Re-contextualizing the architectural learning experience: an alternative perspective (part v)

Abstract

Canadian Indigenous students struggle to situate their cultural knowledge withina Eurocentric academy, in part because indigenous ways of knowing are informed by a philosophy that is characterized by ‘interconnected' relationships rather than an isolated system of thought. In response to this division of minds, the most immediate and intuitive approach is to counteract this perception with a series of strategically placed discussions across a diverse cast of research actors with the intent to reconfigure and emerge with are newed sense of cultural understanding while escaping the nuances that strain Indigenous-Western relationships. Viewed as an act reciprocity this relates to architectural learning when one considers many of today's contemporary schools of architecture are desperately seeking to establish a restored balance between the complexities of architectural praxis; namely those that are engaging with complex social systems and where the profession is not only being pressured from afar but also from within to respond in creative ways that go beyond traditional means of Western research and conventional practice. Operating from an Indigenous paradigm, this presentation offers a set of ideological tools for analyzing non-Western cultures, which aim to diminish the risks and avoid the dangers of the misinterpretation of indigenous archetypes and their personal impressions. Another reason the discipline ought to remain open to an Indigenous paradigm, to raise questions of relevant research regarding the design of Indigenous communities that allow for young Indigenous people to contribute, help redefine, and bridge the critical discourse of architectural rhetoric in the 21st century. In turn, addresses the need for academia to take part in the preservation of Indigenous knowledge systems, thereby encouraging Laurentian University, Canada's newest School of Architecture in 35 years to facilitate an ethical middle ground (or space) for architectural learning that does not exclude an Indigenous worldview while helping to recontextualize Indigenous traditions.