WELCOME

As part of the requirements of my Interdisciplinary Studies 3000 course, I am using the platform as an e-portfolio to keep track of and display my thesis work. Feel free to look at the different tabs to learn more about me (Intellectual Autobiography & Values Inventory) Reading Reflections, and Research Project (Integrative essay, Research Proposal)

In my thesis I am hoping to examine the current state of housing in Indigenous communities in Canada and discuss any problems the might be prevalent (ie. the prevalence of overcrowding and the potential health risks it could cause, reasons why the historical implementation of colonial style homes clashed with the indigenous lifestyle and environmental conditions, etc.). From there I want to examine current usage of sustainable building practices on reserve and the economic costs, environmental benefits, and impact on citizen well-being these technologies could have if they were to be implemented in more indigenous communities. The housing crisis on reserves persist to be a major problem with no clear solution, I believe this needs to be addressed using more creative ideas to help increase the well-being of our Indigenous peoples. The state of ones housing situation can greatly increase one’s life outside the home (overcrowding leading to more tension or fighting, mold leading to health issues etc). I think that if people want to address some of the complex problems people on reserve face, it makes the most sense to start with making sure they have a solid home. As can be seen above, this is a complex problem really branches out into different disciplines. In order to create a good picture of reserve homes, it seems necessary to discuss not only statistics and building techniques, but the histories and policies that lead to them and the effects it has had on individual’s well beings. Home isn’t one thing, it is something people have emotional or even spiritual connections to and it is important that is addressed.

If you would like some more context I was inspired by watching the following lecture in on of my classes at NVIT, she begins by talking about oil and pipeline debates but if you start at the 25 minute mark she begins talking about returning to her land and building her homestead with the earth and sustainable technologies.