When "The REZ" Doesn't Have a Place for You

Last year wrecked a lot of the dreams I was trying to build.

After losing my auntie, everything became a domino effect: grief, family conflict, generational trauma, instability, losing my studio and constantly having to figure out where I would land next.

But housing instability isn't completely new to me.

When I moved back from Los Angeles, California, I was already dealing with periods of homelessness, sometimes living out of my car while moving between places in Southern California and the Bay Area. From 2017 to 2021, I eventually returned to the North Country and the New York portion of Akwesasne, hoping to rebuild and reconnect with home.

Now I find myself in another cycle of instability.

Coming home to Akwesasne has been difficult enough. Add homelessness, transportation barriers and limited housing support for single adults trying to rebuild, and it becomes even harder.

• 

  A studio I built while trying to create a sense of stability and a home for my art in Akwesasne.

• 

  Back in Los Angeles, standing in Indian Alley, a space known for its Indigenous murals and street ar

• 

  One of my early milestones in Los Angeles: vending at my first group exhibition with RAW Artists,

More recently, I've been bouncing around Cornwall, Ontario, staying with friends or acquaintances and trying to figure out where I will land next.

When there is nowhere safe to land in your own community, you are sometimes forced to leave again. That carries its own weight. You can start feeling disconnected from your community when all you want is a chance to belong, rebuild and have a stable place to live.

Right now, I'm living month to month and crashing on couches. I'm dealing with homelessness and all the uncertainty that comes with it.

You probably wouldn't know it by looking at me.

I still make art. I build my creative business. I create content. I learn. I keep moving forward and try to maintain a positive mindset while carrying a lot that people don't see.

I'm not sharing this because I have everything figured out.

I'm sharing it because I need help finding resources, connections and opportunities that could help me get back on stable ground.

If you know of housing resources, Indigenous community supports, artist resources, transportation assistance, employment opportunities or other connections that could help someone in my situation, I would genuinely appreciate hearing from you.

Give returning community members a safe place to land, and then see what we're capable of building.

If this resonates with you, follow me and stay connected to my journey. You can also support my work by visiting my website, following my social media, or purchasing my artwork through my online shops.

I'm still building.

I'm still creating.

And I'm still trying to find a place where I can finally build from something stable.

If you have a resource, connection or lead that could help, please reach out.

#Akwesasne #IndigenousArtist #IndigenousHousing #HousingJustice #TwoSpiritArtist