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We are Indigenous |
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The American Indian Community Housing Organization (AICHO) transforms oppression into opportunity. Created in 1993, AICHO started in a parking lot outside a social service agency with a conversation between Native community members, who asked why our community had no resources, no community spaces and no services that met our cultural needs. AICHO was created as an Indigenous response to social conditions in Duluth, MN, powered by the urban Native American community.
Our leaders continue to be Indigenous women. AICHO started with basic needs - shelter, housing, support - and this resulted in ongoing work to change systems. The issues are real: the impact of violence, housing and economic inequity, historical trauma and racism. AICHO provides a continuum of community action, housing options, and support services. Our goal is to respond to crisis while laying the path for long-term stability and our vision is to rebuild our Indigenous community.
Our leaders continue to be Indigenous women. AICHO started with basic needs - shelter, housing, support - and this resulted in ongoing work to change systems. The issues are real: the impact of violence, housing and economic inequity, historical trauma and racism. AICHO provides a continuum of community action, housing options, and support services. Our goal is to respond to crisis while laying the path for long-term stability and our vision is to rebuild our Indigenous community.
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We started with nothing. Today, we offer an American Indian Community Center, 44 units of permanent supportive housing, a domestic violence emergency shelter, legal advocacy, a climate and cultural resiliency initiative, social enterprise activities, youth programming and an arts and culture initiative. All of our work is anchored in our mission to honor the resiliency of Indigenous people by strengthening communities and centering Indigenous values in all aspects of our work. Our philosophy is that every American Indian person deserves to live in non-violent and non-threatening environment and has the right to be treated with dignity and respect.
To understand our community, historical context is necessary. Duluth is in the heart of Indigenous territory that was ceded and holds strong spiritual/cultural significance. While the land ceded in the treaty process built immense wealth for others, including many industries that propelled Minnesota to economic prosperity, the Indigenous community in Duluth is at ground zero with high poverty. Nearly 65% of Native Americans in Duluth are living at or below the poverty level, compared to 22% of the overall population. Native Americans comprise less than 3% of the city population and yet represent more than 30% in the Duluth homeless count. Indigenous women, who traditionally held key economic and decision-making positions, were hit hard by colonization and new gender norms that unbalanced our community power, weakening our overall economic/community viability. In Minnesota, 80% of American Indian mothers are the primary breadwinner in families (compared to 46% of white mothers); yet, American Indian women have the highest representation in poverty rates (37.1%) of all races. This context drives AICHO.
AICHO is changing the narrative in our community, by asserting our political and cultural ties to the land and forging a commitment to build sustainable, community-owned practices. AICHO is symbolic of a resurgence in Indigenous community and cultural power.
To understand our community, historical context is necessary. Duluth is in the heart of Indigenous territory that was ceded and holds strong spiritual/cultural significance. While the land ceded in the treaty process built immense wealth for others, including many industries that propelled Minnesota to economic prosperity, the Indigenous community in Duluth is at ground zero with high poverty. Nearly 65% of Native Americans in Duluth are living at or below the poverty level, compared to 22% of the overall population. Native Americans comprise less than 3% of the city population and yet represent more than 30% in the Duluth homeless count. Indigenous women, who traditionally held key economic and decision-making positions, were hit hard by colonization and new gender norms that unbalanced our community power, weakening our overall economic/community viability. In Minnesota, 80% of American Indian mothers are the primary breadwinner in families (compared to 46% of white mothers); yet, American Indian women have the highest representation in poverty rates (37.1%) of all races. This context drives AICHO.
AICHO is changing the narrative in our community, by asserting our political and cultural ties to the land and forging a commitment to build sustainable, community-owned practices. AICHO is symbolic of a resurgence in Indigenous community and cultural power.