Fran Odette

Disability Justice Fund

This bursary celebrates the work of Indigenous students who have encountered systemic barriers resulting from discrimination because of disability or chronic illness. I am a white settler, who is also queer identified disabled person who has the lived experience of being disenfranchised because of my multiple identities. It is because of my own lived experiences that led to the creation of the Disability Justice Fund. Disability Justice is a framework by which Black, Indigenous, Queer and Trans identified disabled people voices are centered within movements committed to social justice and change. This award is the recognition of Indigenous students’ efforts to ‘resist’ efforts to erase or make hidden the ways in which Indigeneity and disability intersect. My commitment, I hope, is to make possible avenues by which we all live in a world that is more just and better for one another. 

This bursary will be distributed to Indigenous students with a disability who are attending post-secondary institutions across Canada with demonstrated financial need for contribution to education costs. Preference will be given to students studying in any health program of study, and secondary preference will be given to students studying in areas related to social justice.

First preference is students with a disability studying in any health program of study. Second preference is students with a disability studying in the social justice program of study.

Level of Study: Any

Indigenous Affiliation: Any

Community/Region: