The 2023 Gathering on Indigeneity, Neurodevelopmental Disabilities and Mental Health in Ontario brought Indigenous community members, including those with lived experience of neurodevelopmental disabilities and mental health concerns, together with researchers and clinicians to share knowledge and form connections.

The two-day event was funded by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Planning and Dissemination Grant awarded to Associate Professor of Applied Disability Studies Kendra Thomson and principle knowledge user Louis Busch of Shkaabe Makwa at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).

The researchers also compiled a report to bring additional awareness to the topics and insights shared at the event.

Published in the fall of 2023, Forming the Circle: Report on the 2023 Gathering on Indigeneity, Neurodevelopmental Disabilities & Mental Health calls for culturally relevant services, enhanced partnerships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous organizations and a national network for knowledge-sharing and advocacy, among other recommendations.

The report reflects the collective findings of Indigenous Peoples and non-Indigenous allies who participated in the gathering and in the iterative feedback process that informed the report’s development.

The research team is grateful to all who supported the May 2023 event.

• Applied Disability Studies at Brock University
• Shkaabe Makwa
• Azrieli Adult Neurodevelopmental Centre
• Canadian Institutes of Health Research
• Indigenous Disability Canada/British Columbia Aboriginal Network on Disability Society
• Six Nations Health Centre

• University of British Columbia Centre for Inclusion and Citizenship
• Surrey Place and the MMW (Mashkikiiwininiwag Mazinaatesijigan Wichiiwewin)/Transitions Program
• Autism Resource Centre of Saskatchewan
• Métis Faamii Foundation
• UNBC