The words tiny house means different things to different people, however, in Canada, a group of indigenous people is planning to protect their ancestral land with tiny homes from big oil.
Three years ago, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau committed to expanding the Trans Mountain pipeline. Unfortunately, indigenous communities strongly feel that the project threatens their sacred land. A group of activists called Tiny House Warriors put the construction on pause, they place eco-friendly homes on wheels along the pathway of the pipeline.
The female coalition sees tiny houses as symbolic tools for retaining what is rightfully theirs.
“This isn’t picketing and marching through the streets,” says Tiny House Warrior leader Kanahus Manuel, a Secwepemc land defender. “We are asserting our inherent, God-given right to our lands. We’re defending what’s ours, and tiny homes are how we’re doing it.”
IINY HOUSE WARRIORS / FACEBOOK (All homes are solar-powered and fossil fuel free)
The tiny homes have an indoor composting toilet, wood-burning stove, solar-powered and fossil fuel free. The homes have a mural on the outside which depicts indigenous culture. Manuel said the land was never given to Canada. The pipeline cuts through the Secwepemc Territory’s sacred sites and fasting grounds.
Manuel first saw the tiny homes as a conduit for the social injustice against the Dakota Access pipeline at Standing Rock back in 2016. It started when a group of indigenous women built a small structure on wheels while participating in the movement. The houses, for now, are being wheeled to the border of the Trans Mountain pipeline. The oil industry leads to increases in violence against indigenous women.
Blocking the camp’s frontlines with tiny homes is a way to assert jurisdiction over the land said Manuel.
“This isn’t some trend or fad for us,” Manuel says. “Tiny houses have potential to be so much more than that. We’re here for the long run to fight for our lands.”
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Tiny Houses Are Saving Indigenous Women’s Land
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The words tiny house means different things to different people, however, in Canada, a group of indigenous people is planning to protect their ancestral land with tiny homes from big oil.
Three years ago, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau committed to expanding the Trans Mountain pipeline. Unfortunately, indigenous communities strongly feel that the project threatens their sacred land. A group of activists called Tiny House Warriors put the construction on pause, they place eco-friendly homes on wheels along the pathway of the pipeline.
The female coalition sees tiny houses as symbolic tools for retaining what is rightfully theirs.
“This isn’t picketing and marching through the streets,” says Tiny House Warrior leader Kanahus Manuel, a Secwepemc land defender. “We are asserting our inherent, God-given right to our lands. We’re defending what’s ours, and tiny homes are how we’re doing it.”
IINY HOUSE WARRIORS / FACEBOOK (All homes are solar-powered and fossil fuel free)
The tiny homes have an indoor composting toilet, wood-burning stove, solar-powered and fossil fuel free. The homes have a mural on the outside which depicts indigenous culture. Manuel said the land was never given to Canada. The pipeline cuts through the Secwepemc Territory’s sacred sites and fasting grounds.
Manuel first saw the tiny homes as a conduit for the social injustice against the Dakota Access pipeline at Standing Rock back in 2016. It started when a group of indigenous women built a small structure on wheels while participating in the movement. The houses, for now, are being wheeled to the border of the Trans Mountain pipeline. The oil industry leads to increases in violence against indigenous women.
Blocking the camp’s frontlines with tiny homes is a way to assert jurisdiction over the land said Manuel.
“This isn’t some trend or fad for us,” Manuel says. “Tiny houses have potential to be so much more than that. We’re here for the long run to fight for our lands.”