Key takeaways:
- Jason Johnson states he’s one of just a few Indigenous realtors.
- Jason Johnson, a member of the Piikani Nation, states that when he got his real estate license in 2021, he saw he was one of only a few Indigenous agents in the region.
An Indigenous real estate broker says that when it comes to house owners in Alberta, there is a distinction between the number of Indigenous and non-Indigenous customers.
He wants to reverse that.
Jason Johnson, a member of the Piikani Nation, states that when he got his real estate license in 2021, he saw he was one of just a few Indigenous brokers in the region.
Looking into Indigenous house ownership even distant, he says there are obstacles facing Indigenous homebuyers.
“There’s some racial profiling that several of our residents have emphasized … in a system with a rental home, ‘I feel stigmatized,'” he stated.
He says some brokers become intolerant of their buyers, who take a little longer to choose.
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“It takes time, particularly if you’re Indigenous, with all the baggage, problems, doubt, disbelief, and hurt.”
Johnson is hosting an info session for Indigenous people curious about purchasing real estate this month.
“There appears to be a need there with our people … the concept of ‘maybe I could purchase my own house’ maybe never donned on folks but was always there.”
“If I can help someone else do that, I think it’s going to make all the distinction in the world,” he said.
Calgary activist and podcaster Michelle Robinson, who is Sahtu Dene, says Johnson is delivering significant representation.
“I expect that other Indigenous folks see him and say, ‘hey, I want to do that, too,’ because again, this is why we speak about representation points.”
Source – CBC News
