Local Cultures – Global Spaces

Abstract

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The profession of landscape architecture is grounded in understanding and cultivating place. However, while making strides toward greater diversity, landscape architecture is a predominantly white-male profession in the United States (CLARB 2021). With a growing awareness and action toward addressing systemic inequities, how can landscape architecture build cultural literacy, reframe the practice, and empower communities, while attracting greater diversity into the profession? This case study reflects upon the evolution and outcomes of the only ongoing Indigenous-focused landscape architecture design studio in the United States from 2015 to the present. While facilitated by white settler instructors, the studio works closely with the Indigenous Design and Planning Institute (iD+Pi) at the University of New Mexico School of Architecture & Planning. During the 16-week semester, students begin with a personal land acknowledgment reflection and inquiry to gauge their understanding and awareness of Indigenous peoples and communities. Before focusing on actionable projects with local Puebloan and Navajo ( Diné) communities, students engage in a series of capacity-building exercises to learn about worldview and PlaceKnowing concepts, in addition to land stewardship through traditional Indigenous practices. Studio projects have focused on direct Indigenous collaboration to draft strategies to protect sacred places, rematriation of settler-damaged landscapes, and concepts for a regenerative learning center on ancestral lands. Observations regarding the response to the studio have been overwhelmingly positive from students, clients, and collaborators, recognizing this emerging curriculum as a positive step toward decolonizing design education while empowering local Indigenous communities.