Elder-in-Residence Valdie Seymour addresses a crowd to share Anishinaabe teachings regarding traditional ceremonies during a spring Feast event at the University of Manitoba?s Faculty of Architecture. Members of IDPSA at the event include Daerion Williams (fourth from left), and Maisie Berens (third from left). Photo by Abby Glesby
As we celebrate the inspiring professionals who will lead our professions into the future, it?s also important to be aware of what it takes to get there for those who are underrepresented.
While First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples make up 4.9 percent of the general population, their representation in professions such as architecture, interior design and landscape architecture remains marginal.
The RAIC?s Indigenous Task Force notes that there are only 20 qualified Indigenous architects currently practising in Canada?representing 0.2 percent of architects in the country. In 2016, about one percent of landscape architects identified as Indigenous in 2016. Indigenous representation rates are similar for interior design, at less than one percent of the profession, and for engineering programs, accounting for only 0.6 percent of undergraduate enrolment and 0.73 percent of the profession. The University of Manitoba?s Winnipeg campus is located in the centre of Canada, in the city with the country?s highest proportion of urban Indigenous peoples. As a university, U of M enrols one of the highest percentages of Indigenous students in the nation. A g...