Reclaiming Traditional & Creation Stories of Indigenous Youth with Disabilities
This Sonoran Center Circle of Indigenous Empowerment proudly collaborated to co-host the 3rd Annual American Indian Youth Disability Summit on March 25, 2023, the day after the 19th Annual American Indian Disability Summit, which the Sonoran Center also helped to plan and co-sponsor.
This year’s virtual Youth Disability Summit, themed Reclaiming Traditional & Creation Stories of Indigenous Youth with Disabilities, highlighted voices of American Indian youth with disabilities and focused on aspects of American Indian life, history, culture and heritage that can help youth address today's challenges.
“The summit is something that is so important for youth who want to know more about resources and find freedom to voice their opinions,” said Anya Carrillo, one of the summit’s Native youth advisors. “This summit gives youth the opportunity to see other youth succeed, and how they did it.”
The summit reached people across the country, garnering registration from 19 states and over 40 tribes.
“With this year's Youth Disability Summit, it was meaningful to see people join from different places around the country,” said Mateo TreeTop, another youth advisor for the summit. “Hopefully others are spreading the world that the summit is for all Native youth, not just those from Arizona.”
The morning kicked off with the presentation of the Jim E. Warne Youth Tribal Leadership Award to Native youth Haylee Chiariello. Haylee is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation and currently serves as Feature Twirler at Texas Christian University. As a 4.0 GPA Honors College student at TCU, she is majoring in Journalism and Native American Expressions and Dance. She proudly represents her Native heritage as an athlete, campus leader, and community volunteer.
Haylee is also a survivor of emergency brain surgery. As a young teen, she received a life-saving diagnosis of her disability as a patient of the Indian Health Service. She uses her story of healing and experiences as a nationally-ranked collegiate baton twirler to lead volunteer health and wellness programs for Texas youth.
“We have to rely on our superpowers, and we have to rely on our community circles to really seek growth and navigate these difficult paths,” described Haylee, while accepting her award.
“I hope to be able to use this award to be able to help prepare me for my career serving Native youth,” she continued. “I hope that after graduation I will be able to help empower and inspire the next generation.”
The day also included insightful keynote sessions presented by Hoskie Benally from the Native American Disability Law Center, and Darold Joseph, PhD, from Northern Arizona University.
A panel spoke to their experiences pursuing post-secondary education as Native youth with disabilities before the summit wrapped with a closing poem written and performed by Mateo TreeTop.
You can view the full recording of the 3rd Annual American Indian Youth Disability Summit here.
The 3rd Annual American Indian Youth Disability Summit was presented in partnership by Ability 360, Banner University Family Care, Diverse Ability Incorporated, Division of Developmental Disabilities, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan, and the University of Arizona Sonoran Center for Excellence in Disabilities.