Below the Radar

This final installment of the Power of Disability series highlights an unsung hero of the disability movement, Barb Goode. Host Al Etmanski is in conversation with Barb about her work around self-advocacy for people with learning and developmental disabilities. Barb speaks to the importance of plain language and the harm that comes from labelling people. She also recounts organizing efforts around a milestone legal struggle to prevent the forced sterilization of people with disabilities.

In this interview, Barb is joined by her friend and colleague, Aaron Johannes. In addition to being connected through involvement with PLAN, they collaborate on consulting projects around disability and inclusion with ImagineACircle.

“I think words are very powerful. If we use complicated words, you're going to leave people out of conversations.” - Barb Goode

Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/series/the-power-of-disability/barb-goode.html

Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/barb-goode.html

**A note about the discussion at the 9:30 mark: the “R” word refers to a derogatory term that used to be used to describe people with a developmental or intellectual disability. While not as common today, it is still being used, and it is still hurtful.

ABOUT THE SERIES

The Power of Disability is a series of Below the Radar. Host Al Etmanski brings us enlightening conversations, featuring guests with disabilities who have been influential in arts, activism, science, and more. This series is a continuation of the work Al has shared in the book, The Power of Disability: 10 Lessons for Surviving, Thriving, and Changing the World, which reveals that people with disabilities are the invisible force that has shaped history.

Resources:

— The Goode Life: Memoirs of Disability Rights Activist Barb Goode: https://spectrumpress.myshopify.com/products/the-goode-life-memoirs-of-disability-rights-activist-barb-goode

— “Barb Goode – Unsung Hero of the Disability Movement” on Al Etmanksi’s blog: https://aletmanski.com/impact/barb-goode/

— ImagineACircle consulting: https://imagineacircle.com/

— PLAN Institute: https://planinstitute.ca/

— EVE Supreme Court of Canada case: https://eugenicsarchive.ca/discover/tree/5232a7b75c2ec5000000001d

— NFB film: The Sterilization of Leilani Muir: https://www.nfb.ca/film/sterilization_of_leilani_muir/

— BC People First: https://bcpeoplefirst.com/home

— Al Etmanski’s website: www.aletmanski.com

— The Power of Disability: 10 Lessons for Surviving, Thriving, and Changing the World: https://aletmanski.com/books/

Bio:

Barb is a self-advocate leader who has helped shape the disability movement into what it is today. She is a founding member of BC People First, and has been on the Boards of Inclusion BC, the Canadian Association for Community Living (CACL), and International Inclusion.

Dr. Aaron Johannes is the proud parent, with his partner Gary, of six fostered, adopted and nearly-adopted children with various labels. For 30 years, until his retirement in 2018, Aaron was one of the Co-Directors of Spectrum Society.

Cite this episode:

Chicago Style

Etmanski, Al. “The Power of Disability Part 6 — with Barb Goode.” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, May 27, 2021. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/series/the-power-of-disability/barb-goode.html

Below the Radar invites Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg scholar, writer and artist Leanne Betasamosake Simpson into conversation about her latest album, Theory Of Ice, as a thinking through of water as a connector. She talks with host Am Johal about covering Willie Dunn’s “I Pity the Country,” and how her work aligns with, and is inspired by, a long tradition of Indigenous musicians and activists.

Leanne speaks to her artistic and academic work as being underpinned by a deep love of the land, and the land as a site of knowledge production. She shares some of her experiences working with the Dechinta Centre for Research & Learning on land-based education in Denendeh. We also learn about some of Leanne’s exciting collaborative works, from artistic collaborations with filmmakers and visual artists to Leanne’s work with Robyn Maynard on "Rehearsals for Living," a book forthcoming from Knopf Canada in 2022.

Thank you to Leanne for the use of her recording of Willie Dunn's "I Pity the Country," from "Theory Of Ice," for this episode.

Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/122-leanne-betasamosake-simpson.html

Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/122-leanne-betasamosake-simpson.html

Resources:

— leannesimpson.ca

— leannesimpsonmusic.com

— "Theory Of Ice" album by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson: https://youvechangedrecords.com/product/leanne-betasamosake-simpson-theory-of-ice/

— “I Pity the Country” cover: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DUV60wpmgk

— "The Ballad of Crowfoot", an NFB film by Willie Dunn: https://www.nfb.ca/film/ballad_of_crowfoot/

— "Viscosity" video collaboration with Sandra Brewester: https://youtu.be/Gf0TzU9wCPU

— "Solidification ᒪᔥᑲᐗᒋ 凝" video collaboration with Sammy Chien: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA70--wIbbQ&feature=emb_imp_woyt

— More films and music videos: http://www.leannesimpsonmusic.com/videos

— "Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies" by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson: https://houseofanansi.com/products/noopiming

— "As We Have Always Done" by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson: https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/as-we-have-always-done

— "A Short History of the Blockade" by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson: https://www.uap.ualberta.ca/titles/986-9781772125382-short-history-of-the-blockade

— "Rehearsals for Living", forthcoming from Leanne Betasamosake Simpson and Robyn Maynard: https://www.transatlanticagency.com/2020/12/11/deal-news-canadian-rights-to-rehearsals-for-living-by-robyn-maynard-and-leanne-betasamosake-simpson-to-knopf-canada/

Bio:

Leanne Betasamosake Simpson is a renowned Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg musician, writer and academic, who has been widely recognized as one of the most compelling Indigenous voices of her generation. Her work breaks open the boundaries between story and song—bringing audiences into a rich and layered world of sound, light, and sovereign creativity.

Cite this episode:

Chicago Style

Johal, Am. “Theory of Ice — with Leanne Betasamosake Simpson” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, May 26, 2021. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/122-leanne-betasamosake-simpson.html

The Power of Disability host, Al Etmanski is joined by partners and disability advocates Tim Louis and Penny Parry. Tim is a lawyer, politician, and longtime leader of the disability movement within British Columbia. Penny has worked as a university professor, artist, and youth care practitioner. Tim and Penny share stories and learnings from 40 plus years of working on social issues in their own careers and together as a couple.

Tim delves into his experiences working as a lawyer under his mentor, Harry Rankin. He discusses issues with processes that keep supports and monetary assistance behind bureaucratic walls, and problematizes assumptions that disabled folks are fragile, vulnerable, or unresilient.

Penny considers her experience with mentorship, reflects on her teaching and work with youth and families, and shares how she sees her art practice as a means of moving people towards understanding, questioning, and social change.

Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/series/the-power-of-disability/tim-louis-penny-parry.html

Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/tim-louis-penny-parry.html

ABOUT THE SERIES

The Power of Disability is a series of Below the Radar. Host Al Etmanski brings us enlightening conversations, featuring guests with disabilities who have been influential in arts, activism, science, and more. This series is a continuation of the work Al has shared in the book, The Power of Disability: 10 Lessons for Surviving, Thriving, and Changing the World, which reveals that people with disabilities are the invisible force that has shaped history.

Resources:

— Tim Louis’s website: https://www.timlouis.ca/

— Penny Parry on Twitter: https://twitter.com/alicereally

— Tim Louis on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Tim_Louis

— HandyDART Riders’ Alliance: http://handydartriders.ca/

— Al Etmanski’s website: www.aletmanski.com

— The Power of Disability: 10 Lessons for Surviving, Thriving, and Changing the World: https://aletmanski.com/books/

Bio:

Tim Louis is a practicing lawyer who has been actively involved in Vancouver civic politics for over forty years.

Tim has lived and worked in Vancouver all his adult life. From his early days as a law student at UBC – during which time he co-founded Vancouver’s custom transit service for people with disabilities [HandyDART], through to his terms as an elected official on both Park Board and City Council, Tim has listened to, and advocated on behalf of, communities across Vancouver.

Penny Parry was born in Montreal and moved to BC in the late 1970’s. She has worked as a university professor, psychologist and artist, among other things. She is a former Child and Youth Advocate for the City of Vancouver. Penny has a BFA from Emily Carr University of Art + Design, and a BA and PhD in psychology.

Cite this episode:

Chicago Style

Etmanski, Al. “The Power of Disability Part 5 — with Tim Louis and Penny Parry” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, May 20, 2021. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/series/the-power-of-disability/tim-louis-penny-parry.html

Below the Radar explores equity and public engagement in knowledge-making and learning with community-engaged scholars from the Honors Living-Learning Community at Rutgers University-Newark (HLLC). HLLC is a transformational college access program that aims to provide equitable opportunities to those that have been systematically disenfranchised.

In this interview, our host Am Johal is joined by HLLC’s inaugural Dean, Timothy Eatman, and HLLC scholar Mohamed Farge. Together, they discuss how the pandemic has affected community engagement and teaching relationships in a post-secondary context. Mohamed speaks to bringing a social justice and equity lens into the world of finance. Timothy and Mohamed also talk about the importance of appreciating and respecting the knowledge that lives outside the academy, and taking an imaginative and artistic approach to community-engaged work and scholarship.

Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/121-timothy-eatman-mohamed-farge.html

Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/121-timothy-eatman-mohamed-farge.html

Resources:

— The HLLC (Honors Living-Learning Community) at Rutgers University-Newark website: https://hllc.newark.rutgers.edu/

— Dr. Timothy K. Eatman’s website: http://timothykeatman.com/

— Dr. Timothy K. Eatman’s story: https://admissions.rutgers.edu/stories/dr-timothy-eatmans-story-newark

— Imagining American consortium (IA): https://imaginingamerica.org/

— Interfaith Youth Core: https://ifyc.org/

Bio:

Timothy K. Eatman, Ph.D., is the inaugural dean of the HLLC. Most recently, he held an appointment as Associate Professor of Higher Education in the School of Education at Syracuse University.

Mohamed Farge is a scholar in the Honors Living-Learning Community and an undergraduate student at Rutgers University-Newark, pursuing a major in Finance with a minor in Social Justice.

Cite this episode:

Chicago Style

Johal, Am. “Community-Engaged Learning — with Timothy Eatman and Mohamed Farge” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, May 18, 2021. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/121-timothy-eatman-mohamed-farge.html

Rabia Khedr, an activist, consultant, former Human Rights Commissioner and motivational speaker who ‘wears many hijabs,’ joins Al Etmanski for this Power of Disability conversation. They discuss Rabia’s advocacy and policy work within the disability community and the Muslim community; bringing a disability benefit, or basic income, to Canada; as well as the vital importance of having people disabled folks driving systems change.

Rabia speaks to the significance of having what she calls a ‘hyphenated identity’ and how disability is just one facet of people's varied and intersecting experiences and identities. She shares with Al how she is working with the Canadian Association of Muslims with Disabilities to connect people to Disability Justice principles through spirituality and culture. She also sheds light on what she means when she says, “Being blind, I see things differently.”

“The range of disabilities, of lived experience, needs to be reflected in the journey — at the table, making the decisions, leading the work.” - Rabia Khedr

Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/series/the-power-of-disability/rabia-khedr.html

Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/rabia-khedr.html

ABOUT THE SERIES

The Power of Disability is a series of Below the Radar. Host Al Etmanski brings us enlightening conversations, featuring guests with disabilities who have been influential in arts, activism, science, and more. This series is a continuation of the work Al has shared in the book, The Power of Disability: 10 Lessons for Surviving, Thriving, and Changing the World, which reveals that people with disabilities are the invisible force that has shaped history.

Resources:

— Rabia Khedr consulting: http://www.diversityworx.com/index.php/consultant-profile/rabia-khedr

— Rabia Khedr on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RabiaKhedr

— COVID-19 Canadian Muslim Task Force: https://www.cmcovidtf.com/

— DEEN Support Services: https://deensupportservices.ca/

— Canadian Association of Muslims with Disabilities: https://camd.ca/

— Disability and Islam journal (forthcoming)

— Al Etmanski’s website: www.aletmanski.com

— The Power of Disability: 10 Lessons for Surviving, Thriving, and Changing the World: https://aletmanski.com/books/

Bio:

A former Commissioner with the Ontario Human Rights Commission, Rabia is a founder of the Canadian Association of Muslims with Disabilities, Executive Director of the Muslim Council of Peel and President of DEEN Support Services.

Rabia has served on many boards and committees including the Accessibility Standards Advisory Council of Ontario, Ethno-Racial People with Disabilities Coalition of Ontario, Ontario Women’s Health Network and Federation of Muslim Women. Currently, she serves on the Mississauga Accessibility Advisory Committee which she has chaired for 8 years, the Peel Region Accessibility Advisory Committee, and the federal Disability Advisory Group. She is also co-chair of the Disability Without Poverty Initiative, a national movement to secure a Canada Disability benefit for disabled adults in Canada.

Cite this episode:

Chicago Style

Etmanski, Al. “The Power of Disability Part 4 — with Rabia Khedr” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, May 13, 2021. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/series/the-power-of-disability/rabia-khedr.html

Glenn Alteen is a writer, curator, and co-founder of grunt gallery. Having retired after 36 years in May 2020, Glenn joins host Am Johal to talk about his tenure as Program Director of grunt gallery, and his work on The Blue Cabin Floating Artist Residency.

In this interview, Glenn recalls the process of founding grunt gallery in 1984, and the dynamic programming of the gallery. He discusses the focus on exhibiting work from artists at the fringes of the art scene in Vancouver: namely, the work of many contemporary Indigenous artists in the 1990s, a time when these perspectives were largely not shown. Glenn and Am also chat about life after retirement, working on the Blue Cabin Floating Artist Residency, and the need for reforming the way funding is distributed to artists.

Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/120-glenn-alteen.html

Resources:

— grunt gallery website: https://grunt.ca/

— The Blue Cabin Floating Artist Residency: https://thebluecabin.ca/

— Glenn Alteen Legacy fund: https://www.vancouverfoundation.ca/glennalteenlegacyfund

Bio:

Glenn Alteen is a Vancouver-based curator and writer as well as co-founder and Director (1984-2020) of grunt gallery.

He has worked extensively with performance art and was co-founder of Vancouver’s LIVE Performance Biennale. His writing on performance has been published in books and catalogues and he was also the producer of Brunt magazine. Alteen has been a critical organizer in a number of significant conferences and has also produced a series of websites focusing on current cultural production including, most recently, grunt’s Activating the Archive project. He also helped to establish the Blue Cabin Floating Artist Residency.

Cite this episode

Chicago Style

Johal, Am. “After Art — with Glenn Alteen” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, May 11, 2021. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/120-glenn-alteen.html

Non-visual artist Carmen Papalia speaks with Al Etmanski about the rampancy of ableism across institutions — from the art world to healthcare, to the symbol of the white cane. Carmen and Al discuss how institutions can be sites of retraumatization that can often overlook and underappreciate variations in ability.

Carmen also explores some key ideas central to disability justice, provides some suggestions on how to be a good ally, and considers how accessibility is dependent on the social, cultural, and political conditions of a space and the people within it. Carmen speaks about some of his works, including White Cane Amplified, Mobility Device, and Open Access, drawing out his own positions on the topic of disability, and the importance of mutual aid within the disability community.

“At the heart of disability justice is the idea of mutual aid, which means building a capacity for care that isn’t otherwise available.” - Carmen Papalia

Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/series/the-power-of-disability/carmen-papalia.html

Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/carmen-papalia.html

ABOUT THE SERIES

The Power of Disability is a series of Below the Radar. Host Al Etmanski brings us enlightening conversations, featuring guests with disabilities who have been influential in arts, activism, science, and more. This series is a continuation of the work Al has shared in the book, The Power of Disability: 10 Lessons for Surviving, Thriving, and Changing the World, which reveals that people with disabilities are the invisible force that has shaped history.

Resources:

— Carmen Papalia’s website: https://carmenpapalia.com/

— Vocal Eye: http://www.vocaleye.ca/

— Open Access by Carmen Papalia: https://carmenpapalia.com/2015/08/21/open-access/

— “An Accessibility Manifesto for the Arts” - Canadian Art: https://canadianart.ca/essays/access-revived/

— White Cane Amplified by Carmen Papalia: https://carmenpapalia.com/2015/03/01/white-cane-amplified/

— Mobility Device by Carmen Papalia: https://carmenpapalia.com/2013/06/01/mobility-device/

— Sins Invalid: https://www.sinsinvalid.org/

— Skin, Tooth, and Bone: The Basis of Movement is Our People, a Disability Justice primer by Sins Invalid: https://www.sinsinvalid.org/disability-justice-primer

— Review of Skin, Tooth, and Bone: The Basis of Movement is Our People: https://disabilityarts.online/magazine/opinion/sins-invalid-skin-tooth-bone-basis-movement-people-disability-justice-primer/

— Sins Invalid access suggestions for mobilizations: https://www.sinsinvalid.org/blog/access-suggestions-for-mobilizations

— Sins Invalid access suggestions for public events: https://www.sinsinvalid.org/blog/access-suggestions-for-a-public-event

— Disability Filibuster for Bill C-7: https://disabilityfilibuster.ca/

Bio:

Carmen Papalia is a social practice artist who makes participatory projects on the topic of access as it relates to public space, art institutions and visual culture. His work has been featured as part of exhibitions and engagements at the Guggenheim Museum, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, National Art Gallery, Banff Centre, Vancouver Art Gallery, Gallery Gachet and the Tate Liverpool.

Carmen has received many awards for his work including the Adam Reynolds Memorial Bursary and the Wynn Newhouse Award. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Simon Fraser University, Vancouver and a Master of Fine Arts from Portland State University.

Cite this episode:

Chicago Style

Etmanski, Al. “The Power of Disability Part 3 — with Carmen Papalia” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, May 6, 2021. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/series/the-power-of-disability/carmen-papalia.html

Theorist and author Asad Haider joins Below the Radar to discuss questions he explores in his book, "Mistaken Identity: Race and Class in the Age of Trump." Asad discusses how class dynamics cannot be separated from identity-driven movements.

As well, he explores ideas of political exhaustion in the tradition of political theorists such as Sylvain Lazarus and Alain Badiou.

In this interview, Asad interrogates the role of identity in politics and how it has been taken up in discourse — complicating the relationship between race and class in a context that has been defined by capital interests. Asad and Am discuss theoretical questions around frameworks for political organizing and solidarity across movements. He also speaks to our current moment as one of political exhaustion, where it’s difficult to mobilize transformative political change.

Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/119-asad-haider.html

Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/119-asad-haider.html

— Asad Haider’s website: http://www.asadhaider.com/

— Mistaken Identity: Race and Class in the Age of Trump by Asad Haider: https://www.versobooks.com/books/2716-mistaken-identity

— “Emancipation & Exhaustion” - South Asian Avant Garde Anthology: https://saaganthology.com/Emancipation-and-Exhaustion

— Viewpoint Magazine: https://viewpointmag.com/

— Review: “Mistaken Identity by Asad Haider review – the best criticism of identity politics” - The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/may/31/mistaken-identity-by-asad-haider-review

— Revolutionary Suicide by Huey P. Newton: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/300589/revolutionary-suicide-by-huey-p-newton/9780143105329

Bio:

Asad Haider is a founding Editor of Viewpoint Magazine, an investigative journal of contemporary politics. He is the author of Mistaken Identity and a co-editor for The Black Radical Tradition (forthcoming). His writing can be found in The Baffler, n+1, The Point, Salon, and elsewhere.

Cite this episode:

Chicago Style

Johal, Am. “Politics and Exhaustion — with Asad Haider.” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, May 4, 2021. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/119-asad-haider.html.

Lifelong activist and wheelchair user Judy Heumann joins Al Etmanski for this instalment of The Power of Disability. Judy is a powerful advocate in the disability movement both in the US and globally. She and Al talk about her long history of fighting for the rights of disabled people, a part of which is featured in the Oscar-nominated documentary, Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution.

Judy shares stories about significant organizing moments and camaraderie in liberation movements, speaking to the importance for the voices of disabled people to come forward. They also discuss Judy’s appearance on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, creating a thriving disability culture, and the changing nature of allyship.

“It's important to work collaboratively with people, to try to have big dreams, to recognize they may not happen overnight, and to be able to change.” - Judy Heumann

Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/series/the-power-of-disability/judy-heumann.html

Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/judy-heumann.html

ABOUT THE SERIES

The Power of Disability is a series of Below the Radar. Host Al Etmanski brings us enlightening conversations, featuring guests with disabilities who have been influential in arts, activism, science, and more. This series is a continuation of the work Al has shared in the book, The Power of Disability: 10 Lessons for Surviving, Thriving, and Changing the World, which reveals that people with disabilities are the invisible force that has shaped history.

Resources:

Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/621090/being-heumann-by-judith-heumann/

Film: Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution: https://cripcamp.com/

Judy Heumann on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah: https://www.facebook.com/thedailyshow/videos/203581457556267/

Judy Heumann - Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_Heumann

The Heumann Perspective - YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB7pemkbDQYezB6PeDFXTvg?view_as=subscriber

Judy Heumann’s TED talk: https://www.ted.com/speakers/judith_heumann

Judy Heumann on Twitter: https://twitter.com/judithheumann

American Association of People with Disabilities’ REV UP campaign: https://www.aapd.com/advocacy/voting/

Al Etmanski’s website: www.aletmanski.com

The Power of Disability: 10 Lessons for Surviving, Thriving, and Changing the World: https://aletmanski.com/books/

Bio:

Judy is a lifelong activist and leader in the disability rights movement in the United States and internationally. At eighteen months old, Judy was paralyzed from polio and has been a wheelchair user ever since.

She is the first person who used a wheelchair to teach in New York City but not before she sued the NY City Board of Education.

Cite this episode:

Chicago Style

Etmanski, Al. “The Power of Disability Part 2 — with Judy Heumann” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, April 29, 2021. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/series/the-power-of-disability/judy-heumann.html

Blackfoot and Sámi writer, actor, producer and director, Elle–Máijá Tailfeathers joins host Am Johal on this episode of Below the Radar to talk about her latest film Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy. Together they discussed how Tailfeathers created the feature documentary film, which takes place in her community of Kainai First Nation in Southern Alberta, and look at the impacts of the drug-poisoning epidemic over a period of four years in that community.

Elle–Máijá shares her own process of narrative sovereignty as an Indigenous filmmaker, a process rooted in conversation, deep listening, accountability and that is also respectful of community protocols. She also talks about how she implemented the Blackfoot concept of Kímmapiiyipitssini, working from a place of empathy, love and understanding, to her practice and how her previous works influenced this film.

Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/118-elle-maija-tailfeathers.html

Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/118-elle-maija-tailfeathers.html

Resources:

— Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy https://www.nfb.ca/film/kimmapiiyipitssini-the-meaning-of-empathy/

— Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers https://elle-maija-tailfeathers.com/?page_id=311

— Hotdocs Film Festival- Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy https://boxoffice.hotdocs.ca/websales/pages/info.aspx?evtinfo=141695~367cbc04-eb03-453a-90f8-88ca48c4cf79&epguid=9759e3f1-085c-4e15-88c2-e02a8ee1f1d1&

— c̓əsnaʔəm, the city before the city https://www.knowledge.ca/program/city-city

— Mavericks, Season 2, Episode: Dr. Esther Tailfeathers: Blood Reserve https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPhIT0bfzJw

Bio:

Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers is a writer, director, producer and actor. She is a member of the Kainai First Nation (Blood Tribe, Blackfoot Confederacy) as well as Sámi from Norway.

She was named the 2018 Sundance Film Institute’s Merata Mita Film Fellow and is an alumnus of the Berlinale Talent Lab and the Hot Docs Accelerator Lab. Her short documentary Bihttoš was selected as one of TIFF’s Top Ten Canadian shorts and also won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary Short at the Seattle International Film Festival. She acted in and co-wrote and co-directed (with Kathleen Hepburn) the narrative feature The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open, which premiered at the Berlinale in 2019 and received the Toronto Film Critics Association and Vancouver Film Critics Circle awards for best Canadian film. It was also nominated for six Canadian Screen Awards, and Tailfeathers and Hepburn won the CSAs for best direction and best original screenplay. The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open was picked up for distribution by Ava DuVernay’s company, ARRAY, and is available to stream on Netflix in the United States.

Cite this episode:

Chicago Style

Johal, Am. “Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy.” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, April 27, 2021. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/118-elle-maija-tailfeathers.html.