Second teepee erected for homeless Indigenous people

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This article was published 22/12/2019 (1832 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A second teepee was built over the weekend near the corner of Martha Street and Henry Avenue to offer shelter to homeless people.

Albert McLeod, of Two-Spirited People of Manitoba and a former volunteer with Thunderbird House, helped erect the structure less than 10 metres from an initial teepee that went up Dec. 15.

“The second teepee is creating a dignified environment for indigenous people who are outside in the winter for a variety of reasons,” McLeod said.

Ojibway elder Walter Richard gifted the second teepee to the homeless community in honour of his nephew, Matthew Allan Sutherland, who was killed on Oct. 31. The teepee is to be called Matthew’s Place, as Sutherland was homeless before he was killed, CBC reported.

The City of Winnipeg recognizes the teepees’ cultural importance and will not remove them at this time, said a spokesperson from the City’s Public Works department.

“The city is aware of the two teepees and are working to ensure the safety of all people in and around the structures,” the spokesperson said. “We recognize and respect the sacred nature of the teepee and ceremonial significance of activities within it.”

The spokesperson said that representatives from the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service will attend the site “to conduct community outreach, identify potential hazards and provide relevant fire safety information.”

McLeod said the idea of erecting teepees for the Indigenous homeless population started with a conversation about the inadequacy of makeshift structures that homeless people typically erect to survive outdoors in harsh winter weather.

“People are living in tents made for summer festivals and the huts built around the Manitoba Metis Federation were taken down for being seen as unsafe,” McLeod said.

Annie Ellis, a homeless woman who frequents the area, said this teepee is a beautiful gesture of the Christmas spirit.

“That’s awesome, especially around Christmas time. There are so many homeless people,” said Ellis. “I’m very happy to see that, I really am. I don’t care what anyone says. It’s still a home, a bed for people to sleep in.”

The ground around the teepees is littered with take-out food containers, water bottles and discarded clothing.

A woman who is living in a makeshift shelter across the street from the two-teepee camp said the teepees are being misused.

“I told them that’s a sacred area and if you’re going to put up that teepee you shouldn’t be using needles and drugs and abusing the space,” said the woman, who declined to give her name because she fears for her safety. She said people in the teepee camp are antagonistic and assaulted her when she approached them.

“Yesterday I went over just to grab some wood and I was attacked,” she said. She said her cigarettes, jacket and wallet were stolen.

McLeod said there are broader implications to the importance of the warming teepees.

“Indigenous people have been living in them for thousands of years on the prairies and have been kept warm,” he said. “Applying that historic technology, there is a science behind it. In 2019, why would that no longer be applicable?”

McLeod said that ultimately, the teepees symbolize reconciliation for the indigenous homeless community.

“This is about cultural affirmation and identity.” said McLeod. “We are on Treaty 1 and Treaty 2 areas, why wouldn’t Indigenous people use their own technology?”

city.desk@freepress.mb.ca