A new approach to design: Learning at Laurentian infused with Indigenous values.

• Author: Kelly, Lindsay
• Position: Design-Build

With an interest in, and awareness of, Indigenous issues growing in Canada, the time is right to talk about how Indigenous values relate to architecture and design, says the director of the McEwen School of Architecture.

David Fortin, who took over as director of the Sudbury school on Jan. 1, said though it's a fairly young conversation in this country, Canadians are ready to have it.

"We're much more aware of our relationship with Indigenous communities in this country, and I think that's growing right now, and the population is growing as well," said Fortin, who identifies as Metis.

"I think many Canadians recognize that there's been a neglect of the rich cultures that are there, and people Eire genuinely, in a good way, wanting to see more of that, make that more visible, and so architecture's one way of doing that."

It's significant, he said, that there are currently just 16 registered Indigenous architects in all of Canada, even though Indigenous peoples make up 4.9 per cent of Canada's population, leaving them grossly underrepresented in the industry.

Three of them--Fortin, Patrick Stewart and Eladia Smoke--are faculty members at the Laurentian University school, and they additionally sit on the Royal Architecture Institute of Canada's Indigenous Task Force, which was launched in 2016 with the aim of promoting Indigenous design in Canada.

Each Indigenous community is unique in its values, but a theme common to many is that objects, including buildings, are considered sacred and infused with meaning. Sacredness of place, the way certain materials are used, ceremony, and the relationship to landscape are all important in traditional Indigenous building practices, Fortin noted.

Yet, when the Indian Act came into effect in 1876, the federal government took over construction of on-reserve buildings, most of which are generic boxes that have no special meaning to the people for which they're built.

"If you just pop a building on there, it's going to have no more value to the community than a Coke can," Fortin said. "That's why the architecture's failed."

That long history of colonial rule over Indigenous peoples, which prevented them from observing their customs, speaking their language, or building with traditional methods, means that there is now a huge gap in history where Indigenous architecture "just didn't happen," he added. Many communities are just now rediscovering and redefining what Indigenous design signifies --even to them.

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