1197838
research-article2023

ALN0010.1177/11771801231197838AlterNativeSimpson

Article

Forming strong cultural identities in
an intersecting space of Indigeneity
and autism using participatory
action research and digital
storytelling

AlterNative
1­–11
© The Author(s) 2023
Article reuse guidelines:
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https://doi.org/10.1177/11771801231197838
DOI: 10.1177/11771801231197838
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Heather A Simpson (Stswecem’c Xget’tem First Nation, Secwépemc)

Abstract
This research responds to the urgency to disrupt patterns of social injustice, exclusion, and cultural genocide while
promoting positive identity formation, pride, and resilience for Indigenous autistics in the post-secondary education
system. This study utilized a participatory action research approach positioning participants as collaborators with the
research team. Data collection involved qualitative data derived from the transcripts of online sessions, participant digital
stories, and a summative survey. Thematic analysis was used to identify emergent themes of individual and a collective
narrative. Findings are presented as an original concept of the author called Thrivival: The Fire Within, comprising four
themes: self-identity, time, balance, and community. This work contributes to a broader understanding and expressions
of Indigenization, decolonization, equity, diversity, and inclusion in post-secondary teaching, learning, and policy to better
support the identity and success of Indigenous autistic students and arguably, all students who experience intersectional
discrimination within post-secondary education systems.
Keywords
autism, culture, disability, identity, Indigenous, post-secondary

Introduction
The Canadian public post-secondary system was created
and is maintained, as a living manifestation of the colonial
project (Gaudry & Lorenz, 2018; Kirkness & Barnhardt,
1991; Kuokkanen, 2007). To Indigenize and decolonize
institutions, we must acknowledge that the public postsecondary institute’s and by extension the system it
operates within, fundamental purpose is to uphold various
colonial ideals and processes within society based on
discriminatory, capitalistic, imperialistic motives. Today’s
post-secondary education landscape in settler colonial
states is described as a more inhospitable environment for
Indigenous and autistic people for its exclusionary nature
(Gaudry & Lorenz, 2018; Kuokkanen, 2007; A. Smith
et al., 2021). While Indigeneity and autism are natural
variations of human diversity, people without white,
hetero male, cisgender privilege and outside the dominant
Euro-Western power structures struggle for protected
identity and space within institutions and society at large.
With this understanding, we can shed further light on the
hegemonic ecosystem existing at institutional and
individual levels that operate to make the plurality of
intellectual traditions, discourses, and practices different

from dominant Euro-Western episteme, invisible and
erased (Gaudry & Lorenz, 2018; Kuokkanen, 2007; A.
Smith et al., 2021).
Epistemological supremacy, epistemic dispossession,
and indifference and the denial of multiple worldviews,
ethics, and values in the Institute thus thwart any real
progress to achieving greater equity, diversity, and inclusion
in Canadian post-secondary in general and in a teaching
and learning context, and also prevent an institute from
meeting its responsibility to build a school ecosystem not
on singular truth but on multiple truths so that all students,
staff, and faculty are respectfully served (Gaudry & Lorenz,
2018; Kuokkanen, 2007; A. Smith et al., 2021). This study
created an invitational space for the presence, voice, and
capacity of Indigenous autistic learners in educational and
policy work in what today is called British Columbia,
Office of Indigenization, Justice Institute of British Columbia, Canada
Corresponding author:
Heather A Simpson (Stswecem’c Xget’tem First Nation, Secwépemc),
Office of Indigenization, Justice Institute of British Columbia, 715
McBride Boulevard, New Westminster, BC V3L 5T4, Canada.
Email: hsimpson@jibc.ca

2
Canada. Indigenous autistic students are among the most
marginalized in public post-secondary and experience
intersectional discrimination, in classrooms, in workintegrated learning experiences, in an institute in general,
and in society at large (Kapp, 2011; Kapp et al., 2013;
Kelley & Lowe, 2018; Lindblom, 2014).
Colonized higher education is in-large inhospitable to
different ways of thinking, being, doing, and relating as it is
predicated on the superiority and sustainability of whiteEurocentric knowledge systems (Hall & Tandon, 2017) and
“settlerness as praxis” (A. Smith et al., 2021, p. 142). While
the West is multicultural, hegemony in education lends to
the experiences of stigmatization, misrepresentation, and
erasure of Indigenous autistic cultural identity making it
unreasonable for non-normative groups to see themselves
and their contributions as visibly represented within
institutional life (Gaudry & Lorenz, 2018; Kuokkanen,
2007; A. Smith et al., 2021). Indigenous identity and
autistic identity are subjugated to policing of identity
through colonial systems, Indigeneity controlled by
colonial legislative authority, whereas autism is classified
medically as a complex neurodevelopmental disorder in the
west by the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or the World
Health Organization’s International Classification of
Functioning, Disability and Health (Simpson, 2021). These
confined definitions exemplify the same tactics of cultural
dispossession that exist in western academics. This study
aimed to counter “epistemicide” in higher education
through participant self-determination (Hall & Tandon,
2017, p. 6). As A. Smith et al. (2021) assert, “It is an act of
resistance to tell these stories” (p. 134). This research builds
on ground forged as “an act of resistance to claim our right
to exist in these spaces” (A. Smith et al., 2021, p. 134).

AlterNative 00(0)
educational policy work. We addressed the issues of
exclusion and systemic oppression using a participatory
action research design supporting the leadership and
collaboration of Indigenous autistic students to determine
project deliverables; respond to the gap of self-determined,
culturally relevant, knowledge in teachings and learning
literature; and ensure that Indigenous autistic voices and
citizenship were present, represented, and fully articulated,
and power, control, and ownership of research and the
research process shared (Datta et al., 2015; JohnstonGoodstar, 2013; Young et al., 2019).

Ethical procedures
This research was guided by an ethical framework
transparently shared with all esteemed partners in the project
proposal and invitation for engagement. It is situated in a
knowing that the Canadian public post-secondary system
was created and is maintained, as a tool of colonialism built
and evolving on the disadvantage spiritually, socially,
politically, economically, and environmentally, of Indigenous
peoples. Before we finalized the scope and focus of this
project, our research team followed protocol and extended an
invitation to the First Nations of whose lands partnering
post-secondary institutes are located, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh
(Squamish), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), qiqéyt (Qayqayt),
̓ ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh). First Nations were invited
and səl ilw̓
to be involved and compensated in this research project from
its inception so that the direction and outputs can directly
benefit and fit with the needs and interests of the respective
communities. Before finalizing research, these respective
First Nations received our research final report to ensure
mutuality in sharing the research.

Selection criteria
Methods
Participatory action research
This research, JIBCER2021-03-FSCI, was approved by the
Justice Institute of British Columbia’s Research Ethics
Board on November 3, 2021 and conducted with full
consent of participants and with engagement in all stages of
research with the respective local Indigenous communities
where this research was situated, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh
(Squamish), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), qiqéyt (Qayqayt),
̓ ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) First Nations, all distinct
and səlilw̓
Indigenous peoples located in the lower Coast region of
British Columbia, Canada.
This research was conducted primarily in the English
language while introducing a dialect of Cree, an Indigenous
language and ethnic group widely represented in Canada
and the first language of the project Elder, and
Secwepemctsín, an Indigenous language spoken in the
Interior region of British Columbia, Canada, and the
ancestral language of the author. Research centered
Indigenous autistic student expression as valuable and
necessary to advancing Indigenized and decolonized
recommended practices in teaching and learning and in

Research participants were selected on the following
inclusion criteria:
1.

2.
3.

Be an adult aged 18+ who self-identifies as one of
the three federally recognized Indigenous peoples
in Canada: First Nations, Métis, or Inuit and autistic
person with autism. We were inclusive of mixed
racial identity;
Be a student enrolled in a post-secondary institute;
Be committed to advancing human rights and social
justice for Indigenous and autistic peoples given the
extensive commitment to the project.

The study recruited two participants with the assistance
of local post-secondary institutes. Two individuals met the
inclusion criteria and participated in the duration of the
study. Both identified as autistic males attending public
post-secondary institutions full-time in the Lower
Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. One
participant is Métis with Cherokee (distinct Indigenous
peoples located in the southeastern USA) and mixedEuropean ancestry and one Filipino and First Nations to an
unidentifiable community.

Simpson

Research questions
The absence of culturally responsive services and supports
for Indigenous and autistic peoples in educational and
disability services spaces is correlated to negative social
outcomes in holistic individual and public health and in the
field of education (Graham, 2012; Sullivan, 2013; Tan,
2018). This research builds upon the author’s previous
research (Simpson, 2021). To address the research problem
as identified in extant scholarly literature, the first question
posed was:
1. How might British Columbia post-secondary teaching
and learning practices and policy better integrate
Indigenous knowledges in education and arts
programming to disrupt patterns of social injustice,
exclusion, and cultural genocide while promoting
positive identity formation, pride, and resilience for
Indigenous autistics?
Additional research questions were developed by
participants following a mind-mapping exercise to identify
key topics using a modified inquiry framework based upon
Thompson Rivers University’s (2010) Aboriginal Education
Framework (Figure 1). Critiquing this framework, the author
modified by repositioning students at the center of the
framework and added a missing communal future focus.
This mapping exercise was followed by a collaborative
approach among participants to vote on key topics, narrowing
to and selecting one topic to guide the development of a
co-created research question within each area of the
framework.

3
educational experience: History & Traditions, Services &
Supports, Transformational Educational Practices, and
Collective Good & Critical Hope. In the center of the
framework is a fire, representing Student Self-Knowledge.
The fire is symbolic of the inherent natural capacity within
students and the transformational power they possess. In
addition to the original research question, in the realm of
Self-Knowledge, the participants asked:
2.

What stressors and barriers do learners experience
in post-secondary environments and what strategies
do you use to overcome obstacles for greater success
and sense of purpose in post-secondary?

In History &Traditions:
3.

How do learners in post-secondary access cultural
history, knowledge, and practices to support
strengthening cultural identity in the context of
ongoing colonization in education and society?

In Services & Supports:
4.

How does a post-secondary institution provide
equity-deserving learners the services and supports
to meet learner goals and align with coursework and
desired outcomes?

In Transformational Education Practices:
5.

What teaching and learning practices do you
recommend for creating safer, equitable, inclusive
learning environments for Indigenous autistic
students?

And to ensure a focus beyond self, a fundamental ethic
across various Indigenous worldviews, in Collective Good
& Critical Hope, participants asked:
6.

How do we create a future in post-secondary
education that offers hope and promise to Indigenous
autistic students?

Data collection and analysis

Figure 1. Modified aboriginal education framework
(Thompson Rivers University, 2010).

The modified inquiry framework depicts four quadrants
representing significant areas to explore and to better
understand and plan for Indigenous autistic students’

This research was conducted using digital storytelling, a
participatory audio and visual method of research credited
in academic literature as being both more culturally relevant
to Indigenous peoples (Freeman et al., 2020; Genuis et al.,
2015; Hanemaayer et al., 2020) as it is “a powerful means
for promoting community dialogue and creating oppor­
tunities for individual and community change” (Wang &
Burris, 1997, as cited in Genuis et al., 2015, p. 602) and is
a method of research that shows greater efficacy in helping
autistic participants “voice their perspective” (Winstone
et al., 2014, p. 190). Arguably, digital storytelling as
methodology also challenges the Euro-Western intellectual
tradition that values and prioritizes written knowledge
representation and instead promotes Indigenous oral

4
tradition, storytelling, and symbolism as valid purveyors of
systems and representations of knowledges.
There is no one approach to digital storytelling and
published research using digital storytelling is expanding
(Freeman et al., 2020; Genuis et al., 2015; Hanemaayer
et al., 2020; Hyman et al., 2020; Ward & de Leeuw, 2018).
Instead of selecting a specific technology (Freeman et al.,
2020; Genuis et al., 2015; Hanemaayer et al., 2020),
participants could create digital stories of choice content
like photographs and other images, video and audio
recordings, artwork, or songs and music, shared into an
individual and secured Canadian-housed digital drop-box,
Sync.com, between the participant and the author.
Digital stories explored research questions in ways
unique, meaningful, and relevant to the participant. Both
students shared digital stories using Microsoft PowerPoint
though each participant presented stories in different
ways. One participant balanced written and symbolic
representations on separate slides and shared their story
orally during a recorded live session. Another participant
chose to use the voice over function to narrate their story
in a series of slides. The slides included text that summa­
rized their oral narration.
Participants were paid CAD $25 per hour for a total of
15.5 hr. Research sessions were 1 to 2 hr, a mix of individual
and group sessions and all online using Microsoft Teams.
Each session was process- and outcome-focused, promoting
reciprocal knowledge transfer and dialogue including Elder
support, ceremony, and Teachings led by Elder Phillip
Gladue from the Métis Nation. Research was conducted
over eight sessions with two post-research engagement
sessions dedicated to participant review and approval of the
final research report and a closing ceremony.
Participants were introduced to various ways of
approaching digital storytelling and creating digital stories
by Knowledge Keeper Aaron Johannes, Métis heritage,
including variations of storyboards and planning processes.
Elder Gladue shared Medicine Wheel Teachings to help
participants develop digital stories that were culturally
relevant as well as holistic and individualized.
This research is based on individual participant case
studies; however, data collected were analyzed and
interpreted both individually and collectively, not as a
comparative between participants but to identify
emergent themes in response to research questions and
the development of a collective narrative. Recordings
from sessions and digital stories were transcribed and
coded in NVivo. A summative mixed-methods participant
satisfaction survey developed by the author and
administered using Qualtrics was included in the
analysis. Data were analyzed for emergent themes and
findings following a six-step process as described in the
work of Kiger and Varpio (2020).

AlterNative 00(0)
Dog Creek First Nation located in a semi-remote Interior
region of British Columbia, Canada) and mixed-European
heritage. This research includes some of her storied
experience but mostly the stories gifted by our research
participants, project Elder, and Indigenous Knowledge
Keeper. Working as the Senior Advisor for JIBC in its
Office of Indigenization, the author uses and shares power
and privilege and guides others to amplify often muted
voices and promote plurality in academics. The Truths
shared reflect Indigenous autistic learners’ voices and do
not represent the whole of an Indigenous autistic
community and variations of Indigenous communities
within oppressional intersectionality. They do, however,
represent great wisdom and insight as well as immense
courage, thoughtfulness, humility, and respect, all
characteristics fundamental to advancing social justice and
strengthening of cultural identities for Indigenous autistic
peoples. All people have a story and there is something to
learn from each story told.

Results and discussion
Research findings theorized as Thrivival: The Fire Within,
an original concept of the author, grounds humanity in the
knowing that Indigenous autistic peoples are in constant
conflict with oppressive sociological phenomena that is an
attack on the fire within. The fire within is our essence, our
spirit. It is the source of creation. It is where we all come
from and where we will all return to when we are called
home. It is with grave misfortune that this fire is diminished,
often violently, by human-made constructs—psychological,
physical, and spiritual, and many relatives, human and nonhuman, are wounded.
Indigenous autistic people, like all our relations, are
precious and need safety, peace, harmony, and community
to ensure their Thrivival. The storied experience of
participants educate on the ways their fire is suffocated in a
post-secondary context, at real risk of extinguishing, and
ways that, if they are supported, share their fire with others
the way that Creator has intended.
Creating the conditions for protection, preservation, and
flourishing of the fire within can and does mean different
things for different relatives. A collective storied experience
highlighted four overarching and interconnected themes
that contextualize the suffocation or the Thrivival of the
participant’s fire within: Self-Identity, Time, Balance, and
Community. Before discussing themes below, it is important
to emphasize that across these themes are a deeply rooted
entanglement of complex trauma and stress that operates at
micro, meso, and macro levels and fully addressing requires
an Indigenous neurodivergent trauma-informed lens and
holistic approach (Faccini & Allely, 2021; Johnson, 2014;
MacLeod et al., 2013).

Situating research

Indigenous neurodivergent trauma-informed
lens
The author is autistic and Secwepemc (distinct Indigenous
peoples located in the Interior region, British Columbia,
Canada) from the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem (Canoe Creek

It is the findings of this study and in the author’s previous
literature review (Simpson, 2021) that chronic, ongoing

Simpson
exposure to oppressive, discriminatory, racist, ableist and
hetero-cisgender normative sociological conditions and
phenomena experienced by Indigenous autistic peoples in
systems and society, in general, seriously impact health.
Thrivival is heavily reliant upon a trauma-informed
approach through an Indigenous neurodivergent lens. This
term and concept are novel and to the author’s awareness,
not yet presented in literature as is in this article. It is
derived from the understandings about intersectionality
(MacLeod et al., 2013) and trauma-informed care from an
Indigenous and autistic lens (Faccini & Allely, 2021;
Johnson, 2014).
Within each emergent theme is expressed certainty that
ideologies and practices within the post-secondary system
and public at large create and exacerbate traumatic
experiences daily. Failing to realize this and respond
accordingly in a proactive way to build the conditions
needed for Thrivival, traumatization of Indigenous autistic
learners is perpetuated. In post-secondary this means by
expecting conformity to the status quo, we expose
Indigenous autistic learners to profound isolation and
neglect as students while upholding institutional structures,
policy, spaces, and socialization that diminishes realization
of full potential and respect for variant human expression.
Supporting all neurodivergent Indigenous learners to
succeed in post-secondary life requires education, policy,
and experiences that account for variation in neurology and
in personal nervous system responses as well as
intergenerational trauma in addition to systemic traumas
(Faccini & Allely, 2021; Johnson, 2014; MacLeod et al.,
2013). This is trauma-informed care from a neurodivergent
Indigenous lens. As themes of this study are explored,
examples raised by participants will be shared as to how
they are experiencing an ongoing sense of fear, helplessness,
and powerlessness in their educational experience and shed
light on the ways they care for their fire within and seek
solidarity and change in this pursuit.

Thrivival is holistic
Building the fire within requires care and attention to selfidentity, time, balance, and community. Like Medicine
Wheel Teachings, these components are interdependent
and connected, and are in relationships with one another.
Much like we observe in nature; for a seed to flourish, it
needs a combination of earth, water, fire, and other
elements. Building a fire is similar needing parts to make
the whole. Without all, we are not whole (Lane & Lucas,
2012). This is a foundational premise of this work and a
hallmark for living Indigenization, decolonization, and
practices of equity, diversity, and inclusion.
Just as a Medicine Wheel can follow multiple directions
and uses, it is important to think of the main themes for
Thrivival in this way. The themes of storied experience are
presented one by one but this does not suggest a linear
approach. This is purely for sharing Truths and dialogue. In
practice, it will be up to the individual institutions and its
members as to where to start in taking action as a result of
receiving the gift of knowledge offered in this study.

5
Participants consented to share stories with honesty no
matter how difficult to hear, for the integrity of learning and
truthfulness of the story told.

Thrivival: self-identity
There was a noticeable difference in the degree of selfconfidence and self-esteem among participants. Both
participants are very self-aware, clearly articulating their
strengths and challenges; however, one participant was
more critical of self, making several self-deprecating
statements and confiding that they struggled with selfimage and self-worth. Stories shared by this participant
throughout sessions indicate a concerning pattern of selfinternalized doubt and fear, and self-criticism. Research
tells us that poor self-identity and mental health often stem
from ongoing oppression and subjugation to social injustice,
exclusion, and cultural genocide and tragically, a common
experience among Indigenous autistic peoples (DeNigris
et al., 2018; Lindblom; 2017a, 2017b; Simpson, 2021).
In exploring the concept of self-knowledge, participants
shared that their sense of self-identity was connected to
their identity as a post-secondary student and that each had
a different concept of self based on their Indigeneity and
being autistic. One participant acknowledged autism as a
disability, while the other participant rejected a disability
label in favor of a personal affirmation but later explained
challenges in learning and perceived inequitable treatment
by instructors related to having a disability.
Regarding Indigeneity, the participant with a demon­
strated level of higher self-esteem identified as Métis
with Cherokee and mixed-European ancestry, while the
participant who struggled with self-confidence, identified
as Filipino and First Nations but could not identify with a
specific First Nation or Nations, sharing that the residential
school system was effective in erasing cultural connections
between their family and their Indigenous community.
While positive identity formation is much more complex
and multi-factorial, it is possible that some of the mental
health challenges experienced by one of our participants
could be related to the disconnection and lack of membership
to a named Indigenous community on Turtle Island, a
genocidal legacy of colonial assimilation policy and the
residential school system as well as the long and unique
legacy of colonization in the Philippines (Gaudry & Lorenz,
2018; Simpson, 2021; A. Smith et al., 2021). Having a
grounded sense of self provides an internalized sense of
safety, a basic human need essential for living into our
being and full potential (Simpson, 2021).
On the identity of being a student, one participant never
perceived themselves as being capable of success as a
learner. It was not until they were underway in their first
semester in post-secondary that they found their place
among their cohort and area of study and deepened their
understanding of their strengths and needs as a learner and
the accommodations, relationships, and strategies that
promoted their success beyond academic performance. The
other participant entered post-secondary confident in their
academic abilities, commenting that their sense of

6
self-identity and self-esteem rises and falls based upon their
success in their schooling, and specifically, educational
achievement. This aspect of story teaches us that taking a
strength-based approach to educational planning does help
in bolstering one’s self-esteem and academic success to a
degree (Bailey & Arciuli, 2020). It does not, however,
prevent challenges that arise from programming or other
demands that are perceived by the student to fall outside
their strengths or capabilities.
As the participants told their stories, it was apparent
that Thrivival in post-secondary (and beyond) is supported
by a holistic sense of self-identity (LaFever, 2016; Lane &
Lucas, 2012). A sense of self is what inspired the actions
participants have taken thus far in self-advocating and
navigating their education and educational experiences
based on their uniqueness. This knowing is what inspired
their contributions to this study and drawing from this
insight to make recommendations for meaningful
improvements in policy and practice. Moreover, selfidentity is a powerful catalyst for belonging and citizenship
(Kuokkanen, 2007; Simpson, 2021; A. Smith et al., 2021).
This project gave each participant a group identity, a
voice, responsibilities, autonomy over how to share their
stories, and with that, a knowing that they are, in fact, not
alone no matter how isolating and exclusionary postsecondary can be for Indigenous autistic learners
(Kuokkanen, 2007; Simpson, 2021; A. Smith et al., 2021).

Thrivival: time
Self-identity evolves. Naturally over time, our being is
shaped by a myriad of forces including context, time, and
being in relationship (Flotskaya et al., 2019; Simpson,
2021). Time as a component to Thrivival is situated within
Indigenous perspectives, natural laws that instruct us that
creation exists within a lifespan of seasons and often in
unending, yet altered cycles influenced by internal and
external factors (Lane & Lucas, 2012). The development of
self-identity and cultural identities are good representations
of these natural laws (Lane & Lucas, 2012). Set within the
history and context of colonization, it is not uncommon for
many Indigenous learners to first encounter Indigenous
cultures and explore their Indigeneity in systems (Shepherd
et al., 2018). Indigenous peoples have varied and diverse
experiences and access to cultures. For those who grew up
disconnected from Indigenous culture, time has been a
favorable component of Thrivival. Birthright and
connection to kin delayed until much later in life, a
phenomenon describable as a homecoming. This same
sentiment is often shared when one’s neurodivergence is
affirmed (Simpson, 2021).
In exploring barriers and strategies in education and
navigating systems of service and support, participants
discussed time in their stories as a great opportunity or
obstacle, and often, time constraints preventing their
flourishing. At the heart of opportunity was the mindful act
of making time. Participants talked about the success they
realize when giving themselves the time to reflect and then
connect; time to check in with oneself and decide who and

AlterNative 00(0)
what is needed to navigate the given feelings or situation.
Then giving themselves the time to act.
Time is an important component of self-determination;
however, this is not a solo journey. The barriers highlighted
in stories often were related to the lack of time given to
students in reciprocity, when they reached out, sharing their
time. Sometimes time is yielded in support and
accommodation of learners, as both participants raised,
being given extra time on exams or for assignment
completion (McMorris et al., 2019). This was the extent of
the benefit of time mentioned by participants.
Both participants acknowledged the difficulty of
conformity to rigid systems and expectations that enforced
universal timelines for all learners (Kuokkanen, 2007;
McMorris et al., 2019; A. Smith et al., 2021). Western
education by nature is prescriptive and time-bound
regardless of the delivery model of programming (Gaudry
& Lorenz, 2018). For the standard semester-based programs,
time constraints can impose greater challenge for students
who require more time to process information, generate
graded assignments, and are expected to perform academic
exercises that require extensive cognitive energies within
limited timeframes. For many neurodivergent learners, this
is not conducive for effective learning or optimal academic
performance. Often it exacerbates mental health challenges
creating layered stresses for students (McMorris et al.,
2019).
One participant reported that these course-work
experiences were followed by emotional and physical
withdrawal academically and socially. Though the
participant reflected on systemic barriers, they did identify
struggles with liberal arts coursework as a personal failure.
This same participant raised concerns for students who
they deemed as socially or economically disadvantaged.
We must account for and tend to increased cognitive and
social demands experienced by neurodivergent Indigenous
learners by adjusting policy and practices so that they do
not use time as a tool of the system but rather as a component
to facilitate Indigenous autistic Thrivival. Forcing a status
quo and conformity to the rigidity of a time-bound system
will not serve many Indigenous autistic learners (Gaudry &
Lorenz, 2018; McMorris et al., 2019; A. Smith et al., 2021).
Like building a fire teaches us, if the fire burns hot and
bright for the short term, it will likely become ash before
long. If we build a fire to a consistent and steady pace, the
fire will keep longer. While we may be unable to change
rigidity of time constraints in post-secondary, it is possible
to challenge the contraction of time by expansion, that is,
reforming systems, structures, policies, and practices that
account for implications of trauma and neurodivergence
and seek out alternative representations of learning that is
person-centered and achieved at their pace in their learning
journey (Faccini & Allely, 2021; Gaudry & Lorenz, 2018;
Kuokkanen, 2007).
Participants of this study tell us that effective practices
of equity, diversity, and inclusion are situated in a
decolonized perspective that there is more than one Truth
and more than one way to do and to be. While we have
made some advances in this regard in teaching and learning

Simpson
such as in models like Universal Design for Learning
(UDL), this model is situated in a western science
perspective, and still upholds the idea that learning is
outcome- or competency-based (Lubin & Brooks, 2021).
Where we can see an Indigenization of UDL is in promoting
the belief that learning happens in relationship with the
environment and is emergent, not prescriptive (Lane &
Lucas, 2012). This is not totally self-directed as there is an
interconnected ebb and flow between all present. The
relationship and pedagogy we see in our natural laws and
how Elders carry themselves serve as optimal examples.
Everyone is a learner, and everyone is a teacher, human and
non-human (Lane & Lucas, 2012).
In addition to the concern of a suitable system,
curriculum, and pedagogy relative to time is the concern
of timely access to some student services and supports,
namely student counseling (McMorris et al., 2019). Time
was not an issue for both participants in accessing
Indigenous Student Services, Student Aid support, and
Disability Services. Regarding Indigenous Student
Services, participants gained a kind of support—social
and spiritual—that, while it did not address academic
challenges, provided them with needed outlets and
connections to alleviate stresses (Simpson, 2021).
Unfortunately, for both participants, accessing student
counseling is not readily available. During a time of high
stress during studies, one participant recalled that
counseling was inaccessible and how problematic that is
for students who seek timely mental health support.

Thrivival: balance
What does balance mean? From a western perspective in
education, it might mean reading, writing, and arithmetic—
all mental exercises. From an Indigenous perspective, this
theme encompasses a holistic view, recognizing that
balance is found when all aspects are brought into harmony
(Lane & Lucas, 2012). Indigenization is a philosophy and
practice that strives for greater balance in education,
embracing and lifting up Indigenous ways to move beyond
Eurocentric ways and traditions (Gaudry & Lorenz, 2018;
Pidgeon, 2016). This is an incomplete picture as it still
leaves out representation that is neither Indigenous nor
westernized. For a fulsome representation of balance, we
can look to The Sacred Circle Teachings or Medicine Wheel
Teachings as it is often referred to by its English names
(Lane & Lucas, 2012). Aspects of these Teachings represent
humanity as made up of mental, physical, emotional, and
spiritual aspects of self, while other Teachings emphasize
the interrelatedness, interconnectivity, and holism that is
natural to the Circle. As Teachings it is told that we are not
whole without all, and what is not whole is imbalanced as
all parts need each other (Lane & Lucas, 2012).
Similarly, the concept and prayer of all my relations
emphasizes respect and honor for the balance of life.
Indigenous Nations have their own sets of laws and ethics
that govern social and environmental responsibility;
however, one commonality between First Nations, Métis,
and Inuit worldviews is a shared belief of all our relations,

7
that all living and nonliving have a place and significance
in the universe (Lane & Lucas, 2012; Simpson, 2021). In
other words, we are all related, and everything is connected.
For the participants of this project, the conceptualization
of balance from an Indigenous perspective was a main focal
point for one of the participants. In the telling of their story,
they opted to share a series of graphic representations of
different sacred circle concepts with the intention of using
the symbolism and interpretations of the symbolism to
inform and guide their responses to each research question
and their recommendations for improving educational
opportunity for all learners. The other participant explored
the concept of balance in a way that spoke to the individuality
and unique career path of learners in post-secondary,
advocating that not all disciplines should be treated the same
in program requirements.
Both participants expressed concern about the imbalance
of course load for Indigenous autistic learners, both
requiring a reduction of course load to the 40% threshold
acceptable for qualifying for StudentAid BC student loan
funding as a full-time student as their only strategy to
manage academic demands and rigor. It was the shared
experience that participants were unable to satisfy the
demands of mandatory coursework at a higher course load.
For one participant, this meant failing the same writing
course twice, explaining that for them, mandatory courses
outside their mathematic and computing strength areas
require twice their effort with limited returns. For the other,
it meant being on academic probation in their first semester
of post-secondary and passing all courses with the minimum
grades required. From these experiences, both participants
changed their approach to coursework to register for a
maximum of two courses per semester so that they could
continue enrolment as full-time student. This, however,
does not provide the equitable experience of graduating on
time with a peer cohort.
In exploring balance, one participant raised a concern
related to Institute’s responsiveness to Truth and
Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s (2015) Calls to
Action and other mandates as established in the advancement
of Indigenous rights. When asked about their thoughts on
coursework that teaches about the history of Canada, the
history of Indigenous peoples and Indigenous rights and
justice issues for example, the participant was clear that this
training should not be universal in post-secondary but
dependent on the career path of the student and the ethical
responsibilities carried by certain disciplines toward social
justice.
The idea that balance is achieved by the sharing of roles
and responsibilities was a message expressed as well by the
other participant in their digital story titled My Medicine
Wheel. Seven graphics were selected, each depicting
different applications of Medicine Wheel Teachings with
all supporting a fundamental message that Thrivival is
dependent on interdependence. For this participant,
achieving balance in post-secondary education expands
beyond the brick and mortar and studies, but requires care
and attention to all the essentials that make attending school
and thriving in it possible for mature learners things like

8
employment, income, housing, public safety, community
engagement, and access to quality care. The participant
acknowledged these essentials as medicines needing to be
balanced to achieve wellness as a learner. The participant’s
story continued exploring balance through Wheels that
depicted the Teaching of all our relations, to ground us in a
knowing that all of creation exists in a natural balance in
the web of life (Lane & Lucas, 2012; Simpson, 2021).
The participant’s story too symbolized the balancing of
roles that they play, visionary, healer, teacher, and warrior,
and the values that would support realization of success in
these roles, truth, love, wisdom, and courage. To answer
our research questions, the participant reflected that we
need to look at ourselves. For the participant, living out this
character and roles is supported by balancing a life filled
with practices and traditions that nurture this way of being.
Practices like exercising, sleeping, eating well along with
practicing forgiveness, spending time in nature, attending
an African church, and practicing self-reflection are integral
to mental wellness from a balanced holistic perspective
(Lane & Lucas, 2012; McKivett et al., 2020).
This participant’s story expands the concept of balance
beyond oneself. It encompassed a recognition that if Mother
Earth is not balanced, everyone suffers. Finding a pathway
to balance is, according to our participants’ story, an
interplay between internal and external worlds with Mother
Earth and creation as a connector with balance of worlds
achieved by the participation of all of humanity upkeeping
their responsibilities to natural elements (Lane & Lucas,
2012; McKivett et al., 2020).

Thrivival: community
We need to come together and community is an essential
component of Indigenous autistic Thrivival (Simpson,
2021). The fire within is strengthened and sustained in
relationship and connection with our people, our ancestors,
our cosmology, nature, and the Creator (Gaudry & Lorenz,
2018; Kirkness & Barnhardt, 1991; Kuokkanen, 2007;
Simpson, 2021). For Indigenous peoples it is in the blood
memory we carry that tells us that though we might feel
alone, we are not (Schultz et al., 2021). We are still here.
We have always been here, and we always will (Monchalin,
2016). As a group cast to the margins in education and in
society, born into the other, many Indigenous and autistic
peoples struggle to feel a sense of safety, security, and
belonging (Faccini & Allely, 2021; Johnson, 2014;
Simpson, 2021). The author has heard many stories from
relatives that out of fear, they could not acknowledge their
cultural heritage as Indigenous. The same is true for her
relatives that are neurodivergent. Prevalent racism and
discrimination in western society have made it unsafe to
do so (Faccini & Allely, 2021; Johnson, 2014; Simpson,
2021). Social isolation is made further complex by the
degrees of cultural and familial separation that has
happened because of colonization and impacts of
assimilation policy on Indigenous peoples, and for autistic
peoples, the challenges associated with autism
identification. While this is not everyone’s experience, it

AlterNative 00(0)
is the experience of many (Gaudry & Lorenz, 2018;
Simpson, 2021; A. Smith et al., 2021).
It was with this understanding that this study’s main
priority was holding a safer space for all our members,
especially our participants. Elder Gladue explained that
community building starts with and is maintained with
safety. Our protocols, values, and practices are followed for
a reason, and the foundation is safety and respect (Kirkness
& Barnhardt, 1991; Monchalin, 2016; Pidgeon, 2016).
Before the study began, Elder Gladue shared his perspectives
on what it means to hold a safer space together as we
journeyed forward in this research. In a later session, he
added to his Teaching, acknowledging that learning and
participating is only made possible when a person feels safe.
Holding safer space was essential to community building
in this project and provided the environment where we
could hold each other up during difficult conversations and
be honest sharing intimate details and Truths of lived
experiences. Everyone who participated in this project
understood this as a shared responsibility and all contributed
to creating a safer environment. This was achieved through
participant-to-participant support, Elder support, research
facilitation practice, and the practice of traditions like
introduction protocol, sharing circles, and consensus
governance. Decolonizing our research processes was as
important as the results we worked toward (Archibald et al.,
2019; Datta, 2018; Hall & Tandon, 2017; L. T. Smith, 1999).
Establishing a safer environment for this study inspired
ethical citizenship in practice (Hall & Tandon, 2017; Kirkness
& Barnhardt, 1991; Wilson-Raybould, 2019). Participants
demonstrated great respect, care, and concern for each other,
by sharing affirming comments. Encouragement of active
citizenship and inclusion occurred throughout sessions and
was upheld and promoted by our Elder. He emphasized to
the participants the importance of telling their stories, their
Truths, in an honest way and to know the value of their
knowledge and experiences.
When one participant shared their story, it invited the
other to reflect on their experiences and share, building from
each other and contributing to a feeling of shared storied
experience. Stories are a powerful medium for conveying
knowledge and understanding as we know well through the
oral traditions of Indigenous peoples over millennia across
the globe (Archibald et al., 2019; Genuis et al., 2015;
Hanemaayer et al., 2020). Stories are also essential to forging
strong community, transmitting culture, instilling ethics,
values, and influencing actions (Freeman et al., 2020; Genuis
et al., 2015; Hanemaayer et al., 2020; Simpson, 2021).
For the participants of this study, improving education
and educational experiences requires much more than
improvements to the transactional nature of knowledge
consumption and representation. From an Indigenous
perspective, education is not individualized but a collec­
tive responsibility (Kirkness & Barnhardt, 1991;
Kuokkanen, 2007; Pidgeon, 2016). Making positive
changes requires us to be community-minded and mind
those in our community. The stories told by the participants
carry guidance on how to create a community within
educational settings for which Indigenous autistic learners

Simpson
are safe, respected, and cared for. They also think of
community beyond the Institute and hold expectations that
supporting individuals, whether they are adult learners, are
not just the role and responsibility of their Institute, but of
the societies that they are members. From the macro
concept of community and specifically addressing the issue
of internalized oppression, one participant asserted that
Elders and other adults in First Nation communities are
integral to inspiring younger generations to overcome fear
and do things that might seem difficult.
On a micro level, community development within postsecondary and teaching and learning environments requires
taking in to account the different sensory needs of class
members (Lubin & Brooks, 2021). One participant’s story
expressed the barriers that they encounter that disrupt their
learning capabilities, for example, when there is cross
talking from the other students in the classroom that is not
relevant to the teachings and has overtaken the instructor
while speaking. Over the course of their semester, they
reflected on their learning preferences and advocated with
instructors for alternative opportunities for tests and
assessment. In one case, the participant tells that an
instructor allowed the participant to visually represent their
ideas and it resulted in an improved grade for the participant
than the previously failed assignment.
Building community with Indigenous autistic learners
calls in all to the circle (Gaudry & Lorenz, 2018; Lane &
Lucas, 2012; Simpson, 2021). This includes those yet not
present or whose voices are not included. Many Indigenous
cultures share a future-facing perspective, an ethic that
governs what is good for the collective must be good for
future generations (Kirkness & Barnhardt, 1991; Pidgeon,
2016; Simpson, 2021). The legacies that our participants
desire to leave behind for those that come behind them are
to remind that students are the teachers and that storied
experiences help make things better, recognizing their
trauma, grief, struggles, and Thrivival can be a steppingstone
for one or for many. In critical hope, they know their stories,
made whole by a Medicine Wheel lens, inform change
because they provide insight and context about the Thrivival
of Indigenous autistic peoples.

9
education and research methodology centering the storied
experience of Indigenous autistic students. When situated
and explored through a holistic, Indigenous neurodivergent
trauma-informed lens, Indigenous autistic student storied
experience contributes to reforming post-secondary
teaching, learning, and policy to better support the identity
and success of Indigenous autistic students, and arguably,
all students who experience intersectional discrimination
within post-secondary education systems.
Author’s note
Heather A Simpson (Stswecem’c Xget’tem First Nation,
Secwépemc) (MA) carries the Secwepemctsín traditional name
Mégcen Tskwínek, Rainbows Around the Moon Woman. She is
Secwepemc from the Stswecem’c Xget’tem First Nation, and the
Senior Advisor for the Office of Indigenization at the Justice
Institute of British Columbia. Holding a Master of Arts in
Leadership degree from Trinity Western University in a Business
Specialization Stream, Heather has led a successful career in
human service and education for over 20 years, with most of this
time serving marginalized peoples and communities, specifically,
peoples with disabilities and Indigenous peoples.

Acknowledgements
̓ ətaʔɬ
Thank you to Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, qiqéyt and səl ilw̓
First Nations, the project team, Elder Phillip Gladue, Dr Aaron
Johannes, and Wendy Parry and the participants of this study. Thank
you to Jason La Rochelle, Director of the Office of Indigenization
and April Haddad, Director of Library Services at the Justice
Institute of British Columbia, and BCcampus for funding this
project with a special mention of Leva Lee, Manager, Learning &
Teaching at BCcampus, for her role in stewarding this partnership.

Declaration of conflicting interests
The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect
to the research, authorship, and publication of this article.

Funding
The author disclosed receipt of the following financial support for
the research, authorship, and publication of this article: This study
was supported by BCcampus RF2101.

ORCID iD

Future directions
To close, future directions are determined by one of the
participants, concluding the importance of sharing diverse
Indigenous autistic storied experience as an act of Thrivival.
It was advised that further consensual exploration is needed
to test Indigenous autistic student cognition and cognitive
demand within a post-secondary environment, examining
potential impacts on learning and health of Indigenous
autistic learners with a focus on stress levels and feelings of
student self-worth.

Conclusion
This study offers new paradigms to advance the work of
Indigenization, decolonization, equity, diversity, and
inclusion through culturally responsive arts-based

Heather A Simpson (Stswecem’c Xget’tem First Nation,
Secwépemc)
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7691-9801

Glossary
Cherokee  	distinct Indigenous peoples located
in the southeastern USA
Cree   	an Indigenous language and ethnic
group widely represented in Canada
Inuit   	a federally recognized Indigenous
people in Canada
Métis   	a federally recognized Indigenous
people in Canada
qiqéyt (Qayqayt) 	distinct Indigenous peoples located
in the lower Coast region of British
Columbia, Canada
Secwepemc  	distinct Indigenous peoples located
in the Interior region of British
Columbia, Canada

10
Secwepemctsín 	an Indigenous language spoken in
the Interior region of British
Columbia, Canada
Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish)	distinct Indigenous peoples located
in the lower Coast region of British
Columbia, Canada
Stswecem’c Xgat’tem	
Canoe Creek Dog Creek First
Nation located in a semi-remote
Interior region of British Columbia,
Canada
səl ̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh)	distinct Indigenous peoples located
in the lower Coast region of British
Columbia, Canada
xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam)	distinct Indigenous peoples located
in the lower Coast region of British
Columbia, Canada

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