mînawâcihiwewi-ne-wîkiwnan / Healing our home: buildings of the land

Abstract

Indigenous people have always had a strong connection to the Land, as she is our Mother Earth. The Land grounds Indigenous people as our culture reflects the Land we come from. It reflects our language, our traditional teachings and values, and our built structures. The Moose Cree people understood the world as they are all related to Mother Earth’s creations. Everything is interconnected with one another to achieve harmony and balance. This is the Cree way of life which is called ililiwi-pimâtisîwin. The traditional way of life for the Moose Cree people significantly changed during the 1600s when the British established a fur trading post on Moose Factory Island and soon after the Anglican church took over the community. Our home stopped reflecting who we were as Moose Cree people and how we lived. This thesis entitled mînawâcihiwewi-ne-wîkiwnan / Healing Our Home: buildings of the Land focuses on a design that reflects the Moose Cree people and our Cree way of life. Our home refers to not only the built structure of where we live, but also to our ancestors, our communities, and our home-lands. Our home is connected with the Land which is connected to all of Mother Earth’s creations.