In light of Indigenous People’s Day last week, I wanted to shed some light onto the history of Native American housing in the United States. Often when it comes to housing, Native Americans are overlooked, only making up 1.5% of the North American population. Despite this, they account for 10% of the homeless population in the United States – a staggering disproportion. Why is this?
Initially, Indigenous concepts of homes and living were disregarded by European settlers. They were viewed as inadequate, unsanitary, primitive and above all else 'savage'. Land was stolen, and communities were built on top of existing lands, a common feature of European colonialism. Native land quickly became a commodity that was bought and sold for personal ownership instead of shared, and it didn’t take long for Native Americans to be denied of their rights. Indigenous Americans were stripped of land ownership with the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which displaced them across the country from their native lands. Federal legislation like the Dawes Act (1887) and the Indian Removal Act (1930) have created a culture within the Native American community of distrust of the government or national agencies, making them more resistant to accept help.
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Image of the Pequot War. Source: Smithsonian Magazine
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In taking their land and labeling natives as ‘savages’, Europeans successfully morphed Native Americans into the 'other'. The history of colonialism has led to what seems to be an American tradition of displacing people to build housing. Unfortunately, Indigenous peoples are not the only group to fall victim to being othered and suffer housing crises and legal restrictions as a result. Along with Native Americans, African Americans are another historically oppressed group that face housing issues because of systemic racism. Marginalized communities in urban cities now face increasing threats of gentrification; losing the homes that give them comfort, safety, and stability, and increasing their risk of homelessness. Sadly, for Native Americans, multigenerational poverty and being excluded from housing opportunities are an effect of colonial displacement, which is why rates of homelessness amongst native populations are so high.
In class, we have discussed how the modern home is seen as a “white, middle class, masculine” place (Speer, 2017). However, the 'ideal home' marginalizes groups who live a home experience that is not ideal. This specific idea of a privately owned home that was established early in American history by European colonizers continues to put all minorities and marginalized groups at a housing disadvantage. In Minnesota, Native American homelessness is a special issue. Within 6 reservations, around 9% of the population are homeless, and 14% face housing insecurity, where people “double up” in houses that are overcrowded and have inadequate space.
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This is an image of Tent City, a homeless community in Minnesota with a large Native American population. Source: The New York Times
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Native American communities’ struggles to find equal housing, health, water, and food access today are direct effects of European views of home and land ownership being imposed onto them back in the colonial era. How we interact with our places sets a precedent, changing the way we view others who don’t interact with spaces the way we may do personally, which is a bias that natives fell victim to early on. The convergence of both historical displacement and legal discrimination have contributed to modern Native American homelessness patterns. Although homelessness is largely dependent on finances, it is more than just not being able to afford housing – there is often a historical and racist underbelly to the issue.
Below, I’ve linked some articles in case anyone wants more information on the Native American housing crisis and what is being done to combat it.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-17/a-bold-fix-for-native-american-homelessness
https://palletshelter.com/blog/6-impacts-of-homelessness-unique-to-indigenous-communities/
https://www.wilder.org/mnhomeless/results/reservations
https://naihc.net/tribal-housing-assistance-resource-hub/
References:
Micucci, J. (2023, March 14). Rooted in trauma: Homelessness in Native Communities. National League of Cities. https://www.nlc.org/article/2023/03/15/rooted-in-trauma-homelessness-in-native-communities/#:~:text=Today%2C%20Native%20people%20experience%20the,general%20and%20on%20Tribal%20lands.
Olivet, J., Dones, M., Richard, M. (2019). The Intersection of Homelessness, Racism, and Mental Illness. In: Medlock, M., Shtasel, D., Trinh, NH., Williams, D. (eds) Racism and Psychiatry. Current Clinical Psychiatry. Humana Press, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90197-8_4
Otto, P. (2013). Common Practices and Mutual Misunderstandings: Henry Hudson, Native Americans, and the Birth of New Netherland. Digital Commons @ George Fox University. https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1064&context=hist_fac
Richard, M. K. (2023). Race matters in addressing homelessness: A scoping review and call for critical research. American Journal of Community Psychology, 1. https://doi-org.proxy.library.ohio.edu/10.1002/ajcp.12700
Speer, J. (2017). “It’s not like your home: Homeless Encampments, Housing Projects, and the Struggle over Domestic Space.” Antipode 49(2)517-533.
Very interesting and shocking statistics. We treat the solution to homelessness in the singular, when there's so many historical, political contexts that need to be addressed for different populations. You do an excellent job of highlighting that justified mistrust of the government/governing agencys. Thank you for sharing the resources!
ReplyDeleteThis is very informative and beautifully written! We have been talking about the problem with idealization of a home, and your article allows us to see it in a broader context. Many local people in Rempang island face a similar problem when Indonesian government issues a factory construction permit on a land that has been home for their ancestors in the last 200 years (far before we even became a country). I think it is important that we demand governments all over to formally recognize the importance of indigenous land. One of the largest ethnic groups in Indonesia, Minang, for instance, has successfully used a legal framework to secure their adat or customary land. This land is now collectively owned by their clan and can be accessed for agriculture, forestry, or livestock grazing. All the decision-making towards the use of this land is agreed by the community and no individuals or families are given any authority to sell it, which ensures its preservation.
ReplyDeleteExcellent. I am as guilty as most Americans in that I haven't thought about homelessness until fairly recently and then more recently realized the depths of it meaning. We assume everyone who lives in this country wants to live a certain way and it by no means appropriate to everyone and offers so little opportunities for variation. Thanks for the information that will hopefully help a lot of us to see that there all kinds or variation in ways to live.
ReplyDeleteThis post does a great job of highlighting the alarming link between the homeless epidemic and Native Americans' past atrocities. It's depressing to observe that, despite advancements in many areas, the Native American population continues to experience the worst effects of this problem. A bitter reminder of colonization's continuing effects is the way European settlers ignored their idea of houses and the institutional racism that resulted. Additionally, it's critical to understand that this isn't a unique issue; rather, it's the outcome of a larger issue where housing ideals have been influenced by a "white, middle-class, masculine" perspective, marginalizing many other groups. The urgent need for changes and a more equitable approach to housing is well explained in this article. Really interesting.
ReplyDeleteThis post does a really good job of highlighting a different view of home that does not fit into the colonial, white American idea of home. Native Americans do not view "home" as an individual setting that separates people. Rather, home is communal; it is shared rather than owned. The narrow view of the American, colonial home has prevented Native Americans from being able to make home and carry out the processes of home that do not conform with the "private, single family" idea. You also mentioned the food insecurity that many Native Americans face. Not having a connection to nutritious foods or one's native foods and living in a food desert can seriously harm an individuals experience of home because they do not feel a sense of belonging or connection with their culture. This is why food sovereignty is so important because food sovereignty establishes a reconnection to native foods, which helps them reclaim and reconnect to their culture. Food sovereignty can also heal Native American’s connection to the earth (a connection that has been ruined through violent practices of Native American removal from their lands), which is central to Native American culture.
ReplyDeleteThe high percentage of Native American homelessness is shocking. European colonization really hurt and displaced many Native Americans who are still struggling to this day. Especially in the US, there is the assumption that the modern home is "white, middle-class, and masculine." Anything outside of a modern home that doesn't include a garage, fenced-in yard, etc. is also considered not to be a typical home or even a home at all. Access to food and water is also a major issue where many places are living in food deserts and not getting the healthy food needed. The historical and racist issues that have led up to this point are reasons why many Native Americans are homeless or have to live together in overcrowded homes. Hopefully, we can come up with ways to help Native Americans and other struggling communities to combat the lack of these human necessities. This is a great example of issues that need more attention and thanks for including more articles.
ReplyDeleteThis post is a great breakdown of how native Americans have experienced discrimination, oppression and displacement, through various means since the colonial era. I like how you gave lots of statistics and specific laws or acts passed to help display the effects of colonial displacement. Native Americans account for 10 percent of the homeless population in the US, this is because of the effects of colonial displacement and multigenerational poverty. I also liked how you used the specific example of Minnesota where there are 6 reservations and about 9 percent of the population are homeless and 14 percent face housing insecurity where people “double up” in houses where there is not enough space. I also liked how you touched on this issue being an issue for any marginalized group because the US government has a “habit” of displacing “the other” or “the outsider” from their homes, spaces and communities. I also think it is important how the view of home differs from native Americans versus the ideal home of the industrialized capitalist ideal home. Native Americans grew up with a very different ideal of home and in my opinion a way better and healthier way of thinking about home and place.
ReplyDeleteI find this very interesting. Similar things happened in many African settler colonies where the best land was stolen and reserved for the colonizer populations. African cultural values were relegated, and huts and other forms of housing were relegated in favor of European style houses, despite the fact that they were not in tune with the environment.
ReplyDeleteDeandre, you center a very heartbreaking and serious issue surrounding the continued neglect and violence towards Native Americans. Colonialism still has major impacts and it has shaped many aspects of our culture and and world. The high percentage of Native American homelessness is harrowing. It makes me even more sad thinking about how even the land that Native Americans are put on like reservations often dont have access to sufficent resources either, clean water, food access, etc. The historically racist actions and policies are deeply intertwined with our culture and our everyday life, and Native Americans should have access to not just basic shelter, but environments where they can flourish and live healthy lives.
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