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An Affordable Housing Model for Indigenous Americans by Raksha Vasudevan (Planetizen)

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An Affordable Housing Model for Indigenous Americans by Raksha Vasudevan (Planetizen)

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TOPIC:

This article discusses the challenges and possible solutions of providing affordable housing to indigenous peoples, particularly in cities, who experience houselessness at a much higher rate than other demographics.

ARTICLE SOURCE:

Vasudevan, R. (2024, February 27). Can affordable housing for Indigenous communities work?. High Country News. https://www.hcn.org/issues/56-3/can-affordable-housing-for-indigenous-communities-work/

SUMMARY:

In the United States, indigenous peoples are overrepresented in the homeless population, particularly in Western cities. This was particularly exacerbated by the Indian Relocation Act of 1956 where indigenous people were relocated to urban areas without any support from the government. Around the United States, many tribes and tribal groups have tried to open indigenous-focused affordable housing with little success, due to federal funding laws that prohibit racial prioritization. The article also explores the issues with applying to public housing for Indigenous people, as many were never given the proper paperwork, due to being born on the rez, have problems with access to the technology required, or experience flat-out racial discrimination. There has been some success with strategies like community preference policies that prioritize people from specific areas, or tribal allocations of housing funds which allow for racial preference. Despite the challenges, the article highlights efforts to create equitable and culturally appropriate housing for a people who have faced displacement time and time again.

DESCRIPTIVE POINTS:

The cities

The article focuses on the cities of Dever, Seattle, and Portland, urban areas with significant indigenous populations facing housing challenges.

Stakeholders

The primary stakeholders are indigenous people who are disproportionately affected by homelessness as well as the non-profit organizations and housing providers serving these communities.

Planning issues

Affordable housing development

social services and culturally appropriate housing

systemic barriers to housing and historical displacement

Relevant debates

How to prioritize housing for Indigenous people without violating housing laws that prohibit racial preferences

Side 1

Could be used to further discriminate against Indigenous people and other people of color

Side 2

Helps address historical injustices and equity

Changes to policy

Spatial

A shift from housing being primarily on rez to off-rez urban areas

The importance of creating housing in areas where Indigenous people have community ties

Economic

Creation of affordable housing that addresses economic disparities that contribute to Indigenous homelessness

Use of federal funding to support off-rez housing projects

Exorbitant application fees and discriminatory income practices

Social

Community and social support IE addiction services

The current status of the planning policy or project

Denver is breaking ground on its first indigenous affordable housing project with 190 units, half for the homeless and half for families below the poverty line. As well as including medical and dental clinics.

In Seattle, the Chief Seattle Club’s building is occupied by 93% Indigenous residents due to community preference policies

Safe outdoor spaces as a temporary solution

REACTION

I wasn't aware that Indigenous homelessness was as large of a problem as it is. I came in knowing I wanted to do something related to indigenous people or reservations, but I discovered this topic and was able to learn so much more. This specific planning topic is interesting because I never thought about how these conservative Supreme Court rulings affect policy in all different mediums and not just where the ruling is. For example, they couldn't provide housing just for the indigenous homeless bc of the affirmative action ruling. This problem affects me as someone who is native and part of a tribe that was only federally recognized in 2019. We fought a court case for nearly 100 years to be federally recognized and only recently received a grant to buy land. I can't imagine how many tribe members are homeless due to the gov't leaving us out to dry for so long.

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Most residents of Denver's Safe Outdoor Space live in ice-fishing tents. But Grant Davis has his own tiny home, complete with built-in heating and cooling and a door that locks. Inside, there's a narrow bed, a pillow plastered with NFL logos, and a portable speaker that lights up in rainbow colors. Also: a bag of bath salts. Where would he use those, I asked? Davis chuckled. He didn't know, either. Though the Colorado Village Collaborative's Native-Inclusive Safe Outdoor Space (SOS), where he's lived since last February, offers showers, laundry, and housing referrals, there's no bathtub in sight.

People here call Davis, 76, "grandpop." He first visited Denver in 1971. The mountains reminded him so much of home - he's a member of Alaska's Tlingit tribe - that he stayed. Since then, he'd found work at the food bank and Hertz car rental, and received income from Social Security, the VA (he was a U.S. Navy cook), and his tribe. It was rarely enough for rent, though, and over the last decade, he's cycled between staying with relatives, sleeping in his car and staying at shelters like this one. But he hopes that will soon change.

Denver's first affordable housing complex designed for Indigenous people is set to break ground this year at 901 Navajo Street. About half of its 190 units will be for people coming out of homelessness, while the other half will house families earning no more than 40%-60% of the area's median income. Denver Indian Health and Family Services will also operate a medical and dental clinic onsite.

Indigenous people comprise 2.6% of America's population, but in 2023, they accounted for 3.9% of those experiencing homelessness. The inequity is acute in Western cities: Indigenous people make up only 1% of the population of King County, Washington, home to Seattle, but 9% of those experiencing homelessness. In Denver, they are overrepresented in the unhoused population by 400%.

More affordable housing seems like the obvious solution. But America's history of affordable housing for Indigenous people is complex, muddied with broken promises, arcane laws, and a toxic loneliness that haunts even those who do find housing.

THE 1956 INDIAN Relocation Act sought to further assimilate Indigenous people by encouraging them to relocate to cities. The government promised to help them with housing and employment, but instead they were often left to find jobs, housing and transport on their own, all while facing discrimination from employers and landlords.

Today, 86% of Indigenous people in America live outside reservations, often in cities like Denver, Seattle and Portland, where they resettled following the Relocation Act. As more people leave reservations, they gravitate towards places where they already have family or friends - which also tend to be places where housing is expensive. That's one reason that more than 16,000 Indigenous people in the mountain West were homeless last year.

Bill Ziegler, Lakota, former executive director of Denver's Native American Housing Circle, which is leading the 901 Navajo project alongside nonprofit developer Mercy Housing, sees the complex as an opportunity to heal from generations of dispossession.

"It's going to finally be a place where we are tribal again," he said. "Multi-tribal."

But history shows that much can still go awry. Portland, Oregon's Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA) designed its "Generations" building, a 40-unit affordable housing complex, for Indigenous families, foster children and elders. But nine months after it opened in February 2017, less than half its residents identified as Indigenous. Among other reasons, NAYA blamed federal housing laws that forced it to rent to non-Indigenous people who applied first and more easily met requirements, including no criminal history or recent evictions.

In Denver, Indigenous people are overrepresented in the unhoused population by 400%.

Similarly, in Seattle, King County introduced a new vulnerability assessment system in 2013 that did not take an individual's race into account. Soon after, United Indians of All Tribes Foundation's Labateyah shelter for Indigenous youth filled with non-Indigenous teens.

Blame the Supreme Court: The most conservative bench in 90 years has begun deeming more racial classifications unconstitutional, as in last summer's ruling against college affirmative action. "It doesn't matter whether the purpose is good (as in) designed to remedy past harm, or whether it's based on invidious stereotypes or the intent to discriminate," said Stephen Menendian, assistant director of UC Berkely's Othering and Belonging Institute.

Public agencies and private providers that receive federal funding cannot discriminate or prioritize tenants by race. It's a stipulation that frustrates many providers.

FINDING HOUSING is particularly labyrinthine for those who need it most. SOS staff help residents apply through the Denver Housing Authority, county-led housing lotteries and veterans' services. Compiling all the paperwork - bank statements, pay stubs, birth certificates, IDs, Social Security cards - can take hours, sometimes days. And that's just the start.

"A lot of community members don't have access to emails, or they forget their login or they lose their phones," said Hayes. "At this point, we're creating emails for everybody just so that we (staff) can personally check them."

Even then, things can go wrong. In September, Davis won a Section 8 voucher through a city-wide lottery but didn't complete the forms quickly enough. Fortunately, Hayes had already helped him fill out a 30-page application for DHA housing. In January, he had an appointment to sign paperwork but missed it to attend a funeral.

"There's so many things that feel like they have to go so perfectly in order for it to work out," said Hayes.

Even if they fill out all the forms and make every appointment, Indigenous people still face discrimination from landlords. In Montana, Minnesota and New Mexico, white applicants have almost a 30% better chance of getting an apartment than Indigenous folks.

"If you're talking about fair housing, you have to address inequity."

Last May, one former SOS resident - Daniel Pretty Sounding Flute II, 52, from the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe in South Dakota - got a DHA rent subsidy voucher with the help of SOS staff. He was excited about getting his own place, but also nervous.

"If they know you're from the rez, you're treated like a dog," he said.

Initially, he looked at three places. At one, he was accepted but then informed of an additional $400 application fee. At the second, he was quizzed about his income - even though the voucher would cover most of his rent. It seemed designed to discourage tenants like him.

Philip Garboden, associate professor at the University of Chicago, said that landlords sometimes discriminate in subtle ways. "It's not like they go into it saying, 'I don't want to rent to a particular race,'" he says. "But behaviors, credit scores, job histories are interpreted fairly differently based on your racial profile."

By July, Pretty Sounding Flute found a two-bedroom apartment, and Ziegler (who went to high school with him in South Dakota) helped him move.

THREE YEARS AFTER NAYA opened its Generations building, the organization tried a new approach. It opened Nesika Illahee ("Our Place" in the Chinook language) in Portland in 2020 in partnership with the Siletz Tribe, which had allocated its HUD Indian Housing Block Grant toward the project. Such grants are traditionally used by tribal housing authorities; Nesika Illahee was the first to use one in an off-reservation setting, allowing it to reserve 20 of its 59 units for Siletz tribal members and those of other federally recognized tribes.

"That was a really big game changer in terms of being able to bring tribal members to the top" of the waitlist, NAYA told Street Roots.

Similarly, Seattle's Chief Seattle Club used "community preference" to prioritize applicants from the surrounding area, where many Indigenous folks lived, and now 93% of the 80 units in its ʔálʔal building, are occupied by Indigenous folks.

Such preferences aren't racial classifications, so they're perfectly legal. When combined with other indicators - educational attainment, income, home value, utilization of social services, and free and reduced lunch status for children - they effectively serve as proxies for race. But compiling such indices requires statistical sophistication, knowledge of data sources - and time.

"It's just a lot of blood, sweat and tears," confirms Derrick Belgarde, Siletz and Chippewa-Cree, executive director of Chief Seattle Club. He doesn't understand why providers can prioritize applicants by age, disability, military service, HIV and immigration status - but not race.

"There's certain populations where it makes sense ... to provide specifically for them," he says. "What the data shows is that you should be able to do that with Native Americans as well."

MELANIE HUNT, WHO is Yakama and Spokane, was one of ʔálʔal's earliest residents when it opened in 2022. Though she lived rough for many of her 51 years - running away from home at 12 and sleeping on Seattle's streets for most of the intervening time - her demeanor is cheerful and her skin smooth. In her studio apartment, Hunt hangs out with her partner, Thomas, their two bunnies and dog, Bubba, whom she calls "Bubbalicious." They often walk to the nearby public market.

"Now when we go out, we can say we have a place to go back to and not be worried about is our tent still there," says Hunt. "It feels good to come home now."

In summer, Hunt and her partner grow tomatoes and carrots on the rooftop community garden. They take classes in drum and rattle-making, help with community cleanups and attend birthday parties for their neighbors' dogs. They've made good friends at ʔálʔal, especially with elders. "They always call us 'the kids,'" she says, smiling at the thought of being a "kid" at 51.

"There's certain populations where it makes sense ... to provide specifically for them. What the data shows is that you should be able to do that with Native Americans as well."

But not all the stories end happily. Though a "Housing First" approach that offers housing without preconditions is generally more successful than one that requires sobriety or addiction treatment beforehand, substance abuse or mental illness can persist even after a person has a place to live. ʔálʔal staff say residents sometimes abandon their apartments, either because they don't want to pay rent, or because they simply can't get used to the quiet, and to staying inside.

Back in Denver, Pretty Sounding Flute loves his new apartment, but not its silence. He tries to fill it by reading Dungeons & Dragons or cooking - steaks, potato soup. He also returns to the SOS site several times a week, sometimes riding his bike an hour and a half each way, driven by something stronger than comfort or reason: the chance to see friends, grab a meal, hang out.

Raksha Vasudevan is a contributing editor at High Country News as well as an economist and writer based in Denver. Her work has appeared in LitHub, The Los Angeles Review of Books, NYLON and more. We welcome reader letters. Email her at raksha.v asudevan@hcn.org or submit a letter to the editor. See our letters to the editor policy.

This article appeared in the March 2024 print edition of the magazine with the headline "Can affordable housing for Indigenous communities work?"

Republish This Story

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Can affordable housing for Indigenous communities work? - High Country News

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The question looms large as Denver breaks ground on its first affordable housing project for Indigenous people.

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As Homelessness Rises in Seattle, So Does a Native American Housing Solution by Hallie Golden (Bloomberg)

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As Homelessness Rises in Seattle, So Does a Native American Housing Solution by Hallie Golden (Bloomberg)

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TOPIC

This article focuses on a new housing project in Seattle called ?al?al, designed to address the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in Seattle's homeless population. It also discusses historical trauma, systemic barriers, and the need for culturally competent services to help the Indigenous community.

ARTICLE SOURCE

Golden, H. (2020, December 17). A bold Fix for Native American homelessness. Bloomberg.com. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-17/a-bold-fix-for-native-american-homelessness

SUMMARY

With the disproportionately high rates of homelessness among Native Americans in urban areas, The Chief Seattle Club aims to fix it with a new housing project in Seattle called ?al?al. Overall, 15% of homeless, 27% of unsheltered (people living outside or in vehicles), and 32% of chronically homeless are American Indian/Alaskan Native. The ?al?al project hopes to provide culturally relevant housing and services to the native community. Indigenous issues are a sensitive topic in the first place, given the historical traumas involved, which means special precautions need to be taken. The project includes traditional art, a native cafe, as well as healthcare and vocational rehabilitation, to create a welcoming environment for Indigenous peoples in need of help.

DESCRIPTIVE POINTS

Information about the city

The article focuses on Seattle but references Portland and Phoenix about disproportionate homelessness rates among Native Americans.

Stakeholders

The primary stakeholders are Indigenous people who are experiencing homelessness in Seattle. Other stakeholders are the Chief Seattle Club, as well as the Seattle Indian Health Board, and the Coast Salish tribes in King County.

Planning issues

Disproportionate rate of homelessness among Indigenous peoples

Lack of outreach that fits the community's history and needs

Urban adjustment

Relevant debates

How to address systemic issues and historical injustices that have led to disproportionate rates of homelessness amongst Indigenous people.

Changes to policy

Spatial

?al?al in Pioneer Square, Seattle's earliest white settlement, challenges the historical exclusion of native people in Seattle.

Social

Native art, a native cafe, and social services foster a community and belonging for Indigenous people.

Economic

Provides affordable housing for unhoused and low-income families.

The current status of the planning policy or project

Provides health care and social services for over 2700 annually and houses 93% indigenous people.

REACTION

In this article, I learned about the numerous barriers to affordable housing people face. I had previously done a project about voter ID laws on reservations and it's a lot of the same issues, but you never hear about indigenous people in urban areas. You would think a system to give housing to homeless and povertized people wouldn't require a $900 cell phone or computer. This planning topic opened my eyes to a lot of systemic issues that plague our system not just for indigenous people, but all of those who need our help most. This topic showed me the importance of understanding historical context and system issues when planners attack these issues. Native Americans and really every group have a unique situation that needs unique solutions.

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As Homelessness Rises in Seattle, So Does a Native American Housing Solution - Love Your City

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We believe that every person deserves access to a shower and dignity, no matter what. We do this on the premise that it's every person's fundamental human right to have access to showers. Weekly we offer mobile showers throughout North County, San Diego, Ca.

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Creating America’s First Native Public Housing Complex by Kasey Keeler (NextCity)

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Creating America’s First Native Public Housing Complex by Kasey Keeler (NextCity)

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TOPIC

This article discusses how the “Indian Relocation” programs of the 60s failed and how the government continues to fail Native Americans in urban housing.  The article further explores this topic through the lens of Little Earth in Minneapolis, the first and only Native-preference public housing complex in the United States.

SOURCE

Keeler, K. R. (2023, June 23). Creating America’s first native public housing complex. Next City. https://nextcity.org/urbanist-news/creating-americas-first-native-public-housing-complex

SUMMARY

Little Earth, a native-preference public housing complex in Minneapolis, was created in response to a growing urban Indigenous population, due to the federal relocation program. This program encouraged native people to move to cities with a promise of federal assistance which rarely came. Little Earth has faced limitations in accessing funding because of its designation as a public housing complex rather than a tribal entity, which restricts access to federal funds meant for tribal nations. This leads to a long waitlist, showcasing the high demand for affordable housing and more resources for American Indian families in the Twin Cities. Still, Little Earth is an extremely important part of the American Indian Cultural Corridor, providing education, elder care, health services, and cultural activities.

DESCRIPTIVE POINTS

Information about the city

The article focuses on Minneapolis, Minnesota, as the location of Little Earth. In 1960, the Indigenous population in Minneapolis almost doubled due to the federal Indigenous relocation program.

Stakeholders

The primary stakeholders are the Indigenous community in Minneapolis as well as the American Indian Movement (AIM) which manages the complex.

Planning Issues

Growing urban native populations with unique cultural and housing needs

Federal funding disconnect

Bureaucratic barriers

Relocation programs without adequate support

Relevant Debates

The federal government's treaty obligations to tribal people

Side 1

The federal gov't has a trust responsibility to Native American tribes, which includes housing and cultural programs.

Full housing support is a step toward correcting historical injustices

Side 2

Little Earth is a public housing complex, not tribal land

No explicit legal basis in treaties for urban housing projects

Creates inequities in the public housing system by prioritizing one group over another

Little Earth's designation as a public housing complex vs tribal entity

Side 1

Remaining a public housing complex gives broader access to federal and state funding as well as legal protections and infrastructure support.

Side 2

Being designated a tribal entity recognizes native sovereignty and governance over management. It also allows access to tribal-specific housing funds, as well as preserving cultural and community ties.

Changes to policy

Spatial

Located in the Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis with close access to the american indian cultural corridor

Social

provides culturally relevant programs and social services tailored to native american residents

Economic

The complex was initially funded by an FHA mortgage with supplemental funds from the Model Cities program and local programs. However, there was a shift in policy towards native programs to be based on need rather than gov’t treaty obligations.

Current Status

Houses 1,000 residents, with 98% American Indian and more than 30 tribal nations represented. The program currently has a waitlist of nearly 500 family units

REACTION

This article provided more depth on the historical context of native Americans in urban areas, and how the federal gov't continues to fail them. As a native-preference housing program, they were classified as a public housing complex meaning they are not entitled to tribal funds, even though everything they do is tribal-based. It was hard for me to wrap my head around that. The story of Little Rock showed how hard it is to create housing that is culturally sensitive but also financially viable. This article allowed me to understand urban housing policy and how it can be used to address systemic inequalities. We need more culturally competent and community-led solutions, especially for native communities, that promote autonomy and address every group's unique needs.

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The three articles focus on the issue of the disproportionately high homelessness rate, sometimes as high as 900%, faced by native Americans compared to other groups. "Creating America's First Native Public Housing Complex" by Kasey Keeler explains the topic more thoroughly through a historical lens, which helped me understand the systemic issues and historical context. The Bloomberg and Planetizen/High Country News articles provided a broader perspective on the current issues and solutions and emphasized the importance of a welcoming environment for native people, as culture is such a large part of them that is often taken away. The Keeler and Vasudevan articles were most illuminating, as I wasn't aware of the high rates of Indigenous homelessness. The bureaucratic nonsense urban indigenous groups face, like the lack of tribal funds or how conservative courts made racial classifications illegal in the affirmative action ruling, is truly outrageous. I came into this project wanting to learn more about how planning affects indigenous peoples and reservations and became aware of another issue entirely.