2026 Inclusion Alberta Family Conference

This session examines the human rights advocacy by Siksika, Kainai, and Piikani Nations concerning systemic discrimination experienced by Blackfoot adults with developmental disabilities within federally and provincially administered systems.

Drawing on the lived realities of Blackfoot citizens and Nations, we will explore how colonial policy frameworks, chronic underfunding, and jurisdictional fragmentation have created persistent gaps in disability supports.
This session highlights Blackfoot perspectives on what equitable, culturally grounded, and Nation-led disability supports must look like. Participants will learn how the Blackfoot Nations are identifying community-defined needs and strengths, articulating solutions, and advancing Nation-driven approaches to address gaps left by colonial governments. We will also explore how respectful partnerships can support, rather than constrain, First Nations self-determination in disability services.

This session is an opportunity to hear and learn from the experiences of a families who took some time to deeply reflect on the capacity of their loves one with an intellectual disability, including those with significant disabilities, to participate in the decision-making that guides their lives. In somewhat surprising but deeply practical ways, this group of families came to see for themselves the importance of expecting, noticing, recognizing and following the voice of their family members with a disability in being at the forefront of the decisions in their lives.  

In this session, you will: 

• Hear family stories about their journey and the impact of thinking differently about support in decision making.  

• Understand the importance of relationships in decision making and in life’s directions 

• Learn a powerful process to ensure the person you love is actively and increasingly engaged in the decisions in their lives. 

•  Look frankly at the natural struggles of families to continually hear and support the voices of their loved ones 

• Explore how to share what you’ve learned with family, friends and allies as life moves forward 

This session is an invitation to rediscover that spark of possibility for a good life for our family member with an intellectual disability. 
 
We’ll explore why the normative pathway matters—the familiar route toward inclusion, belonging, and opportunities that others often take for granted. Following this pathway is a relentless commitment to opening doors to education, employment, relationships, and community life that create the foundation for thriving. 
 
Through powerful stories, we’ll uncover narratives of resilience and hope and reimagine what thriving looks like for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Join us for a session that blends practical insight and aspirational thinking—because even when hope feels distant, the seeds of possibility are always within reach. 

This annual session will explore the advocacy issues and trends currently impacting individuals and families, discuss needed responses, and provide practical ways to take immediate action, the need for which has never been more clear. 
  
In just a few years, many of Alberta’s supports and services to children and adults with intellectual disabilities have been eroded and families and persons with disabilities find themselves under constant attack with the public seemingly unaware or unconcerned. The usual advocacy strategies which served us well in the past are no longer effective and hope and resiliency are at increasing risk without new forms of collective and individual action. Times have changed and consequently our actions have to change.  
  
During this session we will explore and act on some possible advocacy strategies required today and the actions all of us must take to combat the systemic assault on children and adults with intellectual disabilities and their families.