"Heritage" Constructions and Indigeneity: Considering Indigenous Cultural Centre Design in Canada
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There is an implied collective sense of place, celebration, and assertion within the terminology of an “indigenous cultural centre.” The location of such an “indigenous” centre further suggests traditional territories and cultures predating European influence and colonialism. Yet, what is unique about the idea of a Métis Cultural Centre is that the Métis emerged post-European contact and its “centredness” is thus arguably linked to both the traditional lands and histories of its indigenous...
What is indigenous architecture? Who is allowed to make indigenous buildings? What role do “traditional” forms play in the development of modern indigenous architecture? These questions, and many others framing the discourse of modern indigenous design are very difficult to pin down with a binary solution: there is no right/wrong, yes/no, black/white. Like many indigenous cultures, the answers are multi-faceted. They branch off, transform, or present themselves in different ways simultaneo...
Increasingly, indigenous communities are choosing to showcase tradition and culture within prominent and cutting-edge planning and architectural designs. These designs at once include programming of space that aims to showcase local culture for the viewer, often within a museum, cultural centre, learning institution or contemplative space, all-the-while using the architecture itself as a way of pronouncing the same community’s aims at maintaining its traditions and culture in the broader s...