In order to address the chronic shortage of livable housing for Frist Nation students in Sioux Lookout, the Independent First Nations Alliance (IFNA), a northern Tribal Council servicing 5 First Nations Communities, has constructed two dwelling units. In January of 2019 it became evident that IFNA would not be able to find private boarding homes for Sioux Lookout high school students from Muskrat Dam First Nation and Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug. As a result, IFNA decided to build student dwellings to accommodate these students. The construction was completed in September of 2019, and the students moved in September 21.

The project is valued at $1.8 million and was funded creatively, without accessing any additional funding sources. “We didn’t do anything special; we just repurposed the funding that we already had access to” said Jonathan Gregg, IFNA Technical Services Manager. IFNA took out a mortgage for the buildings and is using the standard boarding home funding for housing each student to make the mortgage payments and pay for other student needs. There are now two two-story complexes, housing a total of 20 students. One is a duplex and houses 5 students on each side, while the other is an open-concept unit housing 10 students. Each student has a private living space with their own bedroom and washroom. There are also common areas including a kitchen, dining room, study area, and rec room. The units were designed by Grandeur Housing and were built by Finnway General Contractors Inc.

In addition to ensuring that the students have a safe and supervised area they can call home while attending school, this project also acted as a catalyst to examine other ways IFNA could support these students while they were away from home. Beyond providing a place to stay, IFNA thought to provide the students with a holistic support community. Students are provided social and emotional support, medical care, academic assistance including tutoring, and more opportunities to stimulate their growth and success. “IFNA saw a need and has created a system to provide the students with all of the supports they require while making them feel at home” explains Mathew Hoppe, IFNA CEO. As well, IFNA has worked in partnership with the District School Board to facilitate summer cooperative education, reach ahead, and extension credit opportunities focused on leadership and land-based activities.

The Home Away program has resulted in students thriving in the new home environment created in these dwellings. The students are not only being given academic opportunities, but also extracurricular ones such as snowmobiling, boating, beading, sewing, snowshoeing, and even an onsite hockey rink. “It has been wonderful to be able to not only improve our existing skills, but also to learn about and explore new interests” says Leroy Kakegamic, Student Residence Ambassador.

The nurturing environment created through this system has allowed the students to thrive academically as well. Currently students staying in these dwellings have earned 98.9% of their credits for the first semester and many have grades at or above the Provincial standard. This represents a dramatic improvement in achievement for these students from previous years. Mathew Hoppe explained that “the initial successes we are seeing from the Home Away Community Student Dwelling program is extremely encouraging. As a result, we are currently in the planning stages to add two additional units to be built and ready for the 2020-21 school year. Our goal at IFNA is focused on proactive and innovative ways to help our First Nation high school students achieve success in attaining their Ontario Secondary School Diploma and more.”