kitche migawap âcimowin = Tipi tectonics: building as medicine
Date
2019-04-08
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Abstract
The exploration of the Cree Tipi’s construction and structure is investigated to reveal precolonial tectonics that will be implemented into a building design by interweaving traditional
knowledge and technical applications. The research is to propose alternate building practices
as a strategy to implement Cree cultural significance into building construction to promote
Indigenous health. The documentation is guided by Cree oral histories (stories) from my
Indigenous heritage, originating from Montreal Lake Cree Nation in the Boreal Forest region
of Saskatchewan. Indigenous tectonics are explored by deconstructing the Tipi through
Gottfried Semper’s Four Elements of Architecture. The method of unearthing or discovery is
explored through a series of drawings. Tipi tectonics establish a framework to better understand
the differences between non-Indigenous and Indigenous construction and methodologies of
health. Indigenous knowledge will develop strategies to implement Indigenous design and
ways of healing into a final building design.
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Keywords
tipi, tectonics, Cree, culture, elder, healing, indigenous, architecture, Gottfried Semper