An Indigenous-led Duluth nonprofit has nearly finished a more than $2 million project to expand the region’s only culturally specific domestic violence emergency shelter.

The American Indian Community Housing Organization, or AICHO, was founded 30 years ago in Duluth to provide transitional housing and a shelter for women and children fleeing violence.

Dabinoo’igan, which translates to “a place you are safe, sheltered and comforted” in the Ojibwe, or Anishinaabe language, was one of the first programs AICHO created. It’s a 10-bed emergency shelter for victims of physical and sexual violence, trafficking and stalking who need immediate shelter.

Women and children can stay up to 30 days and receive a variety of services, from help finding housing, to legal services and financial assistance.

Now, AICHO is close to completing an expansion that will increase the number of beds from 10 to 23. This week AICHO received a $90,000 grant from Duluth’s Ordean Foundation to help finish the project.

“Dabinoo’Igan carries a long legacy of providing basic needs, including safety and a place to be strengthened through indigenous worldview and in cultural practices,” said AICHO Executive Director LeAnn Littlewolf.

“Using an Indigenous culturally specific approach means that we operate from core cultural values and we embed cultural practices within our program and services to serve any victim survivor who is in need of immediate safety, shelter and resources.”

Littlewolf said construction of the shelter, at an undisclosed location, is underway and nearly complete.

AICHO Board Chair Mary Owen, a Native American physician and associate dean of Native health at the University of Minnesota Medical School in Duluth, said she often preaches the importance of Native-led efforts like the Dabinoo’igan shelter.

“We have to show them the research that shows how much more Indigenous-led efforts improve our health care than any other efforts,” Owen said.

Ordean Foundation Executive Director, and former Duluth mayor Don Ness thanked the AICHO staff, which provides 24/7 support and services to people staying in the shelter.

“Dollars are needed to support this important work. But what’s really important are the folks on the front line, the folks that are working with those in need in our community, folks like our partners at AICHO who are invested on a daily basis into the lives of residents in our community who desperately need their support.”

In addition to offering a range of housing services, AICHO also operates an art gallery, an indigenous food market, and runs other programs focusing on cultural resiliency, social enterprise and youth services.