While few people would say that Canada has done a good job of housing its poor citizens, this discussion goes beyond problems of housing the poor. In this dissertation I draw from government records to uncover how, between the 1930s and 1990s, the Indian Department created and oversaw a failed housing system on reserves across the country - one decision at a time. While housing is usually seen to be a result of poverty I argue that during this time the practices and policies of the Indian Department were active participants in making Indigenous people and First Nations communities poor. As a consequence of the persistent housing crisis on reserves in Canada Indigenous people suffered not only from living in substandard dwellings but also from the indignity and shame that comes from the association Canadians have made between the poor conditions of on-reserve housing and the personal characteristics of its occupants. What most people do not know is how it is that on-reserve housing remained in crisis for so long. On-reserve housing is something we have done not something we have studied. While federal government reports have charted the number of houses on reserves and their physical condition, no one has examined the history of government programs or how they were delivered until now. Recognizing that my study was not designed to recommend solutions, but believing that we cannot fix a problem until we know it, I am convinced that this dissertation provides the background information future academics will need to tell a different story about housing on reserves. And with a different story we will be better prepared to make fundamental changes needed to the way housing is delivered on reserves. / Graduate

This thesis examines attempts to transform access to land and housing in First Nations (‘Indian Reservations’) in Canada through the mechanism of market development. This initiative, proposed by the Government of Canada to First Nations, is a deliberate shift away from socially funded housing to owner occupied housing as a way to increase wealth and address social conditions. The thesis begins with a brief statement of how recent policy shifts in First Nation housing have been justified by neoliberalism, and outlines policy and planning interventions consistent with neoliberalism to develop First Nation homeownership programs. Next, the thesis examines market development in Indigenous lands internationally and draws on lessons learned that may take shape in First Nations. Finally, the thesis examines how interventions in First Nations have been discussed in recent policy documents leading up to the Kelowna Accord signed in 2005, and reports on critical discourse analysis of the documents that were authored by the signatories to support negotiations on the Accord. The purpose is not so much to evaluate the interventionist policies as it to highlight what they attempt to achieve, and to identify some of the challenges they present to planners. Specifically, the thesis addresses the question: what underlying meanings have been embedded in the documentation supporting negotiations on the land questions between Ottawa and Aboriginal organisations? To this end, it extends the analysis by Skelton and Ribeiro (2006), which raises concerns in relation to social rights, Aboriginal governance and social relations that may accompany the introduction of land markets. Findings show how powerful policy discourses shaped by ideological beliefs privilege particular market forms. However, the emphasis on developing market mechanisms fails to address fundamental issues, such as the underlying cause of poverty and homelessness in First Nations. Such insights challenge current direction in First Nations housing policy and calls for socially responsive and community-based solutions to housing that are relevant to culture, context and place.

This thesis examines attempts to transform access to land and housing in First Nations (‘Indian Reservations’) in Canada through the mechanism of market development. This initiative, proposed by the Government of Canada to First Nations, is a deliberate shift away from socially funded housing to owner occupied housing as a way to increase wealth and address social conditions. The thesis begins with a brief statement of how recent policy shifts in First Nation housing have been justified by neoliberalism, and outlines policy and planning interventions consistent with neoliberalism to develop First Nation homeownership programs. Next, the thesis examines market development in Indigenous lands internationally and draws on lessons learned that may take shape in First Nations. Finally, the thesis examines how interventions in First Nations have been discussed in recent policy documents leading up to the Kelowna Accord signed in 2005, and reports on critical discourse analysis of the documents that were authored by the signatories to support negotiations on the Accord. The purpose is not so much to evaluate the interventionist policies as it to highlight what they attempt to achieve, and to identify some of the challenges they present to planners. Specifically, the thesis addresses the question: what underlying meanings have been embedded in the documentation supporting negotiations on the land questions between Ottawa and Aboriginal organisations? To this end, it extends the analysis by Skelton and Ribeiro (2006), which raises concerns in relation to social rights, Aboriginal governance and social relations that may accompany the introduction of land markets. Findings show how powerful policy discourses shaped by ideological beliefs privilege particular market forms. However, the emphasis on developing market mechanisms fails to address fundamental issues, such as the underlying cause of poverty and homelessness in First Nations. Such insights challenge current direction in First Nations housing policy and calls for socially responsive and community-based solutions to housing that are relevant to culture, context and place.