Oneida woman says housing shortage forces families to make difficult choices
Many homes on reserves are overcrowded and in need of repair, which can result in health problems
An Oneida woman who has been living in London because of a housing shortage on her nearby reserve says many families face a difficult choice when it comes to housing — either live in overcrowded homes in need of repair, or move away from their communities.
Yeyatalunyuhe George, a mother of two children, was forced to move her family away from Oneida Nation of the Thames to the city three years ago because there was nowhere else for them to go.
"We had to make that choice," she said. "There's just nowhere else to go."
Her family's story is a common one across much of the country's Indigenous communities, where many homes are overcrowded and in desperate need of repairs, which has often led to health problems for the people who live there.
The federal government pledged Tuesday $4.1-billion in new spending for First Nations communities, in order to tackle long-standing infrastructure and social problems by investing in new housing and child welfare programs.
Specifically, the Liberal government pledged $155-million for Indigenous housing over five years.
'Want to go back'
George said the money is badly needed on her reserve because many of the homes are poorly built and often overcrowded with multiple generations living in buildings that were never designed to accommodate so many people.
Without a more robust housing stock, many people like George have been forced to live off their reserves, until more options open up.
George said she and her partner, who is also from Oneida Nation of the Thames, have been recently talking about moving back to the reserve in order to give their daughter an education with a foundation rooted in culture.
"We want that for our daughter. We want that option for her. We want to see more culture in her education," she said. "We would have to go back and forth and we don't drive."
In the meantime, she said she and her partner are saving to eventually build a home of their own in Oneida.
"I grew up on the reserve," she said. "I've always wanted to go back."
"We want to have a sustainable community where we don't have to rely on people. We want to be able to take care of our own, grow our own food, live off the land, whether that be collecting solar panels or rainwater," she said.
Push for change
"There's another issue, the water. It's all connected."
On Tuesday, the federal government pledged about $101.5-million over the next five years for First Nations to create their own governance structures outside of Indian Act rules, which have been long-criticized as restrictive and paternalistic.
George said she would like to one day see her community in full control of its own destiny, capable of building self-sustaining housing that leaves a low environmental footprint, which would be more reflective of her cultural values.
"I would like to see my community working together for a community garden, I would like to see us collect rainwater," she said. "It's all here for us and I'm tired of seeing my community suffer because of things like housing and water and the effects of that."
"I think if we eliminated some of those bigger issues that my people would have less things to stress about, they could actually concentrate on their healing and themselves and their goals."
"I would love to see my community healthy and happy."
Local grand chief seeks clarity
Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians (AIAI) grand chief Joel Abram says the new funding for Indigenous housing is a good start, but he has questions about its distribution.
"It's good that they're allocating some dollars, but there are a lot of areas that need assistance and our member nations are no different," he said.
Abram is happy to see funding going toward nations outside of the province. However, he said the distribution of funds is lacking within Ontario.
"Last fiscal year, [our province] had 22 per cent of First Nations populations nationally, but we were only allocated 12 per cent of the capital," he said. "I'd like to see that rectified more to the region, and of course more to our members in the southwestern corridor."
With files from Richard Raycraft