CityTalk/Canada

Working for Housing Access: Indigenous Solutions and Leadership

Recent Discussion

Panellists discussed the critical housing issues for Indigenous Peoples, shared urgent interventions for immediate action, and offered long-term proposals for housing equity, affordability, and accessibility that are for Indigenous, by Indigenous.

5 Key
Takeaways

A roundup of the most compelling ideas, themes and quotes from this candid conversation

1. Canada needs an Urban, Rural and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy.

The government of Canada has acknowledged the importance of Truth and Reconciliation, but actions need to follow these commitments. Simply making existing programs within the National Housing Strategy available to Indigenous groups won’t be good enough. This strategy needs to be for Indigenous and by Indigenous Peoples, because they hold the knowledge and capacity necessary for the task. The housing created through this strategy might be different from other types of social housing in order to provide for specific cultural and trauma-informed needs.

2. Community-led Indigenous housing initiatives have been successful for decades.

By focusing on breaking cycles of poverty and creating intergenerational wealth, Indigenous-led housing providers have taken a culture-based approach. On top of providing housing, they focus on the wrap around support people need to achieve their goals. In fact, the Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services currently serves over 11,000 people without Federal Support. Moreover the Aboriginal Housing Management Association can present a 240% return on financial investment and over 700% on social impacts, demonstrating the capability of Indigenous-led organizations.

3. There is capacity and knowledge within Indigenous organizations.

The current system of government-led services, or mainstream organizations trying to take a lead in solving their perception of what the issue, is not working. Indigenous-led services have been proven successful and have the capacity and knowledge to meet their needs, but there is a lack of funding. For this reason, the Aboriginal Housing Management Association dedicates part of their work to demonstrate this economic capacity in order to provide proof to whoever needs to see it.

4. Reconnecting to the land as a living organism.

Turtle Island is full of fences and concrete barriers dividing up the territory where Indigenous people have lived and provided for themselves for over 50,000 years. There are currently over 345,000 homeless people, 30% of which are Indigenous even though only 3% of the population is Indigenous. We need to understand that Indigenous rights and housing rights are human rights. Learning how to build a home can be incredibly powerful to exercise dignity and reconnect to the earth. Marie McGregor Pitawanakwat stated the importance of agency and land in the conversation about housing, because our current system is heavily financialized and tends to leave people out.

5. There are opportunities at every scale.

Indigenous groups are articulating their needs, demonstrating capacity, knowledge and successful models that can be replicated. Although Canada is very large, at the same time it is composed of a collection of villages capable of organizing and implementing change. Moreover, municipal governments can do an inventory of land and buildings they own to explore possibilities. People want to work together in collaboration with Indigenous organizations, and make sure people feel like they belong in whichever village they choose to inhabit.