Ontario Native Women’s Association 17 HOW WE CAN HELP: • Support & Accompaniment (HOSPITAL, POLICE, COURT, OTHER) • Advocacy • Counselling & Peer Support • Information & Referral • Public Education & Workshops • Outreach Services to First Nation Communities • Crisis Line Training 24/7 CRISIS LINE: 807-468-SAFE (7233) | TOLL FREE: 1-800-565-6161 101 Chipman Street, Kenora, ON P9N 1V7 www.kenorasexualassaultcentre.ca CLIMATE RESILIENCE communities affects their ability to build climate-resilient communities and housing,” the report notes. Poor building quality leads to shorter lifespans, and aging housing stock is often viewed by insurers as too risky to cover. The shortening of winter road seasons adds another layer of invisible labour: communities must engage in bulk purchasing with narrow margins for error. For women heading households, accur- ately predicting family needs for months at a time – including food, fuel, clothing and medication – becomes essential, and mistakes in planning can have serious consequences when resupply is delayed or impossible. Women must manage scarcity, ration resources and navigate rising costs, often while shielding their families from the stress of a changing climate. The pressures of climate change are further felt when proposed mining projects enter the conversation – projects that, if allowed, could guarantee the development of all-season access roads. Communities are faced with an impossible decision: sacrifice land and waters for the security of the people, or continue to persevere and innovate as access periods shrink even more and these systemic issues persist. NICHI points to what is possible when community-led solutions are prioritized. NICHI has supported a women’s shelter in Timmins, Ont., demonstrating how off-reserve housing projects can serve Indigenous women fleeing violence while incorporating climate-resilient design. The shelter also provides culturally grounded safety supports – a reminder that housing is a foundation for healing just as much as it is physical shelter. The Canadian Climate Institute report also documents how some First Nations are already adapting building practices out of necessity. One community facing significant coastal erosion and extreme weather events, including hurricanes, began reducing the size of houses and eliminating basements to construct safer dwellings. “They’re having to reduce the size of housing to build safer houses,” an interview participant told researchers. “Things like metal roofs, for example, are in buildings now. Houses that [used to be built] were bigger and now houses are 660 square feet.” Another community at high risk of inland flooding now requires new homes to be built on mounds or other raised-grade structures. Every decision comes with the trade-off of building better homes, or building more homes. Indigenous women are already adapting and innovating. They are stretching budgets when supply chains fail and keeping families healthy in overcrowded rooms. They are calculating how much fuel will last through a warmer winter and how many supplies to order when the next truck might not come for months. And some women, like Wesley, are thinking far outside the box when looking for solutions to the shrinking access periods. But adap- tation has limits; true climate resilience requires systems that support Indigenous women and their communities, not ones that rely so heavily on their innovation. Holding governments accountable means moving past fragmented responsibilities and ensuring that Indigenous women are not left behind because of where they live. The question of who will finance access road development that relieves the pres- sure on over 5,000 kilometres of ice roads remains to be seen. In the meantime, Indigenous women in fly-in communities continue to do what they do best: listen to the land, provide for their families and innovate new ways to support the lifelines that allow access to well-being for their communities. •
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