海角大神

Along a 5-mile stretch of Vancouver鈥檚 waterfront, where million-dollar homes enjoy views of ice-capped peaks and gleaming sky rises, three Indigenous-led housing projects are emerging in one of the world鈥檚 most competitive markets.

On one end, there鈥檚 lel蓹m虛 鈥� which means 鈥渉ome鈥� 鈥� where 1,200 units are organized around street signs written in English and the Musqueam language. On the other, the Squamish Nation is building Sen虛谩岣祑: 6,000 units in perhaps Vancouver鈥檚 most coveted 10 acres of undeveloped land.

And in the middle sits the biggest 鈥� and most controversial 鈥� of all: Jericho Lands, a 90-acre development led by the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations that will turn this low-density section of Vancouver into one of the most bustling.

When completed, the projects will provide bold visibility to Indigenous groups that have long gone unrecognized in cities across North America. But their leaders also recognize they aren鈥檛 just dabbling in real estate. They are reclaiming agency and space 鈥� and demonstrating new pathways to apply Indigenous knowledge on sustainability. That knowledge has been increasingly heralded as a solution to the climate crisis, and now valued as a better way forward for cities.

鈥淲e have a voice; we鈥檙e present now,鈥� says Wilson Williams, elected councilor for the Squamish Nation, at a community center on their reserve on the north shore of Vancouver. 鈥淲e鈥檝e become leaders today in regards to the challenges we鈥檙e facing, [like] the major housing crisis in Vancouver.鈥�

鈥淲e鈥檙e no longer out of sight, out of mind in our own village,鈥� he says.

鈥淭aking back their land鈥�

The initiatives frame a stark juxtaposition. British Columbia鈥檚 Indigenous peoples saw centuries of dispossession as Europeans resettled them onto reserve lands mostly outside present-day Vancouver.

The Sen虛谩岣祑 location, for example, is 鈥渢he most heartbreaking land that was taken from our people,鈥� says Mr. Williams. On the edge of the waterfront, this meeting place where beaver and salmon abounded was slowly expropriated amid construction of railways and increasing industrialization until the Squamish were put on a barge in 1913 and sent to existing reserves.

Since the 1970s, the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh have variously been engaged in negotiations and lawsuits to reclaim reserve land illegally expropriated by the Canadian government. Sen虛谩岣祑 sits on land returned to the Squamish in 2003. The three nations, acting in partnership as the MST Development Corp., and the developer Canada Lands collectively acquired Jericho Lands in 2014.

鈥淭here definitely has been a rise in nations taking back their land,鈥� says Maggie Low, a professor of Indigenous planning at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

As developers, the Indigenous groups see an economic and social opportunity to address one of the city鈥檚 most pressing needs: a lack of viable housing. In September, one estimate found that by 2030, at its current pace of development, British Columbia will be 610,000 units of housing short of what would have been considered affordable a decade ago.

Both Sen虛谩岣祑 and Jericho Lands will be significantly taller and denser聽鈥� their biggest towers at 59 and 49 stories respectively 鈥� than the surrounding neighborhoods of mostly single-family homes. Together with Heather Lands, another collaboration between MST and Canada Lands, the projects on the rise are slated to add more than 18,000 homes, including thousands of social and affordable units, to Vancouver鈥檚 housing stock.

A sixth of Sen虛谩岣祑鈥檚 6,000 units will be earmarked affordable. Of those, 240 will be set aside for members of the Squamish Nation. And between social housing and below-market units, 30% of the units at Jericho Lands will be designated affordable.

But the benefits extend well beyond housing, says Chief Jen Thomas of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also a great economic opportunity for our member-owned businesses,鈥� she explains. 鈥淲e have plumbers; we have cleaners. We have drywall companies. So they鈥檙e going to have procurement opportunities to work on all of these projects.鈥�

Through the projects, the city sees a concrete way to advance its priorities on Reconciliation, the Canadian concept that frames the modern relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. Vancouver鈥檚 government has been working closely with the First Nations and their co-developers on bringing the projects through the approval process, says Matt Shillito, the city of Vancouver鈥檚 acting director of planning.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been looking at less traditional ways to approach a project,鈥� Mr. Shillito says of Jericho Lands, 鈥渂eing more flexible in our typical city policies and bylaws, listening to the nations and their objectives for the importance of the site.鈥�

The spirit of the longhouse

As developers of the largest projects currently underway in Vancouver, the nations have seized an opportunity to imprint their values on the city.聽

Sen虛谩岣祑 is on track to become Canada鈥檚 largest residential property to achieve net-zero carbon emissions, with thermal energy systems that recover heat from sewer mains. It will provide just 1,000 parking spots for its 6,000 units.聽聽

Its 11 residential towers feature bold, rippling vertical axes, alluding to the area鈥檚 coastal forests, mountains, and Squamish longhouses 鈥� another nod to principles around maximizing community.聽

鈥淥ne of our values, actually, is the spirit of the longhouse, where if you want more people and more families to live in there, you just keep building out,鈥� says William George-Thomas, cultural manager for Tsleil-Waututh Nation. 鈥淣ow, however, that鈥檚 not a very modern concept. ... With all these skyscrapers and tall buildings, we鈥檙e turning it vertical.鈥�

Plans for Jericho Lands have been guided by a 鈥渟low, store, restore, flow鈥� approach to water conservation throughout the site, says Elisa Campbell, Canada Lands鈥� vice president for real estate. That means construction that works to replenish the watershed and offer spaces for 鈥渜uiet moments of spirituality鈥� by ponds and swales.

The new 鈥渘ontraditional鈥� library on the site will be styled as a 鈥渉ouse of learning,鈥� centering around oral history traditions rather than around the Western conception of 鈥渞eservoirs of books,鈥� Mr. Shillito says.

鈥淲e want to tell the story of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh people,鈥� says Mr. George-Thomas.

Building community?

The projects are not without opponents. Local groups such as the Jericho Coalition say the projects need to be smaller to mitigate environmental impacts, and that their societal impact is overblown.

鈥淩econciliation is being used as a way to paper over a kind of development greed and also the political need to show that they鈥檙e doing something about the housing crisis,鈥� says Susan Fisher, a member of the Jericho Coalition.

Still, MST鈥檚 development strategy in Vancouver has received significant attention globally. The developers have been fielding calls from other Indigenous groups from as far away as Australia and New Zealand on how they鈥檝e facilitated it, Ms. Campbell says.

They鈥檙e only getting started. MST currently oversees 160 acres of land in the Vancouver metro area. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to be part of the biggest Western developers across Canada within the next five, 10 years,鈥� Chief Thomas says.

And as the first towers rise to meet the Vancouver skyline, they could serve as a global lesson on coexistence moving forward.

The projects are 鈥渁ctually helping to create more of a sense of community and understanding,鈥� says Professor Low, 鈥渢hat we are all living on these lands, and there are ways to do that [that] support Indigenous sovereignty and that support the overall thriving of Vancouver, of British Columbia, of Canadian society.鈥�