Evaluating Modular Strategies for Indigenous Community Development

As tribal nations pursue self-determination through culturally grounded educational models, responsibly developing housing supporting language immersion presents both opportunities and challenges. A Montana reservation collaborated with Lida Homes piloting multi-generational family clusters complementing a planned Salish language charter school campus. Researchers assessed design potentials fostering intergenerational cultural continuity.

The Arlee Project
Targeting 40 acres of woodland, planners allocated sites for 20 modular home clusters accommodating 3-4 extended family households. Interchangeable floorplans optimized 1-3 bedroom layouts flexibly reconfigurable through family life stages.

Design Elements
Open gathering spaces encouraged family interactions. Home office nooks supported telework/distance learning. Outdoor living incorporated traditional food/medicine gardens.

Campus Integration
Housing wrapped the school enhancing linguistic transmission beyond classrooms. Services coordinated transportation, daycare and afterschool programs supporting working families.

Preliminary Findings
Clustering facilitated extended family structure preservation critical to language survival. Flexible layouts adapted household structures over time. Proximity to school and services optimized cultural immersion through convenience.

Further evaluation of linguistic, academic and socioeconomic outcomes over multiple years remains ongoing to fully validate impacts. Continued cultural consultation ensures designs respect indigenous knowledges. However, preliminary indications demonstrate modular construction’s potential sensitively increasing housing supplies while sustaining community cohesion and native language vitality through innovative campus planning. With tribal self-governance, such approaches may advance innovative community development visioned and led by indigenous peoples.

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