While Indigenous people make up 3% of Calgary's population, 41% face homelessness.
CALGARY, Alb.-The city of Calgary has announced a first-time endeavor to provide affordable housing for Indigenous citizens to the tune of $30 million to make it happen.
Maa'too'maa'taapii Aoko'iyii'piaya, the Blackfoot name for the program, which means "Indigenous First Nation Housing" in Blackfoot, aims to create between 150 and 350 units in what the city calls a "historic investment."
Currently, while the Indigenous population is only three percent of Calgary's demographic makeup, the Indigenous make up forty-one percent of the homeless population. An estimated 3,800 Indigenous households in the city struggle to afford and keep their housing.
"We have heard that there is discrimination when looking for a home to rent; there is exclusion from culturally safe housing; and there are systemic inequities that perpetuate harm, and that keeps intergenerational trauma going, and that keeps families in crisis," said Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek, who hopes the program can grow in the future to create more units. "It seems like a small number when you look at the crisis, but for every single person that we can house, that matters. That is a life that has changed."
The program is open to all Treaty 7 First Nations, the Otipemisiwak Métis Government Districts 5 & 6 and Indigenous non-profits in Calgary. Organizations chosen for the program can receive up to $150,000 over two years for planning and engagement.
The remainder of the $30 million will cover up to 40 per cent of eligible capital costs for the building and construction of the affordable units, which the city says could posssibly be ready in part at the start of 2027.
"Maa'too'maa'taapii Aoko'iyii'piaya is more than a program. It is a promise," said Elder Jackie Bromley of Kainai Nation, who is on the advisory commitee. "It is a recognition that Indigenous nations and communities hold the knowledge, the vision and the strength to build homes that honor who we are."
