A new grant meant to encourage Indigenous students’ participation in the architectural field has been announced by the University of Calgary.

The $120,000 CAD ($88,600 USD) grant is being funded by the Alberta Real Estate Foundation (AREF) and will help the university’s School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape (SAPL) further develop its existing Indigenous Pathways Program while integrating Indigenous knowledge and subject matter into the brand-new Bachelor of Design in City Innovation (BDCI) degree.

The school shares that the BDCI is also its first-ever undergraduate degree offering. Sessional instructors and staff from the Indigenous community will also be recruited as a result of the funding, which helps to underscore the central mission and principles of the institution. Currently, the SAPL is the province’s only accredited architectural degree program. 

“This project elevates real estate leadership in our province through inclusion, representation, and professional standards,” AREF Executive Director Patti Morris explained. “As a foundation, we have the responsibility to explore how our funding programs can be a vehicle for reconciliation in our province. We are honored to invest in the education and empowerment of Indigenous leaders in real estate and related professions.”

A series of design workshops targeted at high school-age students will further support the recruiting aims of the new bachelor’s degree program, supplemented by a parallel outreach program. The school emphasized its intent to develop a curriculum that gives equal footing to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous thought and instruction. 

In a press release, SAPL Dean John Brown added: “Meaningfully including Indigenous people’s unique perspective, and their inherent recognition of the importance of land and place, can situate all of our future students to be better informed, and become more thoughtful practitioners.”

“In short, this proposal helps create a pathway for Indigenous youth to meaningfully participate in Alberta’s real estate-related industries and to ensure that all SAPL graduates have a better understanding of Indigenous ways of knowing in order to more sensitively and effectively address the unprecedented challenges of an increasingly complex future,” Brown said in summation.

More information about the university's Indigenous Pathways Program can be found here.