mînawâcihiwewi-ne-wîkiwnan / Healing our home: buildings of the land
Date
2022-06-16
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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.
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Keywords
Indigenous, Moose Cree First Nation, architecture, healing, Moose Cree, land-based knowledge, Moose River, resilience, gathering, connection, traditions, James Bay Cree prophecy, urban planning, Cree way of life, The Land