Canadian Museum of History Celebrates Indigenous Architecture

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The Canadian Museum of History is showing the country's acclaimed entry in the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale.

Unceded – Voices of the Land is an innovative, immersive audiovisual installation by an Indigenous design team led by architect Douglas Cardinal.

The show runs from May 3 to March 22.

It's the first time the project has been exhibited in Canada.

“This groundbreaking exhibition highlights the important contributions that Indigenous cultures have made to the world," said Mark O’Neill, the museum's CEO. "It also underlines our commitment to promoting a greater understanding of Canadian and Indigenous history.”

Cardinal designed the Canadian Museum of History and the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.

Unceded, curated by David Fortin and Gerald McMaster, is a multimedia installation that includes 18 Indigenous architects and designers from across North America.

“We wanted to show the international community how important the Indigenous world view is to the rest of the world, for the future of our human family,” said Cardinal. “But of course, that education should start at home in our own country."

In Unceded, architects and designers representing Anishinaabe, Blackfoot, Cree, Dene, Lakota, Métis, Mohawk, Navajo, Nisga’a and other Indigenous nations create a journey through four thematic territories: sovereignty, resilience, colonization and Indigeneity. 

Instead of artifacts, the show uses soundscapes, motion graphics and eye-to-eye life-size video projections to convey Indigenous architecture as a storytelling process that integrates spirituality, resistance, Indigenous teachings and respect for people and the land.

Source: Canadian Museum of History