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in architecture and the built environment

Including Indigenous Knowledge: Indigenous Partners Join the Montreal Convention

Spatial justiceSpatial justice
Integrated resilienceIntegrated resilience
The first annual Convention of the Partnership saw indigenous representatives from across Canada joining the event. The Partnership recognizes the importance of respecting indigenous knowledge and including indigenous representatives in all the activities conducted by the project. The Convention was opened and close by an elder from Kahnawake, a local indigenous community located next to Montreal. Participants were welcomed in the Mohawk language and invited to reflect on the importance of respecting and including indigenous knowledge in the work being done during the Convention.
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Opening ceremony of the Montreal Convention on Thursday, August 24, 2022. Mr. Charles Otsi'tsakèn:ra Patton and Mrs. Niioie:ren Patton offered words of gratitude welcoming the participants. Mr. Otsi'tsakèn:ra, Elder of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) people delivered a welcoming prayer and then explained: "When people come together, no matter what the occasion, the Elders of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) people taught us that we must first honour the forces that give us life and that will also ensure our future. This ceremony has been going on since the beginning of time. Its purpose is to remind all who participate to remember to be grateful..."
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At the closing ceremony of the Montreal Convention on Friday, August 26, 2022, Professor Josie C. Auger, who teaches Native Studies at Athabasca University, offered insights into Indigenous knowledge. Auger, who teaches Native Studies at Athabasca University, offered insights into indigenous knowledge. She was joined by representatives from Vancouver (Grant Fahlgren), Sudbury (William Morin) and One House Many Nations in Manitoba (Professor Sylvia McAdam and her students).