“All the Indigenous architects and interns in Canada were invited to an Aboriginal task force meeting in Nanaimo with the goal of discussing how to create more sustainable Indigenous communities,” explains SAA President Ray Gosselin. “When we got together, which is great because we don’t get to do that often and we probably will now, one of the things we talked about was the educational component.”

This is a photo of Indigenous architects & interns from across Canada representing the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada’s Indigenous Task Force who met June 09, 2016 at the RAIC Festival of Architecture in Nanaimo to promote sustainable Indigenous communities
( Left to Right: Alfred Waugh Architect (Formline Architecture), Wanda Dalla Costa Architect, Associate Professor ( Arizona State University), Harriet E. Burdett-Moulton Architect (Stantec Architecture), Rachelle Lemieux (Stantec Architecture), Patrick Stewart, Associate Professor, (Laurentian University), Ouri Scott Intern (DIALOG), Eladia Smoke Architect (Architecture49), Jason Surkan Student (UBC), Ray GosselinArchitect(Ray Gosselin Architect Limited). Photo Credit: Patrick Stewart

Indigenous students need to be encouraged to consider architecture right from elementary school onwards, observed Gosselin.

Related: Architects appoint Gosselin as President

The president called the task force of Indigenous architects and interns at the Festival of Architecture in Nanaimo to begin the initiatives for the year, this year’s goal being improved sustainability in First Nation communities, selecting one community to focus on.

“In our discussion, it was very clear that there are a lot of communities out there that are not even to the point where they can be developed sustainably because they need things desperately to progress — power and water and things of that nature.”

There is a lot of disparity between Indigenous communities.

“It’s just not the Indigenous way to leave these communities behind, and the government needs to ensure there’s more balance with those in desperation so they can attain any degree of sustainability.”