Blood Tribe Housing Installs Two New Units On-Reserve – April 26, 2023

Blood Tribe Housing Installs Two New Units On-Reserve

By Blaire Russell, Communications Officer

Blood Tribe Communications & Community Engagement

April 26, 2023

This spring, two new three-bedroom duplex units are being built in the St. Mary’s community on the Blood Reserve. The duplexes come at a time of a national housing crunch and would alleviate some of the demand for on-reserve housing. The structures are a part of a capital project that has taken years of planning, months of building, and is funded through the 2019 Mismanagement of Assets (MOA) Specific Claim Settlement Agreement that amounted in $150 million. The agreement was ratified by members of the Blood Tribe in March of 2019 and provided funds for a per-capita distribution and various capital projects, including seriously needed funds for Blood Tribe Housing.

The Mismanagement of Assets (MOA) Specific Claim Settlement Agreement is a lawsuit filed by the Tribe that began in the early 20th century where the federal government had significant overreach into Blood Tribe affairs, resulting in mismanagement of Blood Tribe assets from 1894 to 1923. Some of the claims in the lawsuit included:

• Failing to feed cattle sufficiently, resulting in forced sale to avoid starvation. These cattle were often butchered too soon because they were starving and lacked weight to sell at fair market value.
• The failure to account for the proceeds of the sale of Blood Tribe cattle.
• The sale of cattle that belonged to the Blood Tribe without consent.

Eugene Weasel Head, foreman for the Blood Tribe New Housing Construction Plant, explained the turnaround time for move-in is estimated to be three to six months after the pre-built structures are moved onto their foundations. Weasel Head said that infrastructure tie-ins to existing water, sewer, gas, and electrical lines alongside with finishing details takes a bit of time before a family could officially move in, “each unit is 920 square feet with two bedrooms upstairs, and one bedroom in the basement.”

The Blood Tribe New Housing Construction Plant is a project-based operation in Standoff, Alberta, where as many as 20-25 units per year are pre-manufactured and ready to be moved onto foundations. The MOA project duplexes took approximately 90 days to complete at the plant.

“Each structure is 100 per cent Blackfoot manufactured – built for our people, by our people”, Weasel Head said, “We really take pride in the work, the quality, and craftsmanship. I would like to compliment the workers at the [Blood Tribe New Housing Construction] plant for doing an excellent job.”