Aboriginal Housing / Reserve Schools

When we think of Aboriginal housing, we tend to think of teepees in the plains or igloos up north. Today I viewed a presentation on the truth about Aboriginal housing from history to the present.

Teepees came about because wood for log houses was scarce. So they used skins. These were good because they were light and mobile, and the Plains tribes had to travel a lot.

In the Great Lakes area, there was much more wood, and the area was fertile and good for agriculture so Great lakes tribes didn't have to move around. This is where long houses were made. A smaller version is the wigwam.

Log houses were made on the west coast, using giant cedar trees.

In the Arctic igloos were made from packed snow blocks during the winter, and in the summer, tents were made out of seal skins and whale bones, among other things.

Today, 52% Aboriginals reside in dwellings that fall below one or more housing standards. Most of the houses in reserves are in need of major repairs.

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In the second presentation, I learned about teaching on reserves. On reserves, schools tend to not get adequate funding; this directly affects the resources available and therefore the quality of education students on reserves receive.

What was surprising when hearing about Louis Bull school (which otherwise seemed like an outstanding school) was that teachers, on top of having no job security, had to be the ones motivating their students to come to school because the parents didn't seem to care whether they went or not.