The recent Indigenous Housing Conference held in Prince George from October 25 to 26th has provided many ideas about housing that many communities, Indigenous and non-Indigenous alike, can use.

CFUR attended the conference and has done several interviews with speakers at the conference.

In today's program, we hear from BC Assembly of First Nations Regional Chief Terry Teegee of Takla Nation located in North Central BC about 400 kilometres north of Prince George.

Chief Teegee's advocacy and involvement to include the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP) into provincial law brings perspective to the issue of housing.

In terms of what is working right now, Teegee references the Aboriginal Housing Society’s Parkwood Plaza project currently underway in Prince George. A significant feature of the complex is its affordability.

Attaining the resources to create housing and making it affordable for those seeking housing is high on Teegee’s agenda. He reminds us that UNDRIP has been adopted into BC law, and governing bodies can look to it for guidance. He muses, “perhaps housing should be a human right just like water.”

As far as the physical space to build, the Specific Claims (righting past wrongs) and ATR (Additions to Reserve) processes are promising avenues to expand areas for more housing development.

Besides rising costs and general scarcity compounding the problem Teegee says, “Regardless of whatever issues that some of our homeless people are dealing with, we have to be more empathetic and really I think we need to come together to find solutions for our most vulnerable.”