Categories: Community Corner
11.30.2023
The first supportive housing built to serve homeless Native Americans opened in 1996 in Minneapolis MN: Anishinabe Wakiagun – The People’s Home. The 45-unit four story apartment building serves native people struggling with substance use disorder.
It was built near an area where more than 50 homeless American Indians died of exposure. The building was developed by the American Indian Community Development Corporation (AICDC) whose mission statement is “to provide culturally unique initiatives, housing and entrepreneurial programs that strengthen American Indian communities.” In 2015, AICDC opened Anishinabe Bii Gii Winn, which is Ojibwe for “People come home’ and is a 32-unit supportive housing residence. Most recently, AICDC recently opened Anishinabe Wakiagun III a 40-unit residence for homeless Native Americans addicted to opioids.