Photo by Stationpoint Photographic
Last year, Winnipeg?s Nestaweya River Trail included a striking ruby-red shelter. Its swooping form was inspired by the red jingle dresses that have become a symbol of commemoration for missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and LGBTQ2S+ people. Inside, a circle surrounded by iridescent panels opens up to the sky, creating a space of light and hope.
The project?s design was led by Indigenous architect Rachelle Lemieux, working with two other Indigenous women designers, Reanna Merasty (Ininew) and Danielle Desjarlais (Cree), and supported by Indigenous architect Ryan Gorrie (Anishinaabek), principal at Brook McIlroy, where all of the designers were working at the time.
?I?d always wanted to do a project like this,? says Lemieux, who remembers a call on Facebook seeking an Indigenous woman architect to take on the design. The initiative was spearheaded by Collective of Voices, a group of University of Winnipeg students who met in a course on non-violent social change. The students, including Angela Lavallee and Sanjam Panag, decided to take their coursework into the real world, creating a place that would both commemorate Indigenous victims of gender-based violence and highlight the issue in a positive way.
n the centre of the pavilion, visitors look towards the sky, surrounded by iridescent panels inscribed with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission?s 231 calls to justice. Photo by Brook McIlroy
As the project started, the design ...