Ouri Scott recently participated in the RAIC Indigenous Architecture and Design Symposium in Ottawa. The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) held its first ever International Indigenous Architecture and Design Symposium on May 27, 2017 in Ottawa which brought together Indigenous Designers and Architects from New Zealand, Australia, the United States and all regions of Canada. The symposium included a keynote by RAIC Gold Medalist and renowned Indigenous architect, Douglas Cardinal, FRAIC and presentations, all by indigenous voices, that were thought provoking, inspiring and showed the depth of talent within the indigenous design community. The subsequant conversations were about having the indigenous perspective and voice heard, meaningful participation by indigenous communities and authentic design response and representation.
The symposium will serve as a springboard for the work of the RAIC Indigenous Task Force, which as part of it’s mandate is advocating for the role of architecture as a public-spirited profession with an important role to play in reconciliation – addressing injustices through giving agency back to Indigenous people. Ouri is honoured to be an active member of the Indigenous Task Force and participate in it’s advocacy work.