Douglas Cardinal had to travel eight times to Oujé-Bougoumou (located 730 km north of Montreal) to finalize the community’s plans. At that time, Abel Bosum, the boss, wanted the architect of Blackfoot and Anishnabe descent to take responsibility for drawing up the plans. We are in the early 1990s.
The Crees wanted to express their culture through building their community. [Abel Bosum] wanted something new, from scratch. “It was radical and the government never wanted such a project to be carried out elsewhere,” says the architect in an interview with Espaces Nationaux.
If he had to go there eight times over nine months, it was because he wanted the 500 members of the community to give their consent and, above all, to participate in the implementation of the plan. It is necessary to develop a vision that reflects the soul of the community, he said.
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Douglas Cardinal imagined the urban framework of Oujé-Bougoumou based on the wishes of all members of the community.
Photo: Drawing by Douglas Cardinal / Douglas Cardinal
That’s why he meets the elders, who pass on the words of the elders to him. But Douglas Cardinal believes that what he understands remains his own vision. He then presented it to the members: adults, teenagers and even children, to see if what he wanted to do suited them.
“You may not have a degree in architecture, but you have common sense, you survived in the forest,” Mr. Douglas then told them.
In the middle, Douglas Cardinal is no small player. It was he who designed the Canadian History Museum in Gatineau. His buildings are often reminiscent of natural and organic forms. For Aboriginal people, everything is connected and every element of life is part of that whole.
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Douglas Cardinal has received numerous awards for his work. (archive photo)
Photo: The Canadian Press / Fred Chartrand
The Greeks, the Egyptians… their architectures truly reflect their cultures. “I wanted my work to reflect my culture,” he explains.
In Oujé-Bougoumou, in addition to designing the community’s urban framework, he also designed the clinic, school, church and the Cree Cultural Institute of Aanischaaukamikw.
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The Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau is the work of Douglas Cardinal. (archive photo)
Photo: Radio-Canada / Jonathan Dupaul
However, nothing of the sort has happened since then, assures Marie-Pierre McDonald, assistant vice-president in charge of international cooperation at BC2, an urban planning consultancy.
The urban planner sees that straight lines and grid streets risk regaining their right if the municipality of Oujé-Bougoumou needs to expand.
After working in Nunavik, she realized that working with ready-made plans, copies and pastes of what is being done in our towns and villages does not work with Indigenous peoples.
The best thing, she believes, is to work with people from the indigenous community. Because who are the experts? Indigenous people in communities, she adds.
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Mona Belleau believes that Aboriginal people need to be truly involved in developing urban plans for their communities.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Delphine Jung
BC2 recently hired Mona Belleau, an Inukin from Iqaluit, Nunavut. She serves as senior director of community support and Indigenous cultural security. She believes the way communities have been designed and homes built has harmed Indigenous peoples.
A different view of the world
Nothing in these plans corresponded to their culture, their view of the world, their cosmology.
Mona Belleau recalls that not so long ago many indigenous peoples were nomads, settling thousands of square kilometers of territory in a year. And there they demarcate the territory for us, they tell us that we will live here. It impacts family structures and the way we live our culture, she says.
It is difficult to live our indigenous culture within four walls.
If we create more interesting living spaces, people will be healthier and feel better. If we create communities that are better adapted to Aboriginal culture, people will be happier living there, prouder and healthier, believes Mona Belleau.
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This expansion plan for the municipality of Chisasibi promotes the preservation and promotion of its culture and traditions, according to urban planning consultancy BC2, which designed it.
Photo: BC2
We no longer want grid-like communities based on the North American suburban model.
This urban framework is based on individualism.
I have my little piece of land, you have yours, we are separated by a road. While we lived in a community. There are no partitions in an igloo. The concept of closed doors doesn’t appeal to people, she adds.
When we decolonize architecture and urban planning and accept that indigenous people have a different view of the world than non-indigenous people, we achieve what Douglas Cardinal was able to achieve in Oujé-Bougoumou.
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Douglas Cardinal imagined the Oujé Bougoumou Museum.
Photo: figure
The man who will celebrate his 90th birthday in 2024 insists. I wanted to feel what it feels like to express love for all living beings in architecture, to express our spiritual values. “I don’t think like a European, I see the world completely differently,” he emphasizes.
For example, the Waapihitiiwewan School was located outside the neighborhood because it is a transitional place between home and the world and prepares the next generation for the future. The community center was also designed in the circular shape of the medicine wheel.
Decolonizing urban planning means asking people how and with whom they want to live, says Mona Belleau.
Boundaries
But the pitfalls are significant. The strict legal framework of urban planning regulations prevents indigenous people from implementing their projects the way they want.
Ms McDonald mentions everything that is limiting: We may want to change the development plans and the urban fabric, but we have limitations because we rely on the CMHC, which has models, then standards for infrastructure financing and all these authorities have criteria that limit us. Roughly speaking, it remains stuck at the level of community development plans in the broadest sense.
The system doesn’t help you be creative.
Despite all the limitations, you need to keep in mind who you are doing this for. For Aborigines. You don’t just build a house without considering people’s identities. “We must satisfy our needs and preserve our way of life as much as possible,” adds Mona Belleau.
Furthermore, not all indigenous communities are equally equipped. For example, in Nunavut there is a legal framework that allows them to have a planning tool that is well adapted to the context.
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If we look at the municipality of Oujé-Bougoumou from the sky, we can clearly see how Douglas Cardinal imagined its center.
Photo: Screenshot – Google Map
While in Quebec, as in other provinces, areas outside of reserves are managed by municipalities, MRCs… Not to mention that the municipalities are under the supervision of the federal government. In short, there are a number of obstacles to overcome.
Marie-Pierre McDonald deeply regrets that the indigenous population, and in particular the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador, did not have a say in the development of the national urban plan. “We devoted four paragraphs to reconciliation,” she laments.
Mona Belleau even believes it’s a missed opportunity.
However, the two women believe that time is running out, especially given the demographic development of the communities, whose housing needs are glaring. It’s time to sit down and talk about it, they say.