The STTARS Indigenous Safe Housing Center has strategically developed a critical partnership with the Cardozo Law Institute in Holocaust and Human Rights (CLIHHR) to implement a key project of the Center. CLIHHR conducts research and provides legal assistance through its “action arm”—the Benjamin B. Ferencz Human Rights and Atrocity Prevention (“HRAP Clinic”). In the past year, the students of HRAP have been working with STTARS Indigenous Safe Housing Center on the Tribal Housing Code Clearinghouse. The goal of this Clearinghouse is to better understand how tribal and federal law and policy affect the ability of Indigenous survivors of gender-based violence to access, maintain, and sustain safe housing and shelter. This session will explore the process, progress, and next steps for this project, and participants are encouraged to bring their Tribal Housing Codes (and policies/codes related to gender-based violence and housing) and share out on best practices, gaps, and ideas for increasing safety and housing/shelter access in Tribal communities.
Human Rights Clinic on Tribal Housing Code and Domestic Violence
June 30, 2022 • Caroline LaPorte, Jocelyn Getgen Kestenbaum, Brett Jones
Introduction to STTARS: Safety, Training, and Technical Assistance, Resources and Support, the Indig
June 28, 2022 • Caroline LaPorte, Gwendolyn Packard
STTARS- Indigenous Safe Housing Center at NIWRC was created to address the intersection of housing instability/homelessness and domestic violence. This session will introduce the Center, the importance of our work, our approach, and upcoming events and activities. We will provide information about the National Workgroup for Safe Housing for American Indians and Alaska Native Survivors of Gender-Based Violence and share copies of the report. Our vision is “Safe Housing for All Our Relatives.”
Historical Overview of Tribal Housing
June 28, 2022 • Theodore Jojola
Forty percent of on-reservation housing (compared to 6 percent outside of Native nations’ land) is considered substandard housing. In addition, according to NCAI, nearly ⅓ of homes are overcrowded and less than ½ of homes on the reservation are connected to public sewer systems, and 16 percent lack indoor plumbing. At the core of this issue, Indigenous Nations have survived decades and decades of unjust federal policies that mandated removal, relocation, displacement, and broken treaties. As a result, these systemic injustices left tribes with limited economic opportunities, high poverty rates, low employment rates, and high housing shortages and crises. This session will look at traditional housing and the impacts of HUD on traditional housing practices and community development.
Housing Insecurity and Homelessness in Indian Country
June 28, 2022 • Paloma Sanchez
Housing Insecurity and Homelessness Indigenous people are so pervasive in this country for both our on the reservation and off-reservation relatives. The housing crisis and homelessness in Indigenous communities have a long contextual history of enormous land theft, unjust removal from homelands backed by federal policies, and historical injustices. This presentation will focus on the unique and cultural circumstances of our unsheltered Indigenous relatives. It will make critical connections between our high rates of poverty, workforce development and employment, and the lack of economic development, resources, and accessibility. To address these issues we not only need to strengthen the sovereignty of Tribal Nations but also start with a cultural framework that speaks to our communities and fortifies Indigenous kinship to protect and support our Relatives who need safe, affordable housing.