I am dreaming about next summer, and hoping that “vaxcations” will be a thing, and that people will be excited to experience autistic space and community here in New Mexico. I don’t know yet what form of gathering will be safe and possible, but I hope you will make contact if you would like to come for a retreat or for longer.
Celebrating Amik
Amik Nafte, who served on our board, died this year from a heart condition. He was the founder and builder of “GAIA” (Grounds of Autistic Island in the Adirondacks) – an autistic centered retreat, also the founder of the Rhizome program of Divergent Labs, as well as a driving force behind autistic.zone – a collaboration platform. He dreamed big and was tireless in his efforts to build autistic culture, travel opportunities, appropriate education, and other interconnections. His autistic grandson had been subjected to ABA and that fueled his efforts to support compassionate ways to treat children and to propose alternatives to institutionalization and a disabling financial system.
Amik had visited Ocate Cliffs a few times and I mostly remember how he was quietly teaching and inspiring, making sure everyone was included, while drawing no attention to himself. At Gaia, he built a sauna, yurt and other structures by hand with remarkable strength and skill. He considered his role in nature as an animal who was part of the ecosystem rather than a master of it, and that kind of sensitivity showed in things like building a tree house without putting any nails in the trees.
Like many autistic people, his network was fragmented, and we don’t know whether his life was celebrated by his family or whether he was cast out. Like many autistic people, his dreams and drive to improve the world were morally ahead of the times and were arrived at independently. Like many of us, those efforts didn’t get enough support to be widely noticed and appreciated, and were often met with entrenched resistance.
In service,
Star Ford, Program Manager