Housing Authority of the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma, Changing Face of Native American Housing

HOUSING AUTHORITY

of the

APACHE TRIBE

of

OKLAHOMA

A HOME AND A HOPE FOR EVERYONE

THE CHANGING FACE OF NATIVE AMERICAN HOUSING
PRE-20th CENTURY

In the 19th century and earlier, Native American people lived in dwellings made of native materials which suited their lifestyles, whether nomadic or more settled. Below are shown examples of the tepee common to many Plains Indian tribes, a grass house used by Wichita people, and a dwelling of wattle and daub construction, also found in this part of the country. As white settlers moved in, Indian families were restricted to allotments of land ranging from 80 to 160 acres. Farmhouses were often built of wood and stone by hand on these, as the native lifestyles changed to agricultural and adapted to the white man's requirements for him. In the early decades of the twentieth century, pioneer style "barn raisings" were often held with the help of relatives and neighboring white farmers.

**Plains Indian Tepee**

**Wichita Grass House**

**Wattle and Daub Dwellings**

MID-CENTURY URBAN AND SUBURBAN DWELLINGS

As Native American families moved into the towns and cities of the area in search of a living, the government began to provide them with housing of a different kind. Early urban homes were wood frame in construction, for the most part, resembling a farm house moved into town. With the advent of the automobile, early Indian homes were approved for carport, but not garages. When garages were approved, they often had no doors. These houses of the 1960's and 1970's show the approved garages with doors. Although of brick construction, they appear styled on the ranch house of the period, regardless of size.

MODERN HOMES BUILT BY THE
HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE APACHE TRIBE

Major changes have been made in recent decades, beginning with the departure from the ranch house style and the cracker boxes of mid-century. The homes provided by the Housing Authority of the Apache Tribe continue the trend toward individual style and increased options, as shown below, but return to a "neo-traditional" look appropriate to the countryside. They include such convenience features as parking areas in back, security alarms and landscaping, central heat and air, as well as more traditional front porches and bay windows. They are designed to bring the family back together in neighborhoods, in clean, safe, modern homes. Any race may apply for these homes and could receive one if the applicant meets the requirements.

More information on American Indian History, as well as a comprehensive list of links to other Native American Web sites, may be found at the site This Week in American Indian History.

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Last updated 8/27/98 by

HOUSING AUTHORITY of the APACHE TRIBE of OKLAHOMA

HOUSING AUTHORITY

of the

APACHE TRIBE

of

OKLAHOMA