Connecting Indigenous Placemakers in Toronto

Maanjiwe Nendamowinan (The Gathering of Minds): Connecting Indigenous Placemakers in Toronto

Nicole Latulippe
Assistant Professor
University of Toronto - Scarborough

Friday, January 28, 2022
3 pm - 4 pm

Delivered on Zoom
Meeting ID: 920 1911 8555
Passcode: SPEAKER

Open to all interested individuals.

In the book, Indigenous Toronto (2021), Ange Loft asks a series of questions about collectivity and connectivity to place through the lens of Indigenous alliances, governance, symbolism, and mnemonic devices. She asks readers to consider who needs to be involved in conversations about shared space and how many people are needed for dialogue to be ongoing and create meaning. In 2019, Ange facilitated a Talking Treaties workshop during a week-long Indigenous placemaking practioners’ retreat on Menecing, the Toronto Islands (Treaty 13-a). Conceptualized as Maanjiwe Nendamowinan (The Gathering of Minds), the retreat was convened through a partnership between the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, Nga Aho Maori Designers Network, and faculty at the University of Toronto Scarborough. Organizers framed Indigenous placemaking as the work of traditional knowledge holders, Elders, youth, and community members who embody and share stories about place, as well as practitioners who create physical places, including artists, architects, planners, and designers. The project aimed to support practitioners, their creative practice, and peer to peer dialogue, and, through public facing events, to generate Indigenous-led dialogue and community-oriented outputs. In this talk, I discuss our approach and the value of process in addressing gaps and opportunities for strengthening Indigenous identities in urban areas and influencing wider urban governance structures. I would like to acknowledge our project collaborators: Biddy Livesey, Cathie Jamieson, Desna Whaanga-Schollum, Jym Clark, and Rebecca Kiddle.

Nicole is a guest and treaty person living in Toronto. She is an Assistant Professor in geography and environmental studies at the University of Toronto Scarborough.

Part of the Department of Geography & Environment Speaker Series.