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Explore stories in Northwest history through highlights from MOHAI’s collections. Search by keyword below or browse the entire online collection by entering the asterisk symbol (*). Filter your search by type of materials.

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76 results for: Disabilities

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Image of Rich Walsh, founder and director of the Resource Center for the Handicapped, Bothell, December 1986
Photograph

Rich Walsh, founder and director of the Resource Center for the Handicapped, Bothell, December 1986

In 1977, Richard “Rich” Walsh suffered a serious automobile accident that left him paralyzed from the neck down. He moved to the University of Washington Medical Center for major rehabilitation and found his life’s calling. Seeing other young, paralyzed people sent to nursing homes for the rest of their lives, Walsh decided there had to be a better way. He…
ID Number:2000.107.289.02.01
Date:1986
Image of Group playing with a large ball in a PE class for the blind, Seattle,  May 6, 1969
Photograph

Group playing with a large ball in a PE class for the blind, Seattle, May 6, 1969

While working on a master’s degree project at Seattle’s Northwest Center, Dave Tucker realized the need for better physical education for blind students. He consolidated Seattle Public Schools’ PE programs for the blind and partially sighted and started classes in February 1968. Among his developments was the use of a large ball that students could push, climb on, and fall…
ID Number:2000.107.19720500.1.12
Date:1972
Image of Students with disabilities from Lowell Elementary visiting Seattle Art Museum, May 24, 1977
Photograph

Students with disabilities from Lowell Elementary visiting Seattle Art Museum, May 24, 1977

A group of students with disabilities from Lowell Elementary School visited the Northwest Indian exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum in May 1977, shortly after the museum was renovated to be accessible to wheelchair users. The children also used tricycles, carts, and walkers, in addition to wheelchairs, to get around.This image shows a few of the students looking at a…
ID Number:2000.107.19770524.1.15
Date:1977
Image of Docent Evelyn Klebanoff showing Indian mask to child in wheelchair, May 24, 1977
Photograph

Docent Evelyn Klebanoff showing Indian mask to child in wheelchair, May 24, 1977

A group of students with disabilities from Lowell School visited the Northwest Indian exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum in May 1977, shortly after the museum was renovated to be accessible to wheelchair users. The children also used tricycles, carts, and walkers, in addition to wheelchairs, to get around.This image shows a student named Miriam holding a moon mask with…
ID Number:2000.107.19770524.1.29
Date:1977
Image of People in motorized wheelchairs playing soccer, Seattle, July 28, 1985​
Photograph

People in motorized wheelchairs playing soccer, Seattle, July 28, 1985​

Powerchair football, also known as "power soccer," emerged in the 1970s as various countries developed their own versions of a game played by people with disabilities using motorized wheelchairs. Power soccer was introduced in the US in 1988 by the Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program (BORP), which provides adaptive athletics, fitness, and recreation programs for people with disabilities.Here, a…
ID Number:2000.107.19850728.1.02
Date:1985
Image of Center Park housing residents protesting proposed Metro bus changes, Seattle, May 18, 1993
Photograph

Center Park housing residents protesting proposed Metro bus changes, Seattle, May 18, 1993

Center Park is a subsidized public housing complex in the north Rainier Valley, designed to provide accommodations for people with disabilities. From the early 1970s, people living at Center Park had access to a customized Metro bus, nicknamed “the love bus” by residents, designed to handle 16 wheelchairs. In May 1993, Metro announced it would be eliminating the Center Park…
ID Number:2000.107.19930518.4.02
Date:1993
Image of Re'Gena Bell filing paperwork as City Council candidate, Seattle, July 26, 1993
Photograph

Re'Gena Bell filing paperwork as City Council candidate, Seattle, July 26, 1993

Re’Gena Bell (now Re’Gena Bell-Roberts) grew up in Pasco, Washington, and attended the University of Washington, majoring in drama. As a student, she performed in productions with Black Arts West, and her original play “Eclipse” was produced by Black Arts West in April 1975. The play won Bell a Rockefeller playwright-in-residence grant. Bell was a junior at UW when she…
ID Number:2000.107.19930726.1.27
Date:1993
Image of Re'Gena Bell in line to file as City Council candidate, Seattle, July 26, 1993
Photograph

Re'Gena Bell in line to file as City Council candidate, Seattle, July 26, 1993

Re’Gena Bell (now Re’Gena Bell-Roberts) grew up in Pasco, Washington, and attended the University of Washington, majoring in drama. As a student, she performed in productions with Black Arts West, and her original play “Eclipse” was produced by Black Arts West in April 1975. The play won Bell a Rockefeller playwright-in-residence grant. Bell was a junior at UW when she…
ID Number:2000.107.19930726.1.32
Date:1993
Image of Charlene Curtiss and Debbie Gilbert dancing, November 17, 1993
Photograph

Charlene Curtiss and Debbie Gilbert dancing, November 17, 1993

This image shows Charlene Curtiss (left) and Debbie Gilbert (right) dancing at Chinook Middle School. Curtiss and Gilbert were members of the Whistlestop Dance Company, which used dance to teach children and to advocate for people with disabilities. After her spine was injured in a gymnastics accident, Curtiss developed the field of wheelchair dance, establishing the Light Motion Dance Company…
ID Number:2000.107.19931117.1.25
Date:1993
Image of Elizabeth Gordon and Susan Varner at Jubilee Women's Center, Seattle, April 4, 1997
Photograph

Elizabeth Gordon and Susan Varner at Jubilee Women's Center, Seattle, April 4, 1997

In 1997, the Washington State Legislature cut $35 million from the state’s General Assistance - Unemployable (GAU) program, which at the time provided cash assistance and medical coverage to about 17,000 Washingtonians who were unable to work. As of 2024, this program, now called the Aged, Blind or Disabled Cash Program (ABD), continues to offer cash assistance to low-income people…
ID Number:2000.107.19970404.24.24
Date:1997
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MOHAI stands on the historic and contemporary lands and shores of the Duwamish, Suquamish, Muckleshoot, and other Coast Salish Nations. We acknowledge the forced displacement of Native Communities from this land while honoring the endurance of the Duwamish people who still live here.
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