ELADIA SMOKE - TEACHING PORTFOLIO
KaaSheGaaBaaWeak | Eladia Smoke is a Master Lecturer at Laurentian’s McEwen School of Architecture. Eladia extends a chi-miigwetch to all the Elders and knowledge carriers who have been so generous and conscientious in sharing land-based teachings. She listens every chance she gets; each generation learns from the others. MSoA’s approach honours Indigenous, Francophone, and other Canadian backgrounds. The groundbreaking effort to undertake architectural learning from an Indigenous standpoint is an approach that is truly of this place. Eladia is passionate about bringing Indigenous principles, particularly teachings of the Anishinaabeg, into the realm of architectural curriculum and design thinking.
Eladia’s students work directly with the land and with our First Nation communities in a collaborative and respectful way. Her method of teaching calls on traditional values and principles within contemporary contexts.
The work shown here was completed in 2017 by students Andrew Hyrsuko, Jessica Haire, and Jacob Riehl. Students undertook a community engagement process with Henvey Inlet First Nation and this design is a response to the community’s vision for the new recreational centre.