Listening in a Good Way: Indigenous Perspectives on Disability
On November 27, 2025, ALIGN Association of Community Services hosted the Alberta Disability Summit – Indigenous Cultural Understanding at Grey Eagle Resort and Casino on Tsuut’ina Nation. The Summit brought together Indigenous leaders, Elders, Knowledge Keepers, people with lived experience, service providers, disability associations, and government partners to engage in meaningful dialogue about how disability systems impact Indigenous children, adults, families, and communities across Alberta.
Listening in a Good Way: Indigenous Perspectives on Disability is a “What We Heard” reflection that captures the voices, experiences, and insights shared during the Summit’s facilitated discussion sessions. This report honours participants’ generosity in sharing lived experience, community knowledge, and professional perspectives, and reflects those contributions in the spirit they were offered—through relationship, respect, and a commitment to reconciliation.
The conversations highlighted four interconnected areas that continue to shape access to disability supports for Indigenous peoples:
- Access to Supports
- Cultural Barriers and Worldviews
- Geographic Barriers
- Systemic Issues and Colonial Impacts
Across all discussions, participants emphasized the importance of self-determination, relationship-based and culturally grounded approaches, and Indigenous-led, Nation-specific solutions. Families described systems that are often confusing, medicalized, and deficit-focused—systems that do not consistently reflect Indigenous ways of knowing, family structures, or community realities. Participants also identified practical improvements that can be taken now, alongside longer-term system and policy considerations.
This report is not a policy document. Rather, it is a reflection of participant voices and an invitation—to pause, listen, and reflect on our roles, responsibilities, and opportunities for action within systems that impact Indigenous peoples. It is intended to support service providers, system leaders, and partners in deepening their understanding, strengthening ethical space, and advancing more equitable and culturally grounded disability supports.
We invite you to read the full report and engage with it as a living document—one that informs continued dialogue, learning, and collaboration.