Date: Tuesday, November 4th, 2025
Time: 12 to 1:30 p.m. ET
Language of delivery: English
Platform: Zoom
Accessibility: ASL interpretation and bilingual captioning will be provided. Additional accommodations available as requested.
About
November is Indigenous Disability Awareness Month, a time to honor the achievements and contributions of Indigenous people with disabilities in the field of accessibility.
At this forum we will learn about the socio-cultural beliefs of several Indigenous communities regarding disabilities, community-led initiatives and ask ourselves how can we support and amplify Indigenous voices in accessibility – today and moving forward?
Speakers
Moderator
- Lucille Berlinguette-Saumure
Lucille is a certified member of the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP) – CPACC and a Chair of the Policy Community of Practice at CAN with over 30 years’ experience promoting equity, inclusion, and accessibility. She is also a member of the Métis Nation of Ontario, an accessibility entrepreneur, a Director and Chair of the External Affairs Committee at Accessibility Standards Canada, a committee member reviewing standards at Ontario’s Ministry of Seniors and Accessibility and a member of the Ottawa Disability Coalition. Lucille believes that accessibility benefits everyone—and that the full inclusion of persons with disabilities is essential to building a more equitable city, province, country, and world.
Panelists
- John t. Ward
John T. Ward, PhD is a professor at the University of Sydney, John specializes in Indigenous disability knowledge and research methodologies, informed by lived experience with dyslexia, ADHD, and light sensitivity. With a PhD in Education as well as a Sharing Circle facilitator, John yarns with students, community members, and those interested in advancing accessibility and reclaiming colonial disability language. He has published numerous articles and chapters on Indigenous disability knowledge, dreaming, well-being, and leadership. Most recently published Indigenous Disability Studies—a 2025 top-ranked publication in disability law and accessibility.
https://www.amazon.ca/Indigenous-Disability-Studies-John-Ward/dp/1032643692
- Dominique Ireland
Dominique Ireland is a Deaf artist, researcher and cultural mediator. She is a member of the Turtle Clan of the Oneida of the Thames Nation. She is a signer of Oneida Sign Language (OSL), and in 2023-24 she led a research team to prepare a report for ESDC on Indigenous understandings of disability and barriers experienced by OSL signers. She is also an artist in residency with the Conseil des arts de Montreal’s Indigenous Arts Residency Program and recently presented on dismantling colonial approaches to sign language accessibility at the 2025 WAVES Global Indigenous Languages Conference.
- Pitsulala Lyta
Pitsulala Lyta (she/her) is Inuk originally from Iqaluit, Nunavut, and comes from a long line of strong Inuit women ancestors who lived off the land. Fluent in spoken and written English and Inuktitut, she is a first-generation relocatee to settlements before her parents and other Inuit were forced to leave their way of life in the early 1900s.
Pitsulala has worked on front-line services and numerous research projects representing, in particular, Inuit organizations on the local, territorial, and national levels related to health, social, justice, and human rights, among other areas of interest. Over the past five years, she has focused her efforts on public health and disabilities, contributing to initiatives aimed at improving accessibility, health outcomes, and inclusion for Inuit and other Indigenous peoples.
With over 20 years of experience working for Indigenous and non-Indigenous NGOs, private companies, and local and federal governments, she has gained a wealth of knowledge and experience through her work and through her own personal lived experiences. Pitsulala brings a strong understanding of northern and urban issues related to the social determinants of health for Inuit.
She comes with formal and informal training in the field of Social Work (McGill University), Corporate Business Management Studies (Algonquin College), and Epidemiology Research (Inuit Institute for Research and Planning), and has trained in translating and transcribing Inuktitut to English and English to Inuktitut.
Lexi Giizhigokwe Nahwegiizhic
Previously: Alexis French • CU 2021 Alumni
Lexi is an inspirational leader and keynote speaker who is frequently called upon for her wisdom in Indigenous teachings, mental health, and neurodiversity. Through her contagious enthusiasm, she strives to empower people to become prouder, stronger, and more resilient. Her background is in Neuroscience, where she uses her gift for teaching to serve as a translator between science and business realities.