NOTE: This investigative paper was written for DIDH330 - Canadian Architecture & Design at Yorkville University.
Figure 1. Douglas Cardinal’s St. Mary’s Catholic Church Design remains iconic via: University of Toronto
“(T)he study of vernacular architecture ‘seeks ways to use buildings as evidence in order to tell better versions of the human story.’”
In order to talk about Indigenous design post-colonization, one needs to set a context with how Indigenous culture and values informed design pre-colonization.
If research into existing documentation is to be believed, there once was a sense of identity and purpose to Indigenous design, then an awkward period of mismatched ideas between the native peoples and the colonizers, then nothing for decades until figures such as Douglas Cardinal came along and kickstarted a rebirth of Indigenous design. However, more digging shows that the period of nothingness was an intentional attempt to erase Indigenous ideas from the Canadian landscape. Native Canadians still existed and dreamed and designed but the colonizers used every tool at their disposal - policy, kidnapping, isolation, extortion, and genocide - to try to destroy these non-European ideas.
This paper explores the culture and lifestyles of the Plains Native Peoples of Turtle Island, letting the boundaries between Canada and the United States blur a bit to honour the Nations that flowed freely pre-colonization fully. That the Indigenous peoples of the plains region were, essentially, nomadic by nature factors into much of their own canon even though they are now, by and large, stationary.
The Plains Peoples
Figure 2. Indigenous North America Map - By User:Nikater - Wikicommons
The people of the Plains Nations roamed the Great Plains for at least 11,000 years prior to the arrival of European settlers. In Canada, this area is between the Rocky Mountains and Southwestern Manitoba with the upper boundary being around the North Saskatchewan River. In the US, the area extends all the way to South Texas and all the way East to the Mississippi River.
The Plains Nations in Canada include the Dakota, Stoney Nakoda, Cree, Tsuut’ina, Siksika, Piikani, Kainai, and Assiniboine. Post-colonization, intermarriages between Cree women and the settlers produced a new distinct people, the Métis.
Though intermarriage was not uncommon in other areas of Canada and significant Métis communities exist elsewhere, many cite the Plains as the physical, cultural and political home of the Métis people. (Brasser, 2019)
Figure 3. Blackfoot Tipis image by Edward Curtis via Artsmia
Due to the extreme seasons, the Plains People were largely nomadic, moving from camp to camp to follow the hunt and foraging. They used pack dogs (thought to be some of the first domesticated canines) to help them transport their materials and tools until the settlers brought horses.
Because of these migratory patterns, the homes they built needed to be lightweight and easily portable. They lived in tipis (thípi is Lakota for dwelling), constructed as a pine tree pole conical structure covered with buffalo hides. This wasn’t merely a shelter, however, the shape, materials, and setup were part of a sacred ritual:
For spiritual purposes, the tipi’s entrance faces the East and the back faces the West. This is to symbolize the rising and setting of the sun and the cardinal directions. The tipi’s poles stretch high into the sky as a connection with the Creator and are firmly planted on the ground as a connection to the Earth. Each pole has a specific meaning based on each of the essential moral values of the tribe (specific naming of poles varies from place to place). (Native Women's Association of Canada, n.d.)
In the TVO Documentary From Earth to Sky, David Yarlott, Crow Nation member and President of Little Big Horn College in Bozeman, Montana comments, "Traditionally plains tribes, when they set up their encampment, they set up the lodges in a crescent moon with the opening to the morning sun." (Chapman, 2021)
This deep-rooted spiritualism and connection to the earth would be the core of what the settlers would try to destroy as well as what kept the uniqueness of the Indigenous approach to design alive.
Post-colonization: “Beware of strangers bearing gifts”
When the European settlers arrived on the Plains in the 17th and 18th centuries, they brought horses, which the Indigenous people took to instantly, as well as disease and racist ideas. The advantage of the horse was not a good trade-off for all of the grief the settlers would bring.
First, they brought the fur trade (along with smallpox), moving the Plains people “away from a subsistence lifestyle towards one of trade and interdependence.” (Brasser, 2019) Then they infringed on their land, making them sign treaties to surrender large swaths of their territories for a pittance. Then they brought in the Gradual Civilization Act of 1857 and the Indian Act of 1876, which were meant to “do away with the tribal system and assimilate the Indian people in all respects with the other inhabitants of the Dominion as speedily as they are fit to change.” (John A. Macdonald, 1887) This legislation led the way for residential schools, outlawing Indigenous spiritual practices such as the Potlatch and Sundance, and generally tried to quash Indigenous culture.
However, the people were strong and held on. That was until the settlers (both in the US and Canada) systematically and intentionally took away their autonomy by destroying their main food source:
(T)he frontier army's well-calculated policy of destroying the buffalo in order to conquer the Plains Indians proved more effective than any other weapon in its arsenal...With the mainstay of their diet gone the Indians had no choice but to accept a servile fate on a reservation where they could subsist on government handouts...Crow Chief Plenty Coups described its impact to Frank Linderman: "When the buffalo went away the hearts of my people fell to the ground, and they could not lift them up again. After this, nothing happened. There was little singing anywhere." Sitting Bull summed up the results of the annihilation: "A cold wind blew across the prairie when the last buffalo fell-a death-wind for my people." (Smits, 1994)
Residential Schools: an architecture of intimidation
Once Indigenous people were stripped of nearly everything that made them strong and unique, they had no choice but to settle on the reserves in government housing while their children were taken away to be “civilized” in residential schools.
Figure 4. Screenshot from 27:49 of the documentary From Earth to Sky. Brian Porter and Matthew Hickey (Six Nations Architects) look up at the imposing Shingwauk Residential School in Sault Ste. Marie.
In the documentary From Earth to Sky, Six Nations architects Brian Porter and Matthew Hickey approach the Shingwauk Residential School in Sault Ste. Marie and have the following conversation:
Porter: To have something plunked down that’s so foreign, right?
Hickey: Three stories…steeple…
Porter: Can you imagine what the kids must have felt like coming from their small communities and having to be accommodated here?
Hickey: It’s like a monster!
Porter: A monstrous kind of building, eh?
Hickey: Totally. Architecture of intimidation. (Chapman, 2021)
Though Sault Ste. Marie is more situated in the Subarctic region of Indigenous peoples, the residential schools were of very similar construction. Without going into the myriad of horrors brought upon the Indigenous population by the residential school system, these massive buildings in the style of Western European Revivalist architecture were direct representations of the domineering colonizers, looking to bring “order” and “civility” to the native population:
For most white-settler Canadians, the visual language of historical architecture expressed 'civilizing' values. But for indigenous or un-enfranchised immigrant labour, and especially the Chinese brought in to complete the hazardous railway construction in the western region, the motifs derived from Greek and Roman or Romanesque and Gothic architecture were alien and part of oppressive policy. (Liscombe & Sabatino, 2016, p. 45)
To go from their familiar home - conical structures made from natural materials, connected to the earth at the base and the open sky above, their immediate family gathered around a warm fire in the center - to be alone in this large, cold, sharp-angled concrete mass of a building with locked doors and windows must have been completely terrifying.
Métis Folk Homes: the architecture of resistance
Figure 5. First Nations Church at Stoney Creek. Photo taken 1908 by Frank Swannell. Wikipedia
Figure 6. Qu'Appelle Industrial School in 1885. Parents camped outside the gate in order to visit their children. Wikipedia .
There are few images or records of architecture and design on the Prairie Nations reserves between 1876 and the mid-20th century. Most photographs that exist in the early 1900s continue to depict Prairie peoples as living in their vernacular tipis and tents. At the same time, the architecture of intimidation (churches and/or residential schools) loom in the background (Figures 5 + 6).
Figure 7. Metis folk house from Saskatchewan via Canada History
The Indigenous “disappearance” wasn’t an accident. The 1876 Indian Act restricted the mobility of the First Nations people severely. Individuals required a permission slip, signed by an “Indian Agent”, to leave the reserve. (Joseph, 2015) This lack of mobility for Indigenous people, coupled with the fact that “(F)ew Canadians ever set foot on a First Nations reserve” (Hutchins, 2018) meant that there was little media recorded over this period.
However, there are images and studies of Métis “Folk Houses” (Figure 7.) from this era likely due to the fact that the Indian Act didn’t cover Métis people and, instead of being isolated on reserves, settled amongst the colonizers or in non-legislated settlements, such as Batoche, Saskatchewan where they created unique dwellings that “married” (pun intended) multiple cultures:
Their exteriors are decidedly Georgian, with medium-pitched gable roofs and central doors with perfectly balanced window placements. But once you walk inside, they are decidedly non-Georgian: open communal space just like the Plains Indian tepee. (Chandler, 2016)
Just as the Métis are a blend of cultures, these dwellings, too, blend architectural motifs from French, English, Ukrainian, Ojibwa, Cree, Assiniboine and more.
Figure 8. Isometric drawing of a Folk Home of the St. Laurent Region by Jason Surkan via Metis Architect
David Fortin, a Métis architect, studied Métis architecture and documented his findings on his firm’s website as well as a dedicated research blog. He posits that the Indigenous design influences on the folk houses go beyond the open interior:
The folk homes of the region demonstrate this lasting connection to the landscape through their informal placement of the structures within the river lots, which preserves meaningful connections to the river as well as other landscape features, which were viewed as “organic systems with which to interact.” (Fortin, 2014)
He also points out that these houses “emphasize the role of the front porch in blurring the boundary between interior and exterior space,” and display “a unique tension between order and informality.” (Ibid.) The interior openness was “the ‘antithesis’ of the compartmentalized Victorian homes” in the area (Ibid.). It seemed almost as if the Métis put on a European settler façade to protect the Indigenous reality inside.
He concludes:
It is possible for an architecture of Métis resistance [emphasis mine] to persevere that celebrates the infinitely rich combination of regionally specific spatial and material traditions developed during the past centuries by Métis people. The folk houses discussed here represent one of many cultural traditions carried by regional knowledge holders that can help inform this resistance. Hunting cabins, smoke shacks, meat-drying racks, boat building, and other Métis artistic forms all hold tremendous potential to inspire meaningful designs that staunchly resist generic buildings motivated solely by standard detailing and profit margins, as well as, perhaps worse, those prioritizing international design intrigue over community pride and wellness. (Fortin & Surkan, 2017)
It’s striking, too, that the elements that are valued within the vernacular Indigenous Prairie people’s designs (open and flexible interior spaces, blurring of indoor/outdoor, use of natural materials, connection to the earth, asymmetry, sustainability, etc.) are also those that would become popularized as “Prairie Style” in the age of Modernization by Western architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright. So, who influenced who?
This is best explored when looking at modern examples of Indigenous architecture and the Indigenous architects who kept the traditions alive.
Contemporary Architecture (and Architects)
It wasn’t until changes to the Indian Act in 1961 that Indigenous people were even allowed to attend University or enter a profession. Doing so would lead to enfranchisement, which meant they would lose their status and any benefits that went with it.
“Until the 1970s, First Nations weren’t allowed to do any of their own buildings. The government did everything: built the housing, built the schools,” says Patrick Stewart (Luugigyoo), principal of his namesake firm, based in Chilliwack, B.C. The government’s goal was ultimately assimilation. “That hasn’t happened,” Stewart says. “Cultures have remained. Languages have survived… and are thriving.” (Viola, 2017)
As of April 7, 2022, there were only 20 Indigenous architects in Canada (Lewington, 2022) including the aforementioned David Fortin (Métis, Saskatchewan), Brian Porter (Six Nations, Ontario), Matthew Hickey (Six Nations, Ontario), Harriet Burdett-Moulton (Inuit/Métis, Labrador), Patrick Stewart (Nisga'a Nation, British Columbia), Wanda Dalla Costa (Saddle Lake First Nation, Alberta), Alfred Waugh (Denesuline Nation, Northwest Territories), David Thomas (Peguis First Nation, Manitoba), Tiffany Shaw-Collinge(Métis, Alberta), Ouri Scot (Tlicho Dene, Northwest Territories), Daniel Glenn (Crow Tribe), Michael Robertson (Cree, Manitoba), Shawn Bailey (Métis, Ontario), Eladia Smoke (Anishinaabekwe from Obishikokaang | Lac Seul First Nation, Ontario), Ryan Gorrie (Sand Point First Nation, Manitoba), Kelly Edzerza-Bapty (Tahltan Nation, Northern British Columbia/Athabasca), Jason Surkan (Métis, Saskatchewan), and the first Indigenous licensed architect on Turtle Island in 1963, Douglas Cardinal (Blackfoot, Alberta).
To note, Cardinal wasn’t subject to the limitations imposed by the Indian Act as neither of his parents was registered under any treaty. Though he identifies as Blackfoot with German ancestry, he has no official status. (Cardinal, 2015) Therefore, he was unimpeded from registering at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in 1953. His “Indigenous-ness” and radical notions of organic and natural architecture (and racism) led to his expulsion, however, and he ended up finishing his degree at the University of Texas at Austin in 1963. (Hall, 2014) He returned to Canada, where he designed the high-profile and radically different St. Mary’s Church in Red Deer. This earned him a lot of attention, which quickly turned political.
When word got around that an Indian was the architect, native people in Alberta asked for his help. Mr. Cardinal became a vocal advocate for Indian education and for involving native people in their own constructions. ''The average native was spending 3.4 years in school,'' he said. ''I realized the situation at home was far worse than the American South.''
But his growing political involvement took a toll. His marriage broke up, and the establishment became wary of him. ''One day I was a successful architect and the next day I was an Indian architect.'' (Brown, 1996)
With more architecture schools, such as the one at the University of Manitoba, creating Indigenous-centric content and student centers (Merasty et al., 2021), this is slowly changing, but centuries of holding Indigenous people back from contributing to the architecture of their homeland has made the change even more sluggish.
What is Indigenous architecture?
When asked the question “What is Indigenous architecture?” in an interview with University of Manitoba students, Elidia Smoke answered:
(Indigenous architecture is) any space that is used on Indigenous lands, which is every single piece of architecture. Some of it fulfills its role in Indigenous architecture better than others. However, we don’t actually have Indigenous people having a voice to the degree they should in our built environment. So all architecture in Canada should be Indigenous architecture, but all architecture in Canada is not. (Merasty et al., 2021, p.87-88)
It is not and the distinct absence of Indigenous architecture on Indigenous lands was the intentional outcome of every move the European settlers made. Only now, there are efforts beyond the Indigenous community to rectify this.
Many of the aforementioned Indigenous architects were chosen to participate in the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2018 and, subsequently, appeared in the TVO Documentary From Earth to Sky, which explored their work, how architecture is “catching up” to Indigenous thinking, and their path to participation in the Biennale. The filmmaker, Ron Chapman, asks the same question (What is Indigenous architecture?) to each of his subjects. Their answers vary but have definite themes: connection to nature, collaborative and inclusive processes, less about trends and more about honouring the culture of the client and creating nurturing environments. (Chapman, 2021)
These are all themes that are now quite popular in architectural and design practices, but they’re not trendy notions for Indigenous architects. These are part of their history and teachings that have been passed down through generations. As Wanda Dalla Costa explains:
We've had an interrupted architectural history. When we work with communities, we're going back to understand what's important to them with the forms from their communities. What's important in terms of materiality in these structures. What's important in terms of the sociocultural organization systems that we're connecting with. It's really vital in terms of articulating the sovereignty of this tribe.
Through architecture, there are so many powerful opportunities not just to create space but also, I think, to connect things within our culture that are vital, and for so long have been denied that we could practice. (Ibid)
Overcoming a new kind of colonization
Though Douglas Cardinal was preaching these values in the 1960s, now these ideas are de rigueur, so, once again, Indigenous voices are being silenced. There is a new colonization at play. In an interview in Voices of the Land: Indigenous Design and Planning from the Prairies, David Thomas puts this into words:
(I)f it comes from an Indigenous person that’s Indigenous architecture because it comes from that Indigenous worldview. But there has to be an understanding of the colonial view of architecture. In my experience, there’s a filter that all design goes through, which is largely a colonial system, which almost guts the creative work that an Indigenous architect would do, in a sense. (Merasty et al., 2021, p. 94)
That being said, Indigenous architecture is unique. Though it does incorporate contemporary technology, materials, innovations, and practices, it seeks to reconnect with the core values of Indigenous culture as well as celebrate the ingenuity of their vernacular architecture, which was suppressed for generations.
By blending the passed-down wisdom and ideas of their elders with the advancements present in the world today, they can reinterpret “the past with a contemporary material” such as Alfred Waugh describes as his execution of the structural/decorative exposed bow trusses used in the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre in Whistler, British Columbia.
Figure 9. Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre interior via: https://www.formline.ca/work/squamishculturalcentre
Though Waugh is Denesuline from the Subarctic region of Canada, his education at UBC established him in West Vancouver, where he works with many of the Pacific Northwest Coast Nations. The centre, built for both the Lil’wat nation and the Coast Salish nation, is a modern amalgamation of the two nations’ vernacular architectures: the large, wooden longhouse of the Coast Salish and the S7istken (“Ishkin”) circular underground pithouses of the Lil’wat. The key was to ensure that both nations had their cultural identities expressed in one beautiful structure. As Waugh explains “Indigenous architecture is a reconnection with the past (while) trying to express an identity of a people through a modern medium, which is, you know, 21st-century building materials.” (Chapman, 2021)
As he goes on to explain, his job is to listen to his First Nations clients to create something “inspired from (and embedded in) the culture of the people” while also “looking to the future.” (Ibid.) It’s this sense of honour and grounding in tradition while reaching forward into possibility and growth that, I believe, is a distinctly Indigenous approach to design.
There is something metaphorically nomadic about this notion. Unlike Western architecture, which is either about looking to the past (Classicism) OR abandoning old notions and speeding into the future (Modernism), Indigenous architects hold love for both ideas at once.
Like their nomadic ancestors, they respect the traditions and the teachings of their elders, who hand down all of the wisdom they need as a strong foundation, but have no qualms about uprooting everything to seek out new adventures and opportunities the land can offer. They know they need to embrace both in order to survive and thrive.
In an upcoming design for the Saskatoon Public Library that Waugh is collaborating on with two other firms, he draws on this ability to balance past, present and future as well as the bringing together of cultures in a meaningful way.
Figure 10. Saskatoon Public Library Rendering via: https://www.formline.ca/work/saskatoon-public-library
How I like to think of it is, somehow, bringing together Indigenous ways of knowing and Western knowledge. It’s a reconciliation in bringing both those worlds together. (Saskatoon Public Library [video], 2022)
Waugh goes on to describe the form’s connection to the Métis and Prairies Nations that inspired the design:
We were inspired, of course, by the iconic tipi of the Prairies, but we wanted to look at the qualities of the tipi - the conical shape, that it’s composed of lodge poles which are light wood. We wanted that sense of elegance and the slightly leaning façade of the building evokes the idea of the tipi, but it’s subtle. (Ibid)
Figure 11. Interior Saskatoon Public Library via https://www.formline.ca/work/saskatoon-public-library
The base, made of light bricks, harkens back to the brick-building roots of Saskatoon’s European settlers, the curving, basketweave patterned façade and tipi-inspired ventilation give a nod to the Prairie peoples, and the glulam wood timbers that line the interior invokes the Métis folk house. The building is also aiming for further inclusiveness with accessibility and LEED Gold certifications.
Conclusion
In his descriptions of the Saskatoon Public Library, Alfred Waugh invokes the word “Reconciliation” quite a lot. It seems that there is a lot of reconciliation taking place between the colonizers and Indigenous people in this country. As Fred Glover writes in a Canadian Encyclopedia entry, “The word reconciliation is used a lot in Canada.” (2023)
The government of Canada set up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission that ran from 2008 to 2015 to address the impacts of the residential school system, which led to a class-action settlement, but there are still more questions than answers and damage that was done that can never be undone.
Economically, Indigenous people were, literally, held back until the 1970s, and then held back for the next 50+ years by racist attitudes and stereotypes. The Idle No More movement in 2012 raised an incredible amount of awareness around the centuries of abuse Indigenous people have endured while the colonizers moved in and got rich.
However, if a full understanding and awareness of how our history has held down and devastated Indigenous communities were represented by the water filling an Olympic-sized pool, the non-Indigenous people of Canada would have only consumed a single drop.
Bob Joseph lists some “considerations that may contribute to understanding reconciliation” (2018) on his Indigenous Corporate Training site, including working toward solidarity, honouring treaties, letting go of negative stereotypes, learning about Indigenous history, respect for “Indigenous beliefs, cultures, traditions, worldviews, challenges, and goals,” and an opportunity to move forward. (Ibid) There is still so much work to be done and a lot of time to make up for.
While C.H.C. Write was setting up the first Department of Architecture at the University of Toronto in 1890, (Daniels, 2016) Indigenous people were being legally barred from designing and building their own dwellings, let alone able to dream of designing them for others. Therefore, European settlers instituted legislation that granted them more than a 70-year head start on architectural education alone. We are now 62 years beyond enfranchisement and finally starting to see progress, but parity will take much more time and…reconciliation.
So, what are the differences between Western and Indigenous architectural theory and philosophy? Western architecture and general ideology have been about domination for a long time. Dominating the natural world, other nations, and even mortality. Western colonizers came to Canada with the idea of dominating the land and the people who lived there. This was reflected in the architecture (large, imposing, bold, solid, permanent, and showy) and landscaping (controlled, tamed, meticulous). It wasn’t enough to just arrive and take up space, either. The level of domination required the annihilation of any sign or theory that there was another way to be in the world. Living side-by-side in harmony with Indigenous and Métis people wouldn’t cut it when dominion was the goal.
Indigenous design theory and philosophy were and are the opposite of dominion thinking. It’s about balancing, compromising, connecting, nurturing, learning, honouring, and reconciling.
Douglas Cardinal has an excellent graphic that explains the vast differences between the two world views on his website better than I could ever, so I’ll end with it (on the following page in order to be legible).
Though we failed to learn from the Native peoples of this country when we arrived, I hope that part of reconciliation means that we will stop talking and listen now.
Figure 12. Douglas Cardinal's World View comparison poster via: https://www.djcarchitect.com/assets/philosophy
Bibliography
Belshaw, J. D. (2016). 11.3 Natives by the Numbers. In Canadian History: Post-Confederation. Pressbooks.ca. https://opentextbc.ca/postconfederation/chapter/11-3-natives-by-the-numbers/
Boissoneault, L. (2017, October 23). How the 1867 Medicine Lodge Treaty Changed the Plains Indian Tribes Forever. Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-1867-medicine-lodge-treaty-changed-plains-indian-tribes-forever-180965357/
Brasser, T. J. (2019, March 28). Plains Indigenous Peoples in Canada. The Canadian Encyclopedia. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/aboriginal-people-plains
Brown, P. L. (1996, October 24). A Warrior Architect Wrestles His Demons (Archived). Archive.org; New York Times. https://web.archive.org/web/20170620134829/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/24/garden/a-warrior-architect-wrestles-his-demons.html
Burley, D. (2023). Creolization and Late Nineteenth Century Métis Vernacular Log Architecture on the South Saskatchewan River. Historical Archaeology, 34(3), 27–35. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25616829?seq=1
Burley, D. V., & Horsfall, G. A. (2009). Vernacular Houses and Farmsteads of the Canadian Metis. Journal of Cultural Geography, 10(1), 19–33. https://doi.org/10.1080/08873638909478452
Canadian Museum of History. (2019). UNCEDED – Voices of the Land. Historymuseum.ca. https://www.historymuseum.ca/unceded/
Cardinal, D. (2015, June 10). Conversations: Douglas Cardinal (D. Fortin, Interviewer) [Interview]. In The Métis Architect...(?). The Métis Architect...(?). https://metisarchitect.com/2015/06/10/interview-with-douglas-cardinal/
Cardinal, D., McMaster, G., & Fortin, D. (2017). UNCEDED: Voices of the Land. In Unceded.org (Venice, Italy). Architecture Biennale. https://www.unceded.org/
Casey, S. (2020). Evidence - HUMA (43-2) - No. 8 - House of Commons of Canada. Ourcommons.ca. https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/43-2/HUMA/meeting-8/evidence
Casey, S. (2021). Indigenous Housing: The direction home. In House of Commons Website. Speaker of the House of Commons. https://www.ourcommons.ca/Content/Committee/432/HUMA/Reports/RP11348049/humarp05/humarp05-e.pdf
Chandler, G. (2016, October 17). The Language of Métis Folk Houses - Canada’s History. Canadashistory.ca. https://www.canadashistory.ca/explore/arts-culture-society/the-language-of-metis-folk-houses
Chapman, R. (Ed.). (2021). From Earth to Sky [YouTube Video]. In TVO Today Docs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVMwo1jRdOw
Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. (2017). First Nations in Canada [ebook]. Rcaanc-Cirnac.gc.ca. https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1307460755710/1536862806124#chp2
Dalla Costa, W., Burdett-Moulton, H., Edzerza-Bapty, K., & Scott, O. (2018, June 13). Indigenous Perspectives on the Notions of Architecture (T. Shaw-Collinge, Interviewer) [Interview]. In THE SITE MAGAZINE. https://www.thesitemagazine.com/read/indigenous-perspectives
Daniels. (2016, May 27). History. Utoronto.ca; University of Toronto. https://www.daniels.utoronto.ca/about/history
Dixon, T. (2021, November 25). Historical Photos from the Siksika Nation. Calgary Guardian. https://calgaryguardian.com/historical-photos-siksika-nation/
Facing History & Ourselves. (2019, September 5). Historical Background: The Indian Act and the Indian Residential Schools. Facinghistory.org. https://www.facinghistory.org/en-ca/resource-library/historical-background-indian-act-indian-residential-schools
Feniak, J. (2021, June 22). A spotlight shines on Indigenous architecture in new documentary. Edmontonjournal; Edmonton Journal. https://edmontonjournal.com/entertainment/local-arts/a-spotlight-shines-on-indigenous-architecture-in-new-documentary
Formline Architecture + Urbanism. (2014). Our Work: Saskatoon Public Library. Formline.ca. https://www.formline.ca/work/saskatoon-public-library
Fortin, D. T. (2014). Métis Folk Homes [blog post]. David T Fortin Architect. https://www.davidtfortinarchitect.com/mtis-folk-homes
Fortin, D. T. (2015). The Assemblage of Kikino (“Our Home”): Métis Material Culture and Architectural Design in the Alberta Settlements. JSSAC, 40(2), 11–23. https://doi.org/1486-0872
Fortin, D., & Surkan, J. (2017, June 28). Towards an architecture of Métis resistance. THE SITE MAGAZINE. https://www.thesitemagazine.com/read/towards-an-architecture-of-mtis-resistance
Ganton, S., Lalor, A., & Paniz Moayeri. (2018). Treaty Lands, Global Stories: Designing an Inclusive Curriculum. Journal of the Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada / Le Journal de La Société Pour l’Étude de l’Architecture Au Canada , 43(2), 15–25. https://doi.org/10.7202/1058036ar
Glover, F. (2023, April 26). Reconciliation in Canada (Plain-Language Summary). Thecanadianencyclopedia.ca; The Canadian Encyclopedia. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/reconciliation-in-canada-plain-language-summary
Gore, S. (2022, November 30). Wanda Dalla Costa Is Laying Down the Groundwork for the Next Generation of Indigenous Architects. Architectural Digest; Architectural Digest. https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/wanda-dalla-costa-indigenous-architect-interview
Grant, M. (2021, September 30). “A war on Aboriginal children”: Alberta’s 25 residential schools. CBC. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/indigenous-residential-schools-trc-alberta-25-truth-reconciliation-1.6185579
Hall, J. (2014, May 9). The Outsider: How Douglas Cardinal Draws Genius from Native Roots. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada-s-douglas-cardinal-an-architect-s-legacy/article_7f30a01b-3fc5-5f3b-aa8c-a67be6bfbe63.html?
Hutchins, A. (2018, June 8). Few Canadians ever set foot on a First Nations reserve, and that’s a problem: exclusive poll. Macleans.ca. https://macleans.ca/news/canada/ever-visited-a-first-nations-reserve-probably-not/
Hyslop, K. (2018, May 9). How Canada Created a Crisis in Indigenous Child Welfare. The Tyee. https://thetyee.ca/News/2018/05/09/Canada-Crisis-Indignenous-Welfare/
Indigenous Foundation UBC. (2023). The Indian Act. Arts.ubc.ca. https://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/the_indian_act/#:~:text=While%20the%20Indian%20Act%20has,and%20Northern%20Development%20(DIAND).
Irwin, R. (2011, May 31). Reserves in Canada (Plain-Language Summary). Thecanadianencyclopedia.ca; The Canadian Encyclopedia. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/reserves-in-canada-plain-language-summary#
Johnson, R. (2018, May 23). Team of Indigenous architects represents Canada at 2018 Venice Biennale of Architecture. CBC. https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/venice-biennale-architecture-unceded-1.4675193
Joseph, B. (2015, June 2). 21 Things You May Not Have Known About the Indian Act. Ictinc.ca; Indigenous Corporate Training Inc. https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/21-things-you-may-not-have-known-about-the-indian-act
Joseph, B. (2018, August 16). What Reconciliation Is and What It Is Not. Ictinc.ca; Indigenous Corporate Training Inc. https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/what-reconciliation-is-and-what-it-is-not
Kennedy, P. (2018, June 21). One House Many Nations: Building sustainable homes to solve a national crisis. CBC Radio. https://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/one-house-many-nations-building-sustainable-homes-to-solve-a-national-crisis-1.4716181
LeMire, R. (2013). Organic architecture and Indigenous design tenets: Frank Lloyd Wright in relation to the work of Douglas Cardinal. Library.dal.ca, 38(2), 87–94. https://doi.org/1486-0872
Lewington, J. (2022, February 8). Indigenous architects design spaces for all. The Globe and Mail; The Globe and Mail. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/industry-news/property-report/article-indigenous-architects-make-their-mark-designing-spaces-for-all/#:~:text=Despite%20a%20growing%20profile%2C%20Indigenous,M%C3%A9tis%20registered%20professionals%20in%20Canada.
Lirette, D. (2022, July 3). Siksika Nation building new on-reserve continuing care centre with money from province. CBC. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/siksika-nation-on-reserve-continuing-care-centre-province-1.6508877
Liscombe, R. W., & Sabatino, M. (2016). Canada: Modern architectures in history. Reaktion Books.
Livesey, G. (2006, December). Return to Blackfoot Crossing. Alberta Views. https://albertaviews.ca/return-blackfoot-crossing/
McCullough, J. J. (2023, July 20). Indigenous People. The Canada Guide. https://thecanadaguide.com/basics/aboriginals/
McIntyre, K. (2013, February 11). Blackfoot Legacy. Canadashistory.ca; Canada’s History. https://www.canadashistory.ca/explore/travel/blackfoot-legacy
Merasty, R., Ratte, N., Desjarlais, D., & Theriault, D. (2021). Voices of the Land: Indigenous Design and Planning from the Prairies. Indigenous Design and Planning Students’ Association, University of Manitoba. https://umanitoba.ca/architecture/sites/architecture/files/2021-02/21-02-17-voices-of-the-land_final-for-digital-view.pdf
Millette, D. (2013). Re-Building Memories: On the Reconstruction of a “Traditional” Longhouse. JSSAC, 27(3-4), 47–50. https://doi.org/1486-0872
Millette, D. M. (2019, January 3). Indigenous Architecture in Canada: A Step Towards Reconciliation. National Trust for Canada. https://nationaltrustcanada.ca/online-stories/indigenous-architecture-in-canada-a-step-towards-reconciliation#:~:text=The%20intense%20inclusion%20of%20Indigenous,to%20direct%20community%20control%20over
Millette, D. M., & Oliver, A. (2012). The First Nation Architectural Landscape: Considering a Neglected Architectural History. Library.dal.ca, 37(1), 57–66. https://doi.org/1486-0872
Milosz, M. (2020, June 18). From the Archives: Indigenous Architectures - The Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada. The Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada. https://canada-architecture.org/from-the-archives-indigenous-architectures/
Native Women's Association of Canada. (n.d.). Cultural information. https://www.nwac.ca/assets-knowledge-centre/2013-NWAC-Tipi-Making-Instructions.pdf
Olsen, S., Merkel, G., & Black, K. (2021, April 12). The blueprint for systemic racism in First Nations’ housing. Policy Options. https://policyoptions.irpp.org/fr/magazines/april-2021/the-blueprint-for-systemic-racism-in-first-nations-housing/
Philosophy. (2021). Djcarchitect.com. https://www.djcarchitect.com/philosophy
Saskatoon Public Library. (2022). Saskatoon New Central Library Final Design [YouTube Video]. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHF_R7Ki1_4&t=57s
Sharpe, T. (2016, June 13). History of Indigenous housing - University of Victoria. UVic.ca. https://www.uvic.ca/news/topics/2016+indigenous-housing-canada-olsen+ring
Smits, D. D. (1994). The Frontier Army and the Destruction of the Buffalo: 1865-1883. The Western Historical Quarterly, 25(3), 313–338. https://doi.org/10.2307/971110
Steen, E., Wahpasiw, O., & Young, P. (2022, May 1). Ten Indigenous Designers. Canadian Architect. https://www.canadianarchitect.com/ten-indigenous-designers/
Sutherland, D. (2012, January 15). First Nations and Métis People of Red River Settlement (pre and post Confederation). Red River North Heritage. https://redrivernorthheritage.com/first-nations-and-metis-people-of-red-river-settlement/
TVO News. (2021, June 3). “From Earth to Sky” A TVO Original film by Ron Chapman. TVO.me. https://tvo.me/from-earth-to-sky-a-tvo-original-film-by-ron-chapman/
Viola, D. (2017, June 27). Canada 150: The Integral Role of Indigenous Architects. Azure Magazine. https://www.azuremagazine.com/article/indigenous-architects-canada/
Vocabulary.com. (n.d.). Tipi. In Vocabulary.com Dictionary. Retrieved July 27, 2023, from https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/tipi
Whetter, J. (2022, October 8). The true history of farming on the Prairies. The Narwhal; The Narwhal. https://thenarwhal.ca/indigenous-prairies-farming-history/