MAYETTA — Like many members of her tribe, Dawn LeClere would like to live on the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation reservation, but there's no housing available for her.
After years of sharing space with her parents in their home, LeClere and her 4-year-old son, Jalen, moved into an apartment in nearby Holton in December.
Tribal councilman Rey Kitchkumme visits a new housing development recently at the Prairie Band Potawatomi Reservation near Mayetta. A lack of housing has resulted in a population decline on Kansas' three American-Indian reservations, according to officials.
But LeClere, 23, dreams of having her own place somewhere on the 121-square-mile reservation, closer to the family that's so important to her.
"I'm still part of everything in this community," she said. "I still feel this is my home. It's just temporary living in Holton."
For Prairie Band members, living on the reservation is as much about being among their own people as being on their own land.
"A lot of people were raised in Indian ways and they want to return and practice those ways with other people," said Rey Kitchkumme, tribal council member. "Here, they can be part of the community that practices those ways."
Efforts to expand
The reservation in Jackson County faces what the other three smaller reservations in northeast Kansas confront not enough housing for tribal members.
The 2000 census figures show that 518 American Indians live on the Prairie Band reservation. Tribal leaders say there are 850 members in Jackson County, 2,300 statewide and 5,000 nationally.
"It's a major problem, in that people who want to live here can't," Kitchkumme said. "But you make do. There's a high demand for housing out here."
The sense of family is so strong that two or three generations often live under the same roof. Also, until recently, many simply couldn't afford to strike out on their own.
But the tribe opened a casino in 1998, and the resulting revenue and jobs created by the expanded tribal economy have improved conditions for many. The other tribes also have casinos on their land generating income.
"The economics are better than four years ago," Kitchkumme said. "The number of people on the reservation was higher then, but it went down because of the prosperity."
Faced with lack of housing, many tribal members could afford to leave the reservation and moved to nearby Mayetta, Holton or Topeka.
Kitchkumme said there are 436 homes sites on the reservation, but tribal leaders are working to increase that number.
Already, a dozen three-bedroom houses are under construction on the reservation. But there's a waiting list of about 100 members who want a home on tribal land.
Kitchkumme said he would like to see different types of housing to cater to various income levels. He said the tribal council is surveying members to learn about their housing needs.
"This is really an important issue," he said. "Not only are we bringing housing for our members, but it also builds up the economic structure for the county."
The same story elsewhere
For other tribes in Kansas the Kickapoo, Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri and the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska the story is similar.
On the 30-square-mile Kickapoo reservation in Brown County, the census head count shows 714 American Indians. National tribal membership is 1,600.
"We have seen these casinos, and that has had a significant impact on opportunities for Native Americans to come back to the reservations," said John Kaul, Kickapoo housing director.
He said his office manages 86 houses on the reservation and another 100 are privately owned. Still, he said, 40 families are on his waiting list.
"We do have a housing shortage, absolutely," Kaul said, adding that there is a problem with inadequate housing, such as five people living in a two-bedroom house.
He said the Kickapoo are building another dozen homes, but noted that the reservation continues to face a water shortage.
"I am not even planning any more housing until we figure out what to do about the water-shortage problem," Kaul said.
Census figures show 40 American Indians living on the 25-square mile Sac and Fox reservation in Brown County and southeastern Nebraska.
Kirby Robidoux, tribal council vice chairman, disagreed with the figures. He said there are 500 enrolled members and estimated that 80 live on the reservation.
Don Bucky Pilcher, Sac and Fox Housing Board chairman, said the tribe has 49 houses 19 on tribal land and the rest off of the reservation. He said about 15 families are on his waiting list and tribal leaders are surveying members to determine how much more housing is needed.
"We have other tribes applying because they don't have housing on their reservations. We try to serve our people first," he said.
The Iowa Tribe reservation has 86 American Indians on the 48-square mile reservation in northeast Kansas and southeast Nebraska, according to census figures.
Tribal chairman Louis DeRoin said the census figures are too low, but declined to say what he thought the correct number is. He said his tribe has a housing shortage and built 10 homes last year, but he declined to discuss specifics.
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