WATSON LAKE, Yukon – Sharing an ice cream carton, workers erecting houses
for the Liard First Nation took shelter inside a construction shed from an
unusually hot summer day.

This rest break allowed them to reflect upon how this construction program
has improved their skills and their chances for employment.

“I’ve learned lots about log building,” said Charlie Dickson, a two-year
member in the program. “I’ve learned how to scribe, about tree selection
and how to pick up the logs.”

In another corner of the tool storage building, apprentice Robin Bayne
mentioned the intrinsic benefits of woodworking in the construction field.
“This is basically carving. There’s a lot of math but once you learn that,
it’s art,” he said.

Armed with the freedom to spend additional money from the federal
government, the Liard First Nation has initiated a labor program that
offers additional spin-offs than just buying new homes. Instead of
purchasing pre-fabricated houses to be shipped to its lands-set-aside,
LSAs, (in the Yukon, Native-populated areas that are still in treaty
negotiations are referred to as LSAs, not reserves) the band decided to
construct its own properties using logs.

More than 1,000 members are affiliated with the Liards, about half of them
living on tribal lands. However, with only 136 homes, the First Nation is
experiencing its own housing shortages and inadequate facilities on par
with most of Indian country.

Family unit sizes are rising and they are often crammed into one-bedroom
residences not much larger than a two-car garage. Some of Liard’s area
contains 30-year-old homes that were transferred from a closed mining town
but their foundations are crumbling from the inside and out.

Band housing manager Fran Fildey summarized the crisis she has to manage on
a daily basis.

“If they gave me money for 25 houses, I’d have them contracted right away
(she pointed to a map of forested lands). I’d clear this whole
sub-division,” said Fildey with a sense of urgency.

Relief came a couple of years ago when the federal department of Indian and
Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) offered a one-time payment of $620,000
(Cdn.) under the New Housing Initiative (NHI). Coupled with another
$200,000 from other programs, Fildey has some flexibility in deciding how
to purchase, or in this instance, build residences.

Previously housing money allocated to the Liard First Nation (and other
bands) was on an annual basis but the instructions on how to spend these
funds were very specific, almost rigid. With $63,500 per home, Fildey
mentioned that any prefabricated home that could be bought for that amount
was small, and while possibly enough for a married couple, the house would
be cramped for any children.

While ordering one or two prefab homes per year, the band is using some of
this new money to start a course for building log houses. Meeting the needs
for new and larger dwellings, houses are 1,088-square-feet, the course
offers immediate employment and the benefits of gaining valuable experience
in a remote area where construction work is limited.

“We’re giving our members the training to learn the skills for
manufacturing a log home from cutting the trees down to driving the last
nail into the roof,” Fildey said.

She pointed out those like Charlie Dickson who’ve had two years of training
are already building their own cabins along the trapline. These skills are
also transferable because in the bordering province of British Columbia log
building is a recognized trade.

The instructor for the log-building program is Dan Reams from the
neighboring town of Watson Lake. He stated how eight years ago the band
tried a similar plan but those efforts were never completed.

“Liard First Nation getting the New Housing Initiative was an indication of
a renewed trust in the leadership with INAC,” Reams said. “This gives the
First Nation the freedom to make their own decisions to spend on homes and
they’re not restricted.”

In 2003, five log homes were built including two at a nearby town in B.C.
and this year two more houses are being prepared for the LSA itself. Fildey
acknowledges having this training costs more but the effort is worth the
expense.

“Yes, we could have used all of this (NHI) money for pre-fab homes but we’d
get nothing out of it,” she said.

Besides, the spruce logs themselves were free as the timber was salvaged
from a territorial program that harvested healthy trees for fire
prevention. And, for all of the tangible benefits of employment, log homes
just look better.

“This is a better home because it will last longer as it’s sturdier and it
looks better than vinyl siding,” another student, Joe Dick said.