In honor of today's Indigenous Peoples' Day celebration, we are highlighting a collection of events and lectures advancing the discourse on Native American traditions, rights, and cultures in the built environment that will be taking place this week and throughout the fall.

Affirming Indigenous Worldviews

Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation
New York, Monday, October 9

The fourth AFFIRMATIONS discussion, "Indigenous Worldings," on October 9 at 6:30 PM, features Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui and Paulo Tavares. The discussion will be followed by a response from GSAPP Assistant Professor Emanuel Admassu.

Bridging Academia and Indigenous Communities

University of Pittsburgh Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Pittsburgh and online, Monday & Tuesday, October 9 & 10

The school's Department of History of Art and Architecture in conjunction with the Carnegie Museum of Natural History presents special Indigenous Peoples' Day programming on October 9 and 10 with Dr. Jessie Ryker-Crawford, Professor of Museum Studies and Director of the MFA in Cultural Administration Program at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The school shares: "Dr. Ryker-Crawford will deliver a public lecture for an Indigenous Peoples’ Day edition of the RW Moriarty Science Seminar at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Her talk, 'Academia and Indigenous Communities: Opening the Doors to Collaborative Research and Community-Driven Projects,' is free and open to the public and will take place in a hybrid format on Zoom and live in CMNH’s Earth Theater."

Amplifying Indigenous Voices in Politics

Arizona State University
Mesa, Wednesday, October 11

The discussion "Diversifying Political Engagement: The Indigenous Communities' Perspective" will take place at Mesa Community College on October 11 at 1:30 PM. The school describes: "Panelists and community members will discuss barriers as well as solutions to increase the Indigenous community's ability to participate as voters, in advocacy and election campaigns, community organizing and as members of government advisory boards and commissions and other key government and public policy leadership positions."

Reclaiming Indigenous Spaces

Center for Architecture and Indigenous Society of Architecture, Planning, and Design (ISAPD)
New York and online, Tuesday, October 17

The event "An Otomí Leader and an Architecture of Indigenous Reclamation" on October 17 at 1:00 PM features Tania Gutiérrez-Monroy, Assistant Professor at the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at the University of British Columbia. The ISAPD shares: "Tracing the story of a young leader of the Otomí resistance against the neoliberal state in Mexico City, this lecture focuses on the Indigenous appropriation of a building previously used by an assimilationist arm of the Mexican government. [...] A broader aim of this presentation is to contend for the need to register spaces of resistance such as this one, which demands that architectural history develop analytical tools beyond its traditional reading of form and language."

Exploring Native Foundations of NY

National Museum of the American Indian in New York
New York, Monday, October 25

The ongoing exhibition "Native New York" hosts a special Archtober event on October 25 at 9:00 AM. The museum shares: "Native New York journeys through city and state to explore the question 'What makes New York a Native place?' The exhibition encompasses 12 places in present-day New York, introducing visitors to the Native nations that call the region home."

Celebrating Indigenous Design

University of New Mexico School of Architecture and Planning
Albuquerque, Monday, November 6

As part of the school's lecture series and ACSA Fellows Lecture, Chris Cornelius will speak on November 6 at 5:30 PM. Cornelius is the Chair of the Department of Architecture at UNM, a former Louis I. Kahn Visiting Assistant Professor at Yale University, and a citizen of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. His work through studio:indigenous has garnered international acclaim.

Earthworks Revival

University of Oklahoma Gibbs College of Architecture
Norman, Monday, November 13

Professor Chadwick Allen, Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement at the University of Washington Seattle, will present "Post-Removal Mounds: Earthworks Rising in Oklahoma" on November 13 at 4 PM. The school shares: "For his lecture, Professor Allen will give a brief overview of his book, Earthworks Rising: Mound Building in Native Literature and Arts [...] and discuss examples of how Indigenous nations in Oklahoma are re-engaging and reimagining ancient traditions of building large-scale earthworks."

Sacred Grounds

Pratt Institute
Brooklyn, Wednesday, November 15

Part of The Architectural League of New York's Current Work lecture series, this event on November 15 presents the work on the sacred sites of Inwood, Manhattan. Moderated by Pratt's new Dean, Quilian Riano, the presentation features panelists Mark Gardner of JAKLITSCH/GARDNER, Elizabeth Kennedy of EKLA, and artist and executive director of the Lenape Center, Joe Baker.

Got more relevant events worth highlighting? Please let us know in the comments section below.

Also, be sure to follow our ongoing Get Lectured series to stay up to date on the best of architecture schools' Fall 2023 event programming.