AutisticsVote
It contains plain language information on the electoral system, how to vote, and how to advocate on autistic and disability justice issues during the election. We've included an email template and questions you can ask candidates. You can read and download individual sections or the full guide in PDF or Microsoft Word format. We know that our community is diverse and that autistic people often have trouble voting because of many reasons. We've tried to make this guide as plain language as possible and include resource links for marginalized groups. Alt-text is included for all images. Political parties in Canada are committing to create a National Autism Strategy. Yet, some are listening to the ABA lobby rather than actual autistics. Our vote is one way to be heard. For the 2021 election, let's get the autistic vote out! The federal election is happening on Monday, September 20th. The deadline to apply for voting by mail is Tuesday, September 14th at 6 pm. [Image: text reads #AutisticsVote Federal Election Toolkit 2021 An Autistic Advocacy Guide to Voting and the Election" Eight interlocking infinity signs in a rainbow of colours. Text reads 'Autistics United Canada'] Four events are coming up in late August and September, the International Day of Protest Against ABA, the International Day of the Stim, and two Neurodivergent Hangouts! Learn more about how to join and get involved below.  [Image description: red text on white background that says "International Day of Protest Against ABA #ProtestABADay #SayNoToABA @Protest ABA". White text in a red circle that says "Aug 31"] The fourth annual International Day of Protest Against ABA is happening on August 31st, 2021. Join us online to protest ABA and other abusive "interventions" often used on autistic children and adults. RSVP and share our Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1518611075170759 As in previous years, this event will take place online, primarily through social media. We invite autistic people and allies to share or retweet writings, videos, and art by ABA survivors, neurotypical and autistic parents of autistic children, and former ABA therapists. Suggested tags: #ProtestABADay #SayNoToABA #MoreWaysThanABA #YesAllABA Want to submit a piece of writing, art, or other media about ABA to be shared on our @ProtestABA Facebook page? Send it to us at info@autisticsunitedca.org by Aug. 31! Previously written/created work is accepted. Please include image descriptions and captions in your submissions, or reach out to us if you need help with them. As disabled communities renew calls to #StopTheShock at the Judge Rotenberg Center in Massachusetts, United States, following the FDA ban being overturned by a federal appeals court last month, we join global efforts to end sanctioned torture against disabled children and adults in the name of behavioural "treatment". To learn more about the JRC and what you can do: https://www.autisticsunitedca.org/blog/stoptheshock https://linktr.ee/StopTheShock
Autistics United Canada will again be hosting two Neurodivergent Hangout events in August and September. These are casual, online events where we come together as neurodivergent people (eg: autistics, ADHDers, people with intellectual/development disability, people with mental health challenges, etc.) to chat and play online board games. Our August event takes place on August 29, 2021 at 3-5 pm PST / 6-8 pm EST. Click here to find your time zone conversion. Register here for the August Zoom link: https://forms.gle/69PqkEr1TtvAL2926 Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/890459878171441/ Starting September, our neurodivergent hangouts will be at a different time. The new time will be at 1-3 pm PST / 4-6 pm EST. Find your time zone conversion for the September event here. Register here for the September Zoom link: https://forms.gle/s7g8GzjhufuS642F8 Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/271203177796248  [Image description: Black and white photo of fidgets and stim toys in different compartments in a drawer. Text in pink and green on top reads: "International Day of the Stim. #StimFest September 17, 2021"]
International Day of the Stim is on September 17, 2021! This day is a worldwide celebration of stimming, originally started by Autistics for Autistics Ontario. Members of Autistics United Canada, Autistics for Autistics Ontario, and the wider autistic community will be collaborating for this event. You can find out more on the International Day of the Stim Facebook page. --- We hope to see you at this upcoming events! As always, if you have any questions or are in need of any support, please feel free reach out to us at info@AutistiscUnitedCA.org. We hope you are all taking care and staying safe this summer. If you do not have air conditioning, here are some tips on how to stay cool. Health Canada also has safety tips for very hot weather. COVID-19 Vaccine ResourcesContent: COVID-19, Mention of needles If you haven’t already, we encourage you to get vaccinated for COVID-19! Vaccines are safe, effective, and save lives. Do you have questions about the COVID-19 vaccine? We have created a resource list on getting vaccinated, as well as a guide to needle anxiety for neurodivergent people. Currently, vaccines are available to those 12 and older. Eligibility depends on your province.
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Solidarity with Indigenous PeoplesContent: genocide, residential schools As Indigenous peoples and settlers continue to grapple with the violent past and present genocide that forms the basis of so-called Canada, we echo calls for solidarity and action on reconciliation and decolonization. We released two statements in support of #CancelCanadaDay and in solidarity with residential school survivors and all Indigenous peoples. We hold that reconciliation and decolonization is a disability justice imperative and responsibility for us all. #StopTheShockContent: ableist and racist torture of disabled people In the USA, a federal appeals court has overturned the Food and Drug Administration’s ban on electric skin shock devices used on children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Autistics United Canada joins disabled activists and organizations around the world in strongly condemning this decision. Despite decades of public outcry and advocacy to #StopTheShock, these devices continue to be used at the Judge Rotenberg Center in Massachusetts, on residents as young as 9, over 80% Black and Latinx. This practice has been labeled by the United Nations as torture. The fact that any torture of autistic and otherwise disabled people is continuing to be sanctioned is horrific - and an international community response is needed. Learn more about what you can do to join the fight here. Autistic Employment Workshop On June 4th, organizing members of Autistics United Canada presented a version of our All Brains Are Beautiful workshop to Public Services and Procurement Canada as part of AccessAbility Week. Our workshop covers topics of neurodiversity, autistic identity and pride, intersectionality, accessibility, and disability justice. For this version focused on employment, we also offered practical tips and strategies for supporting autistic employees and featured testimonies from our members of their experiences and perspectives. Volunteer TrainingBack in the spring, we completed our first training workshops for new volunteers. Volunteer training consisted of six workshops on topics related to volunteering or organizing AUC such as goal-setting, accessibility, disability justice and accountability. It is not too late to get involved! If you are autistic and would like to get more involved with Autistics United, please contact us and we can arrange training for you and connect you with our resources! Neurodivergent Hangouts
UN CRPD Consultation on DeinstitutionalizationOn June 8th, 2021, Autistics United Canada organizing members participated in a virtual regional consultation on deinstitutionalization held by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD). Read our submitted written statement here. CAHS Policy DiscussionFrom April to June, Autistics United Canada participated in virtual community conversations held by the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS) on autism. We also submitted a written submission. This consultation, assigned to the CAHS by the Public Health Agency of Canada, will inform federal policy on autism. There is still an opportunity to share your voice and perspective! Next week, CAHS is holding Zoom discussions on policy. They are asking attendees for feedback on specific issues and potential policy solutions. Registration closes TOMORROW, Wednesday, July 14 at midnight ET! Click here to register.
Our #AskingAutistics Canada Survey
National Consultation on Disability Inclusion Action PlanThe Government of Canada is conducting a national consultation on the new Disability Inclusion Action Plan. There are two ways you can provide feedback until August 31, 2021: 1) Complete the online survey 2) Submit a ASL or LSQ video response to the questions by email to Accessible-Canada@hrsdc.gc.ca Vaccine Peer Support for Autistics in TorontoAutistics for Autistics Ontario is partnering with the Centre for Independent Living Toronto and the City of Toronto to provide peer support in navigating the vaccine system. If you are an autistic person in Toronto, they have two vaccinated autistic peer navigators who can help you navigate the vaccine access system and prepare for your appointment. Email a4aontario@gmail.com to connect with an autistic peer! International Day of Protest Against ABA
Paid Opportunities for AutisticsWe recognize that paid opportunities are often hard to come by for autistics, due to ableist barriers, which in combination with lack of disability financial support, leaves many autistics in financial instability and poverty. We’ll be featuring a selection of paid opportunities for autistics in our quarterly update and newsletter! If you have a paid opportunity for autistics, please contact us at info@AutisticsUnitedCA.org. We especially welcome autistic-led and disabled-led initiatives. 1) Undergrad students are building a new sensory room at the University of British Columbia. They are looking to interview disabled folks about the design of the space.
You'll receive a $25 gift card for a 1-hour interview conducted online. Please do NOT share this publicly. They asked us to share this in our closed networks only. Please contact Stephanie at quons@student.ubc.ca if you're interested! 2) The BC government is putting together a Provincial Accessibility Committee. Its 11 members will be responsible for “reviewing the regulations as developed by the technical committee” and “advising the Government on standards development and implementation of the regulations.” View the Job posting here Application deadline: July 29, 2021 That is all for now! Thank you for continuing to support our work and reading our update! In solidarity, Autistics United Canada organizing collective On June 8th, 2021, Autistics United Canada organizing members participated in a virtual regional consultation on deinstitutionalization held by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD). We were asked to submit a written statement of less than 520 words. You can read our statement below.
Statement on Deinstitutionalization for UN CRPD Virtual Regional Consultation Autistics United Canada calls for an end to isolation, segregation, and discrimination that continues to lock disabled people away in congregate settings, deprives us of our rights and freedoms, and engenders cycles of violence, exploitation, and abuse. We need to stop building new institutions and sheltered workshops, and close existing ones. We need to end sanctioned but unethical behavioural interventions that force us to appear non-autistic, teach maladaptive compliance, and make us vulnerable to abuse. We need to end the devaluation of disabled life, as governments continue to expand assisted dying legislation, enact discriminatory triage protocols, and allow restraint and seclusion in schools and healthcare, while ignoring the negatively racialized and low-income disabled people such policies disproportionately affect. Instead, we need to be valued as people—whole and complex—who deserve life, safety, and happiness. We need timely placement in community-based living options, and protection of our right to supported decision-making. We need individualized home supports for independent living. We need robust, long-term financial supports to ensure a safety net for emergencies and choice for sustainable, individualized services. We need to stop funding institutions and start funding individual people. We need an end to the inaccessible bureaucracy and punitive financial aid systems that keep us in poverty. We need to ban Applied Behavioural Analysis and other behavioural interventions and instead fund trauma-informed supports focused on neurodivergent thriving. We need to disrupt the normalized segregation of school-to-prison and special-ed-to-institution pipelines, and centre disabled student voices. We need to ban restraints and seclusion, and instead implement collaborative strategies for crises based in neurodiversity, anti-racism, and disability justice principles. We need to make early, affordable communication access, including access to augmentative communication (AAC), a priority for day-to-day and emergency situations. When essential services are incompatible with AAC, we cannot get the help we need. We need mobile COVID-19 testing and vaccination clinics to ensure those facing barriers to transportation can receive equitable care. We need to direct families of autistic people towards autistic communities, and hire autistic adults to mentor and support families. We need support across the lifespan, while transitioning practices away from infantilizing, ableist concepts like mental age and IQ. We need plain language everything in a diversity of languages, including communication about our legal rights. We need prison and police abolition and decriminalization of sex work. We need mental health legislation reform to prioritize our autonomy in making medical decisions. We need to fund restorative practices and victims services, rather than punitive systems that create more violence and segregation. We need anti-racist, affordable, accessible mental health services that do not gaslight and abuse us. We need funding for peer support for survivors of medical ableism, psychiatric abuse, and institutionalization. We need competency training/curricula that centers disabled perspectives in social work, counseling, and education post-secondary programs. We need to broaden disability support and inclusion into every facet of society. We need to change public understanding about how much we can know and do. We need to be in control of the decisions about our lives. These are not special needs. These are universal needs: for our collective safety, survival, freedom, and humanity. Content: ableist and racist torture of disabled people
In the USA, a federal appeals court has overturned the Food and Drug Administration’s ban on electric skin shock devices used on children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Autistics United Canada joins disabled activists and organizations around the world in strongly condemning this decision and calling on the FDA to enact a new ban. Despite decades of public outcry and advocacy to #StopTheShock, these devices continue to be used at the Judge Rotenberg Center in Massachusetts, on residents as young as 9, over 80% Black and Latinx. This practice has been labeled by the United Nations as torture. The fact that any torture of autistic and otherwise disabled people is continuing to be sanctioned is horrific - and an international community response is needed. What you can do: 1) Go to LinkTr.ee/StopTheShock for list of actions, letter templates, petitions, and community resources (compiled by @chaitofu on Twitter). 2) Sign the petitions:
3) Go to this (continually updated) community Google Document for letter templates and a list of organizations non-US residents can email, as well as other actions. 4) Use the script and list of contact information that AuTeach has made to urge US organizations to condemn the decision. You can also use the script to write to other organizations and representatives. 5) Educate yourself and others about the Judge Rotenberg Center and how the use of shock devices for behavioural modification harms disabled people, particularly disabled people of colour. 6) Disabled activists and organizations in the USA, such as the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network, are working to fight this decision. You can follow updates with the #StopTheShock hashtag on social media and ASAN’s action alerts. 7) @writ_kit on Twitter is planning a Zoom healing space to "come together and process as a whole community and figure out where we go next." Sign up here to help plan. Donate here to help pay for interpretation and other accessibility services. Resources:
Note: genocide, residential schools, abuse, violence, murder The Indian Residential School Survivors and Family Crisis Line is available 24/7 at 1-866-925-4419. #CancelCanadaDay #EveryChildMatters We are not celebrating Canada Day. We refuse to celebrate the historic and ongoing genocide of Indigenous peoples that Canada Day represents. In the past two months, at least 1112 unmarked graves have been confirmed by ground-penetrating radar by the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation, Cowessess First Nation, and Lower Kootenay Band at the sites of three former residential forced assimilation “schools”. Over 150 000 Indigenous children were stolen from their families during the residential school era (which continued up until the late 1990’s), to eradicate Indigenous communities and cultures. Canada’s genocide of Indigenous peoples continues to this day: - The foster care system has replaced the residential school system and Indigenous children are still being taken away from their families. Indigenous children making up 52% of children in foster care, despite being only 8% of children in Canada. In Manitoba, 90% of children in care are Indigenous. - Indigenous children and youth routinely die in care. 102 deaths were reported in Ontario over 5 years; hundreds of deaths are suspected in Manitoba. In Manitoba, the deaths of Indigenous children in care were found to be preventable and due to lack of government oversight and support. - In 2016, the federal government was found guilty of discriminating against Indigenous children on reserves, through “willfully and reckless underfunding services. This led to children being removed from their families to access services off-reserve, leading to more children living in care than during the residential schools era. Yet, the government is still appealing the court order to compensate victims. - The foster care system acts as a pipeline towards incarceration, leading to additional abuse, control, and exploitation of Indigenous youth and adults. Indigenous people are policed and jailed at higher rates than non-Indigenous people. - Dozens of Indigenous communities still lack access to safe, clean drinking water. The water supplies of 73% of First Nations communities are at risk for contamination. - Indigenous communities in Canada face a suicide epidemic: Indigenous people die by suicide three times as much as non-Indigenous people. - Thousands of Indigenous women and girls have disappeared or been murdered over the past decades. In 2019, the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls called Canada’s role in this violence a genocide. - The federal government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars fighting Indigenous peoples in the court over land claims, discriminatory services, and compensation of residential school survivors. Canada is responsible and complicit to hundreds of genocides on Turtle Island and abroad, historical and ongoing. Reconciliation cannot and should not mean Indigenous people forgiving colonizers, abusers, and murderers. We echo calls for bringing governments, institutions, individuals, and churches to justice. We call for control over these lands to be returned back entirely to Indigenous nations and reparations given to heal from Canada’s occupation and genocide. Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report, including 94 calls to action:
https://nctr.ca/records/reports/ Qikiqtani Truth Commission: https://qtcommission.ca/en Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls: https://mmiwresources.carrd.co/ https://www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/final-report/ https://www.nwac.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Fact_Sheet_Missing_and_Murdered_Aboriginal_Women_and_Girls.pdf The Indian Act Said What: https://www.nwac.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/The-Indian-Act-Said-WHAT-pdf-1.pdf Petition to Government of Canada regarding unmarked graves: https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-3484 Indigenous Crisis and Mental Health Supports: Indian Residential School Survivors Society https://www.irsss.ca/ National toll-free help line: 1 (800) 721-0066 24-hour crisis line: 1 (866) 925-4419 Hope for Wellness / Ligne d’écoute d’espoir pour le mieux-être https://www.hopeforwellness.ca/ https://www.espoirpourlemieuxetre.ca/ 24-hour toll-free help line: 1 (855) 242-3310 - Phone counselling available in English, French, Cree, Ojibway, and Inuktitut - Online chat counselling available in English and French Kuu-us 24-Hour Crisis Line (BC) https://www.kuu-uscrisisline.com/24-hour-crisis-line Adults/Elders: 250-723-4050 Children/Youth: 250-723-2040 BC Wide Toll Free: 1800-KUU-US17 (1800-588-8717) Métis Crisis Line BC Toll Free: 1833-MétisBC (1833-638-4722) Indigenous Mutual Aid: https://www.ienearth.org/covid-19-emergency-mutual-aid-fund/ https://www.indigenousmutualaid.org/ LANDBACK U: https://ndncollective.org/ndn-collective-launches-landback-u-a-curriculum-on-how-to-join-the-fight-to-return-land-to-indigenous-hands/ Do you have questions about the COVID-19 vaccine or are concerned about how to prepare for your appointment?
This is a list of resources about the vaccine. It has information in English and French. There are resources about how to get ready for your appointment and stories from people with intellectual and developmental disabilities about their experience getting the vaccine. It also includes general information about getting vaccinated in Canada. General content warning for discussion of COVID-19 and needles. Plain Language Guides to COVID-19 Vaccine These resources give general information about the vaccine in plain language. Please note that they are not updated regularly, and some of the information in these resources may have changed. COVID-19 Vaccine Information for Canada For the latest information on COVID-19 vaccines, check out these guides: Stories Here are some stories of people who got vaccinated! Note that these are only a few people’s experiences and it’s okay if your experience is different! Neurodivergent-Friendly Guide to Needle Anxiety Autistics United Canada members created a guide on how to deal with needle anxiety. We created this guide because many guides on this topic are not neurodiversity-friendly (eg: tell you to ‘just get over it’). It contains tips on helping yourself relax, stim if needed, manage pain, and prepare for your vaccination appointment. Content warning: there is some discussion about needles in the guide, but no detailed or graphic descriptions. Vaccine Peer Support for Autistics in Toronto Autistics for Autistics Ontario is partnering with the Centre for Independent Living Toronto and the City of Toronto to provide peer support in navigating the vaccine system. If you are an autistic person in Toronto, they have two vaccinated autistic peer navigators who can help you navigate the vaccine access system and prepare for your appointment. Email a4aontario@gmail.com to connect with an autistic peer! This resource list was created in June 2021 by Autistics United Canada, updated July 2021. If you have any questions or suggestions about this resource, please contact us at info@AutisticsUnitedCA.org. Content: Mass murder, abuse, and neglect of Indigenous children, residential schools
We mourn, honour, and remember the 215 Indigenous children, some as young as three years old, whose remains were discovered in an unmarked mass grave at a former residential school on Tk’emlups te Secwépemc First Nation in Kamloops, B.C. This discovery is yet another reminder that Canada is a settler-colonial state built on the genocide of Indigenous peoples. The pattern of violence towards Indigenous children and youth continues today in the child welfare and foster care system. 102 Indigenous children in Ontario's child welfare system died between 2013 and 2017. 741 children in Alberta's child welfare system, the majority of whom were Indigenous, died between 1999 and 2013. We remember Alex Gervais, Traevon Desjarlais-Chalifoux, and Santanna Scott-Huntinghawk in B.C. And the many more Indigenous children who lost their lives in residential schools and modern child welfare systems across Turtle Island. Of those that survived, experience in the residential school system, the Sixties Scoop, and the current welfare system continue to be a source and exacerbation of disability across generations. We hold that reconciliation and decolonization is a disability justice imperative and responsibility for us all. To our Indigenous friends and community members, we share with you our love, grief, and anger. We commit to amplifying Indigenous voices and honouring Indigenous truth tellers, Elders, and Knowledge Keepers, and we join the call for reconciliation, return of stolen land, support for indigenous-led initiatives to investigate other residential school grounds, compensation of survivors and their families, and an end to the staggering violence and human rights abuses towards Indigenous people across Turtle Island. Statements from Indigenous leadership: https://tkemlups.ca/wp-content/uploads/05-May-27-2021-TteS-MEDIA-RELEASE.pdf https://www.ubcic.bc.ca/ubcic_mourns_with_the_tk_eml_ps_te_secw_pemc_residential_school_survivors_and_all_first_nations Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report, including 94 calls to action: https://nctr.ca/records/reports/ Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls: https://mmiwresources.carrd.co/ https://www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/final-report/ https://www.nwac.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Fact_Sheet_Missing_and_Murdered_Aboriginal_Women_and_Girls.pdf Indigenous Crisis and Mental Health Supports: Indian Residential School Survivors Society National toll-free help line: 1 (800) 721-0066 24-hour crisis line: 1 (866) 925-4419 Hope for Wellness / Ligne d’écoute d’espoir pour le mieux-être 24-hour toll-free help line: 1 (855) 242-3310 - Phone counselling available in English, French, Cree, Ojibway, and Inuktitut - Online chat counselling available in English and French Kuu-us 24-Hour Crisis Line (BC) Adults/Elders: 250-723-4050 Children/Youth: 250-723-2040 BC Wide Toll Free: 1800-KUU-US17 (1800-588-8717) Métis Crisis Line BC Toll Free: 1833-MétisBC (1833-638-4722) Indigenous Mutual Aid: https://www.ienearth.org/covid-19-emergency-mutual-aid-fund/ https://www.indigenousmutualaid.org/ Happy Autism Acceptance Month! April can be a difficult time for autistic people. We celebrate our community, at the same time as we fight stigma and (be)wareness campaigns. To us, autism acceptance is not just a phrase: it's a call to action. It requires a shift in thinking and strong opposition against ableism, eugenics in all its forms, harmful "treatments" of autism, and segregation. Acceptance and inclusion of all autistics also requires disability justice. We cannot work towards our collective liberation without addressing dehumanization and injustice faced by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour), women, 2SLGBTQIA+ (Two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual/aromatic) people, religious minorities, people in poverty, people facing homelessness, incarcerated people, vulnerable workers including sex workers, and migrants and refugees. We oppose the rise of policing in light of COVID-19, the racist and ableist policies affecting healthcare access, and institutions and systems that put profit over people. As Canada is in the third wave of the pandemic, we also encourage our members to get vaccinated if they are eligible. Autistics United Canada supports the science of vaccination and objects to misinformation about vaccines, particularly fearmongering about the non-existent link to autism. To learn more about how to get vaccinated, visit the information page for your province or territory. Neurodivergent Hangouts [Image description: yellow text against teal background. Text reads "Neurodivergent hangouts online board games & chat! Yellow stars in the top right corner and the Autistics United Canada logo of eight interlocking infinity symbols in a rainbow of colours in the bottom left] We are once again holding an online neurodivergent hangout via Zoom this Sunday, April 25th! The hangout is one hour later than usual. Time: 4-6 PM PST / 5-7 PM MST / 6-8 PM CST / 7-9 PM EST / 8-10 PM AST RSVP here: https://forms.gle/4a6FXZ1s8aGC2X5F9 We are in the process of booking ASL interpretation and CART (live captioning). Please RSVP by Friday, April 23 at 3 pm PT / 6 pm ET to request CART or ASL interpretation. For upcoming hangouts, please continue to check our Facebook events page for updates. CAHS Community Conversations & Engagement HubThe Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS) is an independent, third-party organization assigned by the Public Health Agency of Canada to carry out an assessment on autism supports nation-wide. There are 2 ways for you to share your opinion and shape policy affecting autistics in Canada: 1) Join online community conversations Happening in April and May, starting tomorrow. There are Zoom meetings for each province/territory and for individual groups like LGBTQ+ autistics, BIPOC, AAC users, autistic parents, autistic women, newcomers/immigrants, young autistic adults, and autistic seniors. Learn more here Register here You can sign up for more than one session, but you need to register first. We have participated in the CAHS survey as a stakeholder organization. Another autistic-led organization, Autistics for Autistics Ontario, has also released a series of reports, which you can read here. 2) Share your views in the online Engagement hub Open until May 31st. When you visit the Engagement Hub website, you can:
Autistics United Canada's #AskingAutistics about National Autism & Disability Policy Survey [Image description: text in a red box reading "What changes do you want to see in Canada to improve autistic lives? bit.ly/AskingAutisticsCanada Quels changements souhaitez-vous voir au Canada pour améliorer la vie des autistes? "] We have our own survey asking autistics about their thoughts on what is needed to help autistic and otherwise disabled people in Canada. This will inform our ongoing advocacy and help us communicate our community's needs to the government. Our goal is to focus on what autistic people themselves are saying. It is still open! We will collect responses until June. The survey takes around 15 minutes. It is available:
Please help us spread the word about the survey! You can share our Facebook and Twitter posts. Volunteer TrainingWe are building capacity as a group by holding a series of volunteer trainings for autistic members. Our first two workshops happened in March and the next two are coming up this weekend. If you are still interested in joining the training, please email us at info@AutisticsUnitedCA.org to let us know! We have recordings for the first two workshops and can share them with you if you would still like to join the training. Disabled Elders FundDisabled activists Dustin Gibson and Talila Lewis have organized a Disabled Elders Fund, giving 10 or more recipients up to $1,000 each. Donate to the fund here. Autistics United Canada in the NewsAutistics United Canada organizers from BC and Nova Scotia were recently interviewed about Autism Acceptance Month and race and gender in autism representation. The CBC radio segment was not captioned, so we have made a transcript ourselves that you can read here.
That is all for now! Please stay safe and keep supporting one another, and get vaccinated if you can! In solidarity, Autistics United Canada organizing team |
