We’ve just returned from an incredible journey to the Fort Peck Indian Reservation where we met with community members to talk about their vision for the new homes we will design and build on their land.

An essential part of any Make It Right project is community design meetings. We believe that before our architects can begin their work creating a home, they need to hear from the people who will live there. Their needs, their dreams, their vision for their community is essential to our design process.

To support our work on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, click here.

Previous Entries: Day One / Day Two / Day Three

Day Four

As we packed up to head home, we reflected on everything we saw:

• The deep needs in this community, from jobs and healthy food to the reason we’re all here: housing. The existing homes are cramped, with multiple families living in two and three bedroom houses. The majority of homes were built with cheap materials that can’t withstand a family’s daily routine and pollute the indoor air quality. Many of them are now plagued with mold. Hundreds of people on the reservation are waiting for housing.
• The self-determination of the tribes who invited us to work with them. Life can be hard on the Fort Peck Reservation, but the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes are determined to build a better future for their children. We met men and women who teach culture and language classes to help tribal members stay connected to the way of life that has sustained them for thousands of years. We met the ranchers charged with preserving one of the last wild herds of American bison, animals so important in Native American life that they are called “our brothers.” We met tribal leaders who are resolved not to let their people continue to suffer from unemployment, poor housing or insufficient educational opportunities.
• The families who welcomed us into their community. We were overwhelmed by families and tribal members who filled the auditorium for two nights to share with us their struggles and their dreams for new homes. Without them, we could not begin our work designing and building healthy, sustainable and affordable housing.

Here are some reflections from our Fort Peck design team:

• how to express the tribal protocols and desires for ’round-ness’ in the home designs. 
• how to allow for ceremonial and traditional use 
• how to manifest traditional design aspects (east entries, central plan focus, seasonal use variation, allusions to nomadic +/or traditional life
• how the tipi, earthlodge and/or cottonwood leaf housing origin/gift can be alluded to in the housing +/or community plan
• how to leverage the considerable modular / prefab team capacities, specifically how to amplify the advantages of modular together with natural envelopes and materials. 
• how to best link community asset-based materials and methods (local resources, skills) to housing process.
• how/if to use previously responsive regional approaches and techniques including: pre-fab wet cores, earthen plasters, timber frames, frost-protected foundations, straw bale, sips and super-insulated envelopes. 
• how to organize site information such as soil tests, water table, seasonal conditions, wind exposures, access, elder-visitability and cultural protocols to inform a variety of design approaches. 
• how to capture and share going forward best practices for building effectively in the Northern Plains.

Shelia Rice, Executive Director of NeighborWorks Montana:
NeighborWorks Montana is honored to be part of the Make It Right/Fort Peck Sustainable Village team.  The team itself is incredible!  Architects and designers from around the nation, right here in Poplar, Montana.  This work is so critical because of the overcrowding and lack of decent, affordable housing on the Fort Peck Reservation. The tribal members that we met with were so welcoming and took their time to educate the team on the native history and ways.  We heard of the importance of restoring the buffalo, the devastation of children forced to go to Indian schools, and the hope and aspirations of tribal members for their homeland.  The Sustainable Village project is being launched with a Low Income Housing Tax Credit project of 20 lease-to-rent homes, but the long range vision is many homes for families of all incomes.  NeighborWorks Montana will be part of the partnership that brings this vision to life.

To support our work on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, click here.

Previous Entries: Day One / Day Two / Day Three

We’ve just returned from an incredible journey to the Fort Peck Indian Reservation where we met with community members to talk about their vision for the new homes we will design and build on their land.

An essential part of any Make It Right project is community design meetings. We believe that before our architects can begin their work creating a home, they need to hear from the people who will live there. Their needs, their dreams, their vision for their community is essential to our design process.

To support our work on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, click here.

Previous Entries: Day One / Day Two

Day Three
We began our third day in Fort Peck by visiting the factory and warehouse of Integrated Solutions, a company owned by tribal members. The giant facility has produced many things in its history, including all the camouflage nets used in the Gulf War of the 1990s. On the day of our visit, they were making long metal hooks used for hoses on fire trucks.

Exterior of Integrated Solutions facility

Hose hooks for fire trucks are manufactured at Integrated Solutions.

Several years ago a solar panel manufacturer agreed to partner with the company to produce PV panels here. But after the tribe added space for the solar operation, the company pulled out – leaving them with a massive facility, but no new jobs. We took a look at the empty space. Two modular home builders on our design team – Brian Abramson of Method Homes and Steve Glenn of Living Homes - agreed that the space could possibly be used for manufacturing homes. As we stood there, we dreamed of a day when the people here could manufacture and build their own healthy houses, providing green jobs and homes so desperately needed for hundreds of tribal members waiting for a place to live.

Checking out the currently unused space at the tribe’s factory.

Next stop: American Bison! In March 2012, 61 American bison (also known as buffalo) from Yellowstone National Park were transferred to the Fort Peck Indian Reservation prairie, to be released to a 2,100-acre game preserve 25 miles north of Poplar. There are many other bison herds outside Yellowstone, but this is one of the very few genetically pure ones, not cross-bred with cattle. Native Americans celebrated the move, which came over a century after bison were nearly wiped out by hunters and the U.S. government. In March of this year, the first genetically pure bison calf was born on the Fort Peck reservation – a symbol of the renewal for the tribes who live here.

American bison at Fort Peck.

American bison at Fort Peck.

Design team visits American bison at Fort Peck.

“The buffalo gave us everything we needed. Without it we were nothing. The name of the greatest of all Sioux was Tatanka Iyotake–Sitting Bull. When you killed off the buffalo you also killed the Indian–the real, natural, “wild” Indian.” - John Fire Lame Deer, writer and Lakota holy man.

“The Great Spirit told the people, ‘These animals are your brothers. Share the land with them. They will give you food and clothing. Live with them and protect them.’

‘Protect especially the buffalo, for the buffalo will give you food and shelter. The hide of the buffalo will keep you from the cold, from the heat, and from the rain. As long as you have the buffalo, you will never need to suffer.’” – Native American legend, recorded by Professor Hap Gilliland of Eastern Montana College.

In the evening, we held another community design meeting. More families came to talk, eat and share ideas about the future of housing on the Fort Peck Reservation.

Next Entry: Fort Peck Diary: Day Four.

We’ve just returned from an incredible journey to the Fort Peck Indian Reservation where we met with community members to talk about their vision for the new homes we will design and build on their land.

An essential part of any Make It Right project is community design meetings. We believe that before our architects can begin their work creating a home, they need to hear from the people who will live there. Their needs, their dreams, their vision for their community is essential to our design process.

To support our work on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, click here.

Previous Entries: Day One

Day Two Diary

Yesterday we saw the need for better, healthier housing and heard stories of multiple families living in one and two bedroom houses. Our second day was spent talking to tribal leaders and families about their vision for the future.

First stop: Architects and staff survey the land where Make It Right’s homes will be built.

At lunch, we sat down with leaders in charge of preserving the culture of the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes. They spoke to the group about their people’s history, particularly in regards to housing.

Dr. Ryan, Fort Peck Tribes cultural expert and historian

Historian Dr. Ken Ryan spoke about the transition away from traditional tipis where families made their homes for generations before Europeans landed in America.

At left: Sioux family tipi. At right: Assiniboine tipis. Photo credit: Fort Peck Tribal Archives.

As Indian lands were colonized, tribes were forced to move to reservations. According to Dr. Ryan, in the early 1900s, the U.S. government mandated that the Fort Peck tribes must build and live in log cabins, instead of tipis.

Fort Peck Indian Reservation, circa 1920. Log cabins built alongside traditional tipis.

Since then, a series of public housing failures have plagued the Fort Peck tribes. The tract homes on the reservation today are rife with black mold and structural problems and homeowners must shoulder high utility bills caused by inefficient design.

In addition, the design of the existing homes makes no concession for the cultural principles of the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes, like doorways that face the east or north and colors that hold significant meanings in tribal life.

“This is the first time in 130 years that anyone has asked us, ‘What do you want your home to look like?’” said Dr. Ryan. We left our meeting with cultural leaders inspired and humbled by the opportunity to design homes that will reflect their history and enrich family life.

In the evening, we got to ask Dr. Ryan’s question to the larger community. Almost 100 community members joined us to share their needs and ideas for new homes. We begin with traditional prayers by tribal elders.

Next, the architects introduce themselves and show some of their previous work.

David Johnson of William McDonough + Partners introduces his work.

Then we eat! We believe community meetings are always better with food. The delicious meals at our community meetings in Fort Peck – black rice with vegetables, sausage and fry bread  - were prepared by local cooks.

After dinner is served, we break into small groups, pairing up families or groups of friends with architects to hear their ideas and what they most want in a new home.

Steve Glenn of Living Homes speaks with a Fort Peck couple.

Christoph Korner of Graft Architects talks with women from the Fort Peck Tribes.

Make It Right’s design manager Jordan Pollard and Make It Right Solar director Pierre Moses take notes.

Some community members brought their own drawings and designs to share with Brian Abramson of Method Homes and Joseph Kunkel of Sustainable Native Communities.

When small group talks wrap-up, each group presents the highlights of their discussion to the entire audience. We do this for accountability – to make sure we’ve correctly understood the community members’ thoughts – and so that everyone can share the ideas generated in small groups.

Nathaniel Corum of Architecture for Humanity presents his notes.

Sustainable Native Communities’ Jamie Blosser’s notes.

At this point, some of our younger guests get restless and dance on the tables. We can’t blame them – there was a lot of talking!

Next Entries: Day Three / Day Four.

If you would like to contribute to our work with the Fort Peck Tribes, click here.

We’ve just returned from an incredible journey to the Fort Peck Indian Reservation where we met with community members to talk about their vision for the new homes we will design and build on their land.

An essential part of any Make It Right project is community design meetings. We believe that before our architects can begin their work creating a home, they need to hear from the people who will live there. Their needs, their dreams, their vision for their community is essential to our design process. 

To support our work on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, click here.

Read Day Two
Read Day Three
Read Day Four

Day One Diary

Our design team for this project arrives from around the country and includes Make It Right staff, architects from Architecture for Humanity, Graft, Living Homes, Method Homes, Sustainable Native Communities Collaborative and William McDonough + Partners and low-income homeownership experts from Neighborworks America.

Touring the Fort Peck Reservation neighborhoods in Poplar, Montana, we are immediately struck by the poverty and the need for healthy homes. Some people live in shoddy, substandard public housing. Others live in trailers with tires piled on top to hold the roof down in high winds.

Hundreds of people are on a waiting list for the poor quality homes that exist. We hear stories from people who have nine families living in a five bedroom home and take “sleeping shifts” to share the limited beds. Most homes are smaller, one or two bedrooms. We meet a woman who shares a two bedroom home with her elderly mother and her brother’s family  - she and her three children sleep on the floor in the living room.

Housing is not the only need on the Fort Peck Reservation. Poverty, unemployment and substance abuse make life bleak for families.

The Washington Post described the dire situation in Fort Peck earlier this year:

The unemployment rate is more than 50 percent, and problems with alcohol and methamphetamines are widespread, according to tribal leaders. About three of every four children live in poverty. At the high school on any given day, only about half the students show up, said Principal Rayna Neumiller-Hartz.

Stray dogs wander the streets of Poplar, the government seat, which has a few tiny markets, a bar and several gas stations. The streets are littered with the charred remains of buildings because there is no money to clear away debris after a fire.

The struggles of Fort Peck drew national attention three years ago after five middle schoolers committed suicide and 20 others tried to. Tribal leaders declared an emergency, congressional hearings were held and mental health services were beefed up.

“A lot of bad things happen on the rez,” said Ashlee Whitman, 15, who went to live with an aunt after her mother committed suicide and dreams of escaping by joining the military. “When people get bored here from watching TV, they smoke weed or get drunk. There’s nothing to do here.”

Next Entry: Fort Peck Diary Day Two – A Vision for New Homes.

If you would like to contribute to our work with the Fort Peck Tribes, click here.

Read Day Two
Read Day Three
Read Day Four

Make It Right and Native American Tribes Announce Sustainable Housing Project

May 28, 2013 – Today Make It Right announced that it will partner with the Sioux and Assiniboine tribes of Fort Peck, Montana to build sustainable homes on their reservation. Make It Right will build 20 Cradle to Cradle-inspired, LEED Platinum homes for tribe members in need of housing.  Make It Right also committed to develop a sustainable master plan for the entire reservation, which covers thousands of acres and is home to almost 7,000 Native Americans.

“We are excited to begin work with the Fort Peck Reservation, a community that shares our vision and values,” said Tom Darden, Executive Director, Make It Right. “We are taking what we’ve learned about designing affordable, sustainable homes and buildings and sharing it with communities in need across the country, from Newark to Kansas City and now Fort Peck.”

Last year, tribe leaders invited Make It Right staff to visit the reservation and discuss their housing needs. Currently, hundreds of families are waiting for housing. Overcrowding is a chronic problem on the Fort Peck Reservation where multiple families commonly live together in two bedroom homes.

“As a sovereign nation, the Tribes of the Fort Peck Reservation are strongest when we develop a future that reflects our distinct culture and proud history of land stewardship,” said Stoney Anketell, Fort Peck Tribal Councilman. “Our vision of the future is to have tribal communities that are healthy and sustainable. We could not be more pleased with our partnership with Make It Right, Integrated Solutions and the Tribes of Fort Peck.”

Make It Right’s work on the Fort Peck Reservation will begin in June 2013 with community-driven design meetings. Tribal leaders and future homeowners will meet with Make It Right’s architects and designers to discuss housing needs and vision for their new neighborhood. Design work will be completed in September and construction is scheduled to begin in March 2014.

The solar and geothermal powered homes will have 3-4 bedrooms and 2-3 bathrooms and be available to tribe members whose income levels are at or below 60% of the Area Median Income. A percentage of the homes will be dedicated to senior adult and disabled veteran housing. Homeownership will be structured through a Low Income Housing Tax Credit Rent-to-Own program with ownership transferring to the tenant after 15 years of renting.

Support our work providing healthy homes for families in need.

About Make It Right:
Founded by Brad Pitt, Make It Right builds healthy homes, buildings and communities for people in need. All Make It Right projects are LEED Platinum certified and Cradle to Cradle-inspired – meeting the highest standards of green building. In addition to continuing its work rebuilding New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward, Make It Right is also building homes and a community complex in Kansas City, Missouri and completed a 56-unit apartment building for disabled veterans in Newark, New Jersey in 2012. 

Questions? Contact Taylor Royle at troyle@makeitright.org

UPDATED: Read our trip diary from community design meetings on the Fort Peck Reservation.
Day One – Staggering Need
Day Two – A Vision for New Homes
Day Three - Planning for the Future, Preserving the Past
Day Four – Reflections

Make It Right’s team has been meeting with Fort Peck leaders in Montana over the last few months and we are excited to be working with the tribal leaders to develop the Sustainable Elders Village on their reservation.

When working with a new community like the Fort Peck Reservation, Make It Right engages the community in a collaborative design process. We believe that the most creative design solutions are the result of an open exchange of ideas involving all project stakeholders from the outset. 

The Fort Peck Reservation has a clear vision for the Sustainable Elder’s Village. Here are the baseline design principles that emerged from our early discussions with them:

1. Design buildings powered by the sun, wind, rivers and earth. Off the grid.

2. Define a community engagement process that encourages native to native economic development.

3. Explore contemporary Native American Architectural Design principles.

4.  Design and build a carbon neutral, mixed-use development for tribal elders and residents.

5. Engage the local community in a extensive design process.

We’ll keep you updated on the progress of this exciting new project!