The purpose of the Indiana Disability History Project is to document and preserve the memories and experiences of Hoosiers with disabilities, highlighting historic developments in the disability rights movement. The Project is using video, audio, and digital technology to raise awareness of the contributions of movement leaders and pioneers as well as people trying to live ordinary lives. These advocates include both Hoosiers with disabilities and their supporters. They are community activists, family members, educators, professional service providers, public officials, and legislators.
This website offers online exhibits created around the Indiana Disability History Project’s collection of oral history interviews in video format, with accompanying transcripts, descriptive data, and historical background information. This first-hand testimony illuminates the role of advocacy, and resulting changes in public policy, in the evolution of service provision and cultural attitudes towards people with disabilities.
The Center for Health Equity (formerly the Center on Aging and Community) at the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community has undertaken this project, with support from the Indiana Governor's Council for People with Disabilities and Indiana Disability Rights. We are grateful to our interviewees for their valuable participation, and to those who have contributed information, photographs, documents, and expertise.
We encourage you to share your own stories and reflections about our state’s disability history online on the Indiana Disability History Project Facebook page.
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Sponsoring Organization
The Indiana Institute on Disability and Community (IIDC), the federally designated University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) in Indiana, is committed to advancing equity for all Hoosiers. As a bridge between Indiana University, the state, and the nation, IIDC strives to ensure that individuals with disabilities are valued and fully included in every aspect of community life. For over 50 years, the IIDC has provided research, education, and best practices to the community with the goal of promoting inclusion and protecting the rights of people with disabilities and their families.