As the Indigenous population continues to grow at a rate faster than any other population in Canada, the demand for housing far exceeds the ability of Indigenous governments to build new or appropriate homes. Quite simply, the status quo of residential construction is failing Indigenous communities. At the same time, industrial economies of scale have led to an ironically inefficient situation, in which many Indigenous communities whose territories are “forest-rich” are themselves “frame-poor” despite wholesale logging within their territories. Overcoming this situation requires social and economic innovation, which builds upon and strengthens territorial connections and cultural-ecological values.
What is possible
Community members from remote First Nations can return to and thrive in their homelands in ways that honour their social, cultural, and environmental well-being.
Over the next five years, our partnerships will prove the possible by:
- Facilitating long-term community-led housing and infrastructure projects that are climatically and culturally relevant, and that focus on the diverse social needs of community members.
- Creating more sustainable circular
economies by building regional housing supply chain networks. - Supporting Indigenous sovereignty by enabling culturally based decolonial governance through innovations in land tenure and land management models.
Why Ecotrust Canada?
Ecotrust Canada has partnered with rural, remote, and Indigenous communities for over 30 years. The Indigenous Homelands Program has roots in a 2008 partnership with Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations communities on the Standing Tree to Standing Home initiative. Together, we envisioned a circular economy that integrated forest management, community design, value-added production, construction, and training to build local housing. More recently, we facilitated workshops with the Huu-ay-aht First Nations, the Tŝilhqot’in Nation, and the Nuxalk Nation to help identify, understand, and test solutions toward housing, land tenure, and governance challenges in their communities and territories.
Homelands has developed several informative toolkits and resources for communities planning housing projects. With the Yuneŝit’in First Nation, we created a Monitoring and Evaluation Tool to generate new project ideas and offer a simple, intuitive way for staff and decision-makers to recall community priorities and goals. In 2022, we released the Indigenous Housing and Homelands Toolkit designed to support First Nations in understanding what possibilities exist for culturally legitimate housing and lands governance, particularly within the context of Indigenous title lands, modern treaty lands, and other emerging jurisdictions in British Columbia.
Committed to Indigenous self-determination, Homelands is an innovative platform for change that mobilizes local skills, expertise, Indigenous knowledge systems, and territorial assets to create vibrant, healthy housing ecosystems.
“The reason I am involved in leadership work is to ensure that I am contributing my part to the next generation and the territory. Ecotrust Canada has been an inspirational partner in this journey by challenging the status quo and building innovative solutions with me.”
– Carrigan Tallio, Program Manager and Nuxalk Nation member
How to support us
If you are from an Indigenous community and want to learn more about the Indigenous Homelands Toolkit, reach out. Or, donate directly to our Indigenous Homelands work at Ecotrust Canada.
Stories
- Breaking Down Silos: The Need for Collaborative Action in Indigenous Housing
- Routes to Roots: Revitalizing traditional corridors of exchange
- Imagining a thriving housing landscape with Nuxalk members in Bella Coola, BC
- Standing for Nature – Giving natural territories the status of a legal person
- Why We Exist: A new era for the Indigenous Homelands Program
- Emerging conversations from an Indigenous Housing Gathering
- Visiting Yuneŝit’in, where the Forest to Frame supply chain is coming to life
Research/Publications
- Toolkit for Indigenous Housing and Homelands Governance
- From Forest to Frame: A Resource for First Nations Exploring a Do-It-Yourself Approach to Housing
- Indigenous Housing Solutions Labs: a new approach to tackling complex Indigenous housing challenges
- Yuneŝit’in First Nation Project Monitoring + Evaluation Tool
- Housing Ecosystem Overview Strategy Development Guidance Report
The team
Ashli Akins, Director
Carrigan Tallio, Program Manager
Kia Dunn, Law and Policy Lead
Jalissa Schmidt, Indigenous Education Specialist
Pavita Sidhu, Community Engagement and Research Intern