Thanks to a partnership with BC Housing, Chawathil First Nation (CFN) is bringing 31 housing units to their community in the form of townhouses and an Elder Lodge.
Announced on Sept. 10, the B.C. government — through BC Housing — along with Indigenous non-profit housing providers will help provide access to 1,662 affordable rental homes to Indigenous communities throughout the province.
“I think this is a huge opportunity for our members, and it’s very rewarding to know that we’re doing this,” said CFN Coun. Aaron Pete. “But the program itself, I think, is what we’re more excited about than just the housing. There are other programs, tat we have looked at, that aren’t as gracious to our members. And so this one is far more affordable.
“There’s less weight on the members, there’s more financial support for maintenance, and it’s a clearer process that our members will have to follow. So, there’s more support into the future.”
The homes were selected through the Building BC: Indigenous Housing Fund (IHF) and includes 41 on-and-off-reserve projects. One of these projects includes Chawathil’s providing housing units at Schkam #2. According to CFN’s Housing Manager Saje Murphy, these units are separate from the band’s current housing project (of repairing the 89 existing homes on reservation).
“We’re not just building homes, we’re building a community. Chawathil is going through an intense period of growth. And this will allow us (CFN) to bring people home who maybe never lived on reserve, or who only lived on reserve when they were kids,” Murphy said. “And we’ve never had an Elder’s Lodge. There’s definitely elders’ focused initiatives and events and things that happen in Chawathil. But we’ve never had a place for elders to commune privately, and there’s never been disability accessible housing.
“Everything in these units will be mobility accessible. They are very small but the design was completely focused on functionality for people with mobility struggles, declining mobility, or planning ahead for (mobility struggles that come with) age.”
These units, which would come in the form of rental townhouses and an Elder Lodge, will have a third party operator — which, Pete said, ensures that band members will still be supported should something happen to Chawathil’s Housing department. Designs for both the lodge and the townhouses were designed by Chelsea Mueller, from the Nerdy Architect Inc.; the designs include five single-floored units in the Elder’s Lodge and 26 units in the low rise, two-floor, townhouses.
Pete said that community engagement was strong throughout the project’s planning process and multiple steps were taken to ensure that Chawathil’s members could add their thoughts about the band’s future.
Planning for this came together after CFN held two open houses, back in February and May, to hear input from band members about the housing project and what they envision for Chawathil’s future. A 100 members responded to the housing survey and the biggest request was for new, high-quality housing. This, as mentioned in Chawathil’s Housing Highlights report, “led to an application to BC Housing for more units. Members wanted new homes at Schkam #2 that addressed mould and mildew, had four to five bedroom townhomes, central air, a sense of community, lower living costs, and scenic views.”
Aside from speaking with members, consultation was also done with, and input was also taken from, CFN Historian and Elder Patricia John and Stó:l≈ç Historian Naxaxalhts’i, Albert (Sonny) McHalsie. John’s and McHalsie’s expertise allowed CFN’s housing team, and Mueller, to work with and incorporate Chawathil’s history and culture into the buildings’ designs.
Both Murphy and Pete said that the 31 units will reflect Chawathil’s culture in terms of colours, designs, and murals. The units will be available only to band members but this could be expanded, in the future, to include non-band children of members.
According to Pete, they chose to go with multi-unit housing as band members said, during the surveying, that they wanted more townhouses and apartment options.
“This project was really built with Indigenous culture (and our people) in mind’,” Murphy said. “I want people to see modern indigeneity shine right through (in Chawathil). That’s very important to me, and so we’ve planned to build house posts, which is cultural to our community.
“And we are in the stage of planning murals for certain buildings. And Chelsea has been great at accommodating those things.”
Provided that there are no delays, construction for the project will be completed in 2027.
To learn more about the two housing projects, readers can watch a short documentary at vimeo.com/1007556362/efc6c287a7? .