Upcoming Events

WATERLOO ARCHITECTURE ARRISCRAFT 2020-2021 ONLINE SPEAKER SERIES

LAND BACK

Amy Smoke, Co-founder & Organizer, Land Back Camp, Victoria Park, Kitchener
Phil Monture, Nativelands, Six Nations of the Grand River
Eladia Smoke | KaaSheGaaBaaWeak, Smoke Architecture, Laurentian University

Moderated by Amina Lalor, Researcher, Nokom’s House, University of Guelph; Adjunct Professor, Waterloo Architecture; with
Mayuri Paranthahan, Master of Architecture Candidate, Waterloo Architecture

In the summer of 2020, the O:se Kenhionhata:tie Land Back Camp set up in Kitchener’s Victoria Park, demanding fees be waived for Indigenous community events in the city, access to land in Victoria Park and Waterloo Park for traditional ceremonies, paid Indigenous staff, and a paid Indigenous advisory board for full participation in the governance of Municipal public spaces. At the same time, 1492 Land Back Lane Camp has blocked the construction of a new suburb in Caledonia adjacent to the Six Nations Reserve. Like these two camps, Waterloo Architecture sits within the Haldimand Tract, land promised to the Six Nations in 1784. The current Six Nations of the Grand River Reserve inhabits only 5% of this granted territory. Recognizing that settler architecture is built on land appropriated from Indigenous peoples, how can architects resist a professional continuation of colonial practice and work in solidarity with Indigenous peoples?