A For-Indigenous, By-Indigenous Approach to Housing

Housing is a critical step in the path to reconciliation.

In January 2022 AHMA released British Columbia’s first Indigenous community-led Urban, Rural and Northern Housing Strategy. 



The strategy outlines an equity-based approach to housing, and centres Indigenous rights and Indigenous leadership to deliver culturally supportive, trauma-informed housing for those most in need. About 75% of the Indigenous population in BC is part of the Urban, Rural and Northern (URN) community – those who are Indigenous but not living on reserve, or in connection with traditional cultural home communities due to colonial displacement. 



URN Indigenous Peoples face unique challenges in accessing adequate housing, and do not qualify for the support that is provided for Indigenous Peoples living on reserve. Significant evidence shows that access to safe, culturally supportive, and affordable housing is critical to ending the ongoing cycles of poverty affecting Indigenous families across BC. 



The URN Indigenous Housing Strategy prioritizes those most vulnerable to housing precarity and living in poverty across BC. 



An update to the Indigenous Housing Strategy will be released on September 25, 2024.