Understanding Autism Through Indigenous Relational Ecologies: A Phenomenographic Exploratory Study With Potawatomi Participants

Authors

Abstract

Autism is commonly conceptualized in research, policy, and clinical contexts as an individual condition defined by diagnostic criteria and functional impairment. While these frameworks shape access to services, they often obscure relational, cultural, and contextual meanings of autism, particularly within Indigenous communities. This article reports findings from an exploratory phenomenographic study examining how autism is understood among five Citizen Potawatomi Nation participants. Guided by Indigenous Knowledge Systems, decolonial leadership, relational epistemologies, and a neurodiversity-affirming paradigm, the study examined qualitative variation in meaning-making rather than consensus or generalizability. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with Autistic adults, parents of Autistic children, and a tribal Knowledge Keeper. Analysis followed Åkerlind’s interpretive phenomenographic approach, resulting in five categories of description illustrating coexisting understandings of autism: system-managed difference, intergenerational family patterning, natural human variation, relational identity and belonging, and spiritual gift with purpose. These categories were organized into an outcome space reflecting a relational ecology of meaning. Findings demonstrate that autism is understood within Potawatomi contexts through intergenerational continuity, relational belonging, and culturally grounded purpose, challenging deficit-based and universalizing frameworks. The study highlights the value of phenomenography for Indigenous autism research and informs future Nation-engaged, relationally accountable inquiry. Lay Abstract Autism is often described in medical, educational, and policy settings as a problem located within an individual. This study explored how five Citizen Potawatomi Nation participants understand autism, including Autistic adults, parents of Autistic children, and a tribal Knowledge Keeper. Rather than seeking one shared definition, the study examined different ways autism is understood based on lived experience, relationships, and cultural teachings. Participants described autism as shaped by health care and school systems, as a pattern across families and generations, as a natural part of human diversity, as part of identity and belonging, and as a spiritually meaningful difference with cultural purpose. The findings suggest that dominant Western frameworks may miss relational, cultural, and spiritual meanings that matter in Potawatomi contexts. Recognizing these meanings can support respectful research and more responsive approaches to education, health care, and community support.

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