Idle No More crowdfunding campaign aims to build First Nation housing

One of the women behind the grassroots movement Idle No More, which calls for indigenous sovereignty, is working to help build better homes on First Nations communities – one property at a time.

Fed up with the lack of action from the government, Sylvia McAdam decided to take matters into her own hands. She's launched the crowdfunding campaign One House, Many Nations, which aims to “build a new or renovate an existing shelter for Indigenous peoples."

The current goal of the campaign is to raise $15,000 in order to build one log cabin on a Saskatchewan First Nation, with plans to launch additional campaigns for future accommodations.

The Indiegogo page explains, “due to a series of past and present Federal government policy decisions to move towards austerity rather than address housing, the governments have cut back on housing programs.  As a result, Turtle Island (Canada) is experiencing a growing housing crisis that encompasses all people; it’s particularly affecting Indigenous women.”

The page goes on to describe how it has been 20 years since there’s been a housing increase for First Nation’s living on reserve, with “fourth world” conditions reaching crisis levels.

"You don't realize what is in your own backyard until you go door-to-door and actually go visit the people in their own homes," McAdam told the CBC. “It is shameful that we're having to reach out [with an aid campaign] when we're living in one of the wealthiest countries in the world."

There are different tiers of donations on the site – $10 will purchase one of 35 shingles, while $500 will buy a composting toilet.

"This is a treaty term — and promise for indigenous people — that shelter is one of the promises," she said.

"It's a fundamental and foundational human rights issue. When you address shelter and housing, you address so many things. We're talking about mental health, the well-being of families and stability of families."