You may have heard the acknowledgement that the Cambridge School of Architecture building and the main University of Waterloo campus sit within the Haldimand Tract treaty lands and the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabe, and Haudenosaunee peoples. Have you considered more deeply how this might affect and be meaningful to your work in architecture?
In Haudenosaunee culture the two-row wampum belt records the agreement of two distinct and autonomous peoples traveling along parallel paths:
…two parallel purple lines depict the Dutch on one side and the Haudenosaunee on the other. The entire belt represents an ever-flowing river in which the vessels of the two nations travel side by side. The parallel aspect of the two lines represents the idea that the two will never cross paths but will remain connected (by the three white rows of wampum that separate them) through the principles of peace, friendship, and mutual respect. In essence they agree to live as peaceful neighbours in a relationship of friendship…
Susan M. Hill, The Clay We Are Made Of
Two Row Wampum Renewal Campaign
Guided by the principles of the Two-Row Wampum, the Design Build Elective started at the School of Architecture in 2017 to participate in the broader discussion of place- and community-based design. By engaging with the cultural history of the Grand River Valley and the relationships to land, natural habitat, and heritage still practiced today by the Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee (Iroquoian) peoples, Design Build allows us to explore the role of architectural design and building in understanding, enhancing and strengthening our local community. Working together with the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation, this year’s course will culminate in the design and production of construction documents for two Pow Wow grounds open-air pavilions.
The Waterloo Architecture Design Build Program will be hosting a symposium this Friday to further engage in the topic of design-build with Indigenous communities.
BUILDING COMMON GROUND | Symposium
Design-Build with Indigenous Communities
Friday, February 2nd, 2018, 8:30AM – 6:00PM
Laurence Cummings Lecture Theatre, 7 Melville St. S., Cambridge
Organized by the University of Waterloo School of Architecture, the Building Common Ground Symposium features Indigenous and non-Indigenous educators and scholars, addressing issues of place making, acquisition of embodied knowledge through design and hands-on making, and Indigenous conceptions of space and narrative. Discussions will examine key questions of collaborative research, related to decolonization and reconciliation, that are central to the Waterloo Architecture Design Build Program, building connections between academic research and educational practice, through engagement with First Nations communities.
Speakers include William Woodworth / Raweno:kwas, Susan M. Hill, Richard Kroeker, Rick Hill, Kahentakeron Deer, Bonnie Freeman, and David O’Brien. Discussions moderated by Amy Smoke and Marco Polo.
Everyone is welcome.
Free registration: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/building-common-ground-symposium-tickets-42410095738
Event webpage: https://uwaterloo.ca/architecture/events/building-common-ground-symposium-design-build-indigenous
Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/327827807723506/
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