Current housing systems and policies for remote and isolated First Nations communities in Canada produce a physical manifestation of ongoing colonialism, the house. Examinations of the physical community and house yield an understanding of deeply systematized imperial struggles between Indigenous communities and architecture and planning as disciplines. Indigenous families are in crisis as the housing system and Federal planning policies have not allowed for the provision of adequate nor appropriate homes for these communities. The recent independent Truth and Reconciliation Commission has begun a civic discussion and created government willingness for a paradigm shift in the delivery of programs and services to First Nations communities.
What are the best practices and case studies of projects (both in process and built form) completed with Indigenous communities occurring today? Understand how have individual architects have used their agency in partnership with First Nations communities, to work within the existing system and be critical in the creation of new housing typologies to make projects integrated with public realm and infrastructure, and in culturally and environmentally responsive ways.