Each year American Indians perish due to overcrowded substandard housing conditions. The American Indian Housing Initiative is an effort between Penn State and its partners to restore a culture of self-sufficient housing in American Indian Tribes. Educational programs and technologies that promote resource-efficient and regionally-appropriate housing solutions are explored through courses and research.

Goals

1. Introduce volunteer friendly and sustainable building methods in American Indian Communities in support of community-built housing program.
2. Provide culturally enriching and applied experiences for students in various disciplines including engineering, architecture, and landscape architecture.
3. Conduct research that helps to demystify and refine resource-efficient and regionally-appropriate building methods.

Courses
Course for students in various disciplines combine an exploration of American Indian culture with research on sustainable building methods. Two courses support this effort:

• AE 297H / 497H (Spring) - Sustainable American Indian Housing
• AE 597 (Fall) - Sustainable Building Methods

Research
Collaborative research examines the technical properties of sustainable building methods and their applications to address housing problems. Research topics include:

• Load-Bearing Strawbale Technology
• Community-Built Housing Methods
• Sustainable Communities