The Self-Determining Right to Housing: Indigenous Homelessness

NJ
by Nicole Jokhaji18 views·Updated Mar 30, 2021

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  1. Today we're discussing housing as a human right and, more
  2. specifically, indigenous homelessness.
  3. First, you must consider how indigenous peoples in Canada is
  4. a very different kind of homelessness that is unmatched by
  5. other ethnic groups.
  6. And that's due to their history with colonization, obviously, that
  7. the housing crisis affecting indigenous people.
  8. It's not a recent issue, and it can be dated
  9. back to the colonization, a segregation of indigenous people from
  10. their homes and lands through settler colonialism.
  11. Discourses around power and authority were shaped with the government
  12. of Canada, established authority over indigenous lands and our economy.
  13. Let's let the severe displacement of indigenous peoples from their
  14. homes, as well as marking the start of the mission
  15. by the European settlers to replace aboriginal cultures, identities, religions,
  16. languages and traditions.
  17. So what is indigenous homelessness?
  18. It is characterized as a lack of community stability and
  19. affordability of housing of First Nations, May T and any
  20. other people's.
  21. It differs from Western definitions of homelessness, which focus on
  22. livable structures, buildings or shelters and takes indigenous perspective of
  23. homemaking, community and identity.
  24. Through the process of colonization, indigenous people were made to
  25. be homeless in their own land as they were stripped
  26. of their identity, culture, religious beliefs and ways of living
  27. the right to housing and having housing is a human
  28. rights requires us to take a look at the government's
  29. role to cultural safety.
  30. Housing is a human rights suggested by the Universal Declaration
  31. of Human Rights and goes beyond the building of shelters
  32. and structures to house the homeless.
  33. It takes on governmental responsibility to provide habitable and livable
  34. housing that goes beyond just the instructors and ensures the
  35. quality of life of the individuals and families residing there.
  36. Furthermore, it has a focus on cultural safety, which combines
  37. a cultural appreciation, cultural practices and the complete identity and
  38. traditions of indigenous peoples in the process of creating housing.
  39. Yeah, though colonization is at the root cause of this
  40. housing crisis, it is bolstered and upheld and affirmed under
  41. the neoliberal order where the narrative concerning indigenous homelessness speaks
  42. of blaming the victim approach.
  43. It is assumed that indigenous people choose to be homeless
  44. through their lack of contribution to the labor market.
  45. That's a huge problem, as the government's passing of blame
  46. and ignorance of of the housing crisis suggests that they
  47. are not accepting housing as a human right and as
  48. a responsibility of the government.
  49. The state here is responsible for this inequality.
  50. It should be held accountable for its infringement of section
  51. seven of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which constitutes
  52. life and liberty is our right.
  53. This basic human right to life is completely denied when
  54. the individual or community is denied the adequate housing rights.
  55. So what can we do about this?
  56. One of the first things I have outlined as the
  57. theory of self determination, which refers to the transfer of
  58. responsibility of economy to indigenous peoples, given the resources and
  59. authority to indigenous people to govern themselves instead of the
  60. state governing them.
  61. The right to self determination would allow indigenous peoples in
  62. Canada to develop policies for themselves that are better aimed
  63. at serving their peoples developmental, politically, economically, economically and socially.
  64. Considering housing policies.
  65. Self determination would grant indigenous people the sovereignty to access
  66. their needs internally and cultivate culturally appropriate measures.
  67. The housing.
  68. This theory also serves to resolve the relationship between the
  69. settler state and indigenous communities through the restructuring of power
  70. dynamics. The second thing I would like to address is
  71. feminist perspectives or feminist theory.
  72. The importance of deploying feminist theory is due to the
  73. over representation of indigenous women and girls and indigenous homeless
  74. demographics That shows a correlation between gender and ethnicity that
  75. works to disadvantaged indigenous females.
  76. Through the enforcement of European petrovo ideals, indigenous women in
  77. Canada were subjected to an increased vulnerability of discrimination, alienation
  78. and prejudice.
  79. These experiences of colonialism, residential schools, oppression and discrimination led
  80. to the entrenchment of trauma.
  81. Inter generationally laying down roots of depression, anxiety, drug abuse,
  82. declining health and mortality rates is crippling traumas make it
  83. incredibly difficult to financially sustain oneself or family, which contribute
  84. to the homelessness of many indigenous females.
  85. Another factor to consider is that indigenous women are almost
  86. four times as likely as non indigenous women to be
  87. living with intimate partner violence, which is a leading factor
  88. of indigenous women's homelessness and displacement.
  89. Attention therefore, needs to be placed on the demographics of
  90. indigenous homelessness and to confront the issues of homelessness with
  91. an approach that is culturally and socially ballistic, with special
  92. attention to how women are disadvantaged.
  93. I hope this presentation was informative for you, and you
  94. were able to learn more about indigenous homelessness and the
  95. ways that we can work together as a society to
  96. remedy this crisis,