<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=265fUr_16uOiStz00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=265fUr_16uOiStz00" width="640" height="800" ><figcaption>Jody Cahoon Perez speaks during the “Healing Through Housing” panel on Nov. 21, sharing insights on the complexities of housing access on the Flathead Reservation. Liz Dempsey</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3fCx1j_16uOiStz00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3fCx1j_16uOiStz00" width="640" height="800" ><figcaption>Steven Morigeau, Residential Director at NARSS Recovery Village and a solidarity grant recipient, discusses his experience with Tribal homeownership during the Nov. 21 panel. Liz Dempsey</figcaption></figure>FLATHEAD RESERVATION — It̓qaʾwxam Nk̓ʷúwilš Solidarity Program has launched its second fall campaign to raise funds for Tribal homeownership on the Flathead Reservation, building on a first-year effort that far surpassed expectations.Since last fall, the program has raised $75,000 from 97 contributors–triple its original $24,000 goal–allowing four Tribal families to receive homeownership grants and drawing in 77 members committed to learning about CSKT history and addressing the challenges of securing housing on the reservation.This year’s campaign aims to fund eight additional homeownership grants, recruit 50 new members, and form a circle of 25 donors who can each contribute $1,000. As part of the effort, the program hosted a “Healing Through Housing” panel on Nov. 21 to address myths about reservation housing and highlight how solidarity grants can open pathways to homeownership and free up rental units for other Tribal families.“When we started, we didn’t really have an idea what the reception would be, and we were kind of blown away that in 10 weeks last fall, we raised $25,000,” said Jenny Mish. The initial $25,000 raised was matched in April 2025. Monthly commitments added to the contributions, resulting in four homeownership grants in the program’s first year, “which was incredible,” Mish said.Jody Cahoon Perez, SKHA executive director, now has a vision of creating 100 homes in 10 years. Mish said the program grows through personal relationships rather than advertising. “It’s all heart to heart, relationship to relationship, and it’s based on finding ways to help us bring that connection from our hearts to the people who have stewarded this land,” she said.Members of the program commit to learning about CSKT history and culture. Since last fall, they have read The Salish People and the Lewis &amp; Clark Expedition, held group gatherings and potlucks, learned Salish and Kootenai greetings, and attended events such as the Annual River Honoring, Rez-A-Paloozas, and powwows.“It’s this long, slow process of building real relationships,” Mish said. “It’s not a quick fix.” She said members also commit to sharing what they learn. “In the future, we’re going to have a non-Native population that understands what has happened on this land.”Members are asked to contribute at least $1 a month, but no one is turned away. NeighborWorks Montana, a program partner, processes all donations and directs 100% of the funds to homebuyers. “This program happened by chance. Is it really a thing, right? It was divinely guided,” Perez said.Perez said she learned about “Real Rents,” a Seattle initiative where residents pay rent to a tribe that was forcibly relocated and are also not federally recognized. After connecting with Mish, they shaped what Perez calls “her brain and my heart,” the solidarity program. Mish credited the University Congregational Church, which created the 1855 Fund to donate annually to the program on the Hellgate Treaty’s anniversary.The panel that followed included moderator Kaia Peterson of NeighborWorks Montana; Perez; journalist Nora Mabie; Steven Morigeau, residential director of NARSS; and Dana Hewankorn, manager of the CSKT Food Sovereignty Program.Morigeau is the program’s first grant recipient. As residential director of Never Alone Recovery Support Services (NARSS), he coordinates the Recovery Village, created after drug court participants told Perez that people in recovery needed places to live. The area once called the “Dirty Thirties” is now changing, Perez said, “from the inside out,” as that area of housing in Pablo is for those living a sober life. Morigeau is waiting for federal offices to reopen so he can finalize his home purchase. When he moves, his SKHA unit will open for a new low-income Tribal family.He described how addiction, recovery, and income limits made stable housing nearly unreachable. “It is one barrier after another,” he said. He and his wife were caught between earning too much for low-income housing but not enough to qualify for homeownership assistance. “And so, like, where do we live?” he said. “It was a struggle.”Through the Solidarity Program, he received $15,000 toward the purchase and home improvements. Hewankorn discussed the ongoing housing shortage across the reservation and the cultural role of 'auntie’s houses.' “There is always a shortage, there’s always a waiting list,” she said. She described Auntie’s houses as safe places for families or children. “That is who we are as Indian people. We are communal in a lot of what we do.”She said the question now is how to support the community’s caretakers.Mabie, who has covered Tribal nations for six years, said she repeatedly heard that housing was at the root of many challenges. Professionals, healthcare workers, and Tribal members who want to return home often cannot find housing. “If people–professionals, who are maybe high earners or middle income–can’t come back to live, that really hurts the economy and the community,” she said.She added that many reservation housing barriers are tied to historic federal policies that did not anticipate Tribal nations’ needs today. Trust land requires federal approval for many actions, adding layers of bureaucracy. Banks also hesitate to lend on trust land because they cannot repossess it. “It’s not a question of trust land,” she said. “It’s a question of why modern systems haven’t adapted to it.”Perez described the challenges within SKHA. The housing authority has 530 low-rent units, with 276 families on a waiting list of two to five years. Forty units sit vacant due to a lack of available contractors, and no starter homes are available for families who are ready to move on.“All of the grants I receive are for low-income Tribal members, so people like Steven who are just above that–they don’t get any help from us,” she said. She said continuum housing and life-skills support are essential.Hewankorn emphasized the need for intensive support for families facing eviction, noting that some people lose assistance as soon as they begin earning more income. “It’s one step forward and seven steps back,” she said. Mabie said communities need a full range of housing types so people can move gradually from emergency housing to low-income units to homeownership. “When you don’t have that continuum, it kind of puts strain on the resources that do exist,” she said.Perez said the Tribal Council once asked what it would take to build 175 homes for the waiting list. The answer was $43 million. She said the deeper issue is that “not everyone is equipped with the life skills to have lease compliance.”Morigeau said 243 people are on the Recovery Village waiting list, 50% of them Tribal members. He spoke about the role of generational trauma and the need for hands-on support as people rebuild their lives. “We are holding their hands,” he said. “Someone had to hold my hand.”</div></body>

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FLATHEAD RESERVATION — It̓qaʾwxam Nk̓ʷúwilš Solidarity Program has launched its second fall campaign to raise funds for Tribal homeownership on the Flathead Reservation, building on a first-year effort that far surpassed expectations. Since last fall, the program has raised $75,000 from 97 contributors–triple...

Program Aims to Open More Paths to Tribal Homeownership as Demand Grows

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FLATHEAD RESERVATION — It̓qaʾwxam Nk̓ʷúwilš Solidarity Program has launched its second fall campaign to raise funds for Tribal homeownership on the Flathea

Program Aims to Open More Paths to Tribal Homeownership as Demand Grows

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