Friday, April 26, 2024 
Friday, April 26, 2024
June 23, 2020
Winnipeg is home to a small group of Indigenous architects who are blazing a trail in the industry and hoping that more Indigenous students will join them.
“My goal is to be that bridge for Indigenous voices… to make sure that their opinions, feelings and thoughts are being heard and implemented into design and how we see our world and how we see our cities being built,” said Danielle Desjarlais.
Desjarlais is Métis-Cree from Peguis First Nation and is a summer intern at Brook McIlroy’s Indigenous Design Studio.
She just finished her pre-master’s year at the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Architecture and will be going into her first year of the master’s program at the university this fall.
She said over the past few years she has noticed the university become more willing to have more conversations about Indigenous design and history.
“I think that’s a really big move for the university itself to begin talking about this and implementing these ideas and truth into our studio courses and all of our courses,” said Desjarlais.
“I think that’s changing students’ mindsets and educating them about Indigenous history in a more truthful way.”
The studio opened as part of Brook McIlroy’s design and planning practice in 2016 and has four people working in it.
The studio’s senior associate, Ryan Gorrie, is Anishinaabeg from Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek (Sand Point First Nation on Lake Nipigon). Gorrie said there has been an appetite for more Indigenous-designed projects since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its final report in 2015, and that there is a small but growing number of Indigenous architects hoping to put their stamp on the industry.
“There’s so few of us here in Canada — there’s only like 20 Indigenous architects and I think per capita there should be probably about 300,” said Gorrie.
Gorrie started with the Brooks McIlroy firm in 2009 when he was hired on to help with a waterfront project in his home city of Thunder Bay.
He said Indigenous architects bring a different perspective and their designs are “incredibly open.”
Check out the video gallery here
