Where they will put their heads down to sleep each night, whether that place is warm, healthy and safe, whether it is where they want to be, and whether it will be available and can be paid for the next night and the next month, are not worries that the majority of Canadians have. For some segments of the population however, such worries frame and plague their waking moments, and disturb or even destroy the restorative value of sleep which others take for granted. Aboriginal women constitute one of the segments most affected in this way.

Many socio-economic disadvantages such as those concerning housing are common to both Aboriginal women and men. However, in the experience of the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC), housing is one of the areas that particularly and disproportionately affects Aboriginal women, especially those with children. Immediate focus on and remediation of the Aboriginal housing crisis are required, with special attention to the needs of Aboriginal women for secure, affordable, non-discriminatory, culturally sensitive housing, in sufficient quantity and locations that respond appropriately to their situation.