OAA releases comprehensive round-up of reconciliation initiatives

The information gathered in the Environmental Scan includes statements, reports, websites, and other resources to create a comprehensive summary of the Reconciliation strategies undertaken by different Canadian architectural organizations, institutions, universities and colleges, and regulatory bodies.

By Canadian Architect On Jun 22, 2021

On June 21—National Indigenous Peoples Day—the OAA released its Truth and Reconciliation Environmental Scan Final Report. Available in the OAA Website’s Documents & Publications Portal, it explores a critical moment during the ongoing process of Reconciliation.

In the summer of 2020, the OAA Truth and Reconciliation Working Group requested an environmental scan be conducted to highlight information to help inform the Association’s response to the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action.

Compiled over a six-week period, the information gathered in the Environmental Scan includes statements, reports, websites, and other resources to create an objective and comprehensive summary of the Reconciliation strategies undertaken by different organizations, institutions, universities and colleges, and regulatory bodies. As well as a comprehensive snapshot of the Reconciliation initiatives found across Canada, this report also highlights the initiatives in the field of architecture and land acknowledgment in Aotearoa (New Zealand).

The OAA commissioned Dani Kastelein-Longlade to conduct the scan and prepare the report. Of Métis, French, and Dutch ancestry, Kastelein-Longlade holds kinship ties extending from the Red River to the surrounding regions of Georgian Bay as a Drummond Island descendent. Kastelein-Longlade’s historic community is that of Region 7 of the Georgian Bay Métis within the area of Penetanguishene and Lafontaine. They are working as an Intern Architect with Patrick R. Stewart of the Nisga’a Nation and residing in Block 2 of the Haldimand Tract, land that was promised to the Haudenosaunee (the Six Nations of the Grand River). They hold a bachelor’s degree from the University of Guelph, a Bachelor of Architectural Studies from McEwen School of Architecture, and a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Waterloo School of Architecture.

The OAA is excited to share this document with both the architecture profession and the general public. The ongoing work of the Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion | Truth & Reconciliation Working Group continues and more information will be shared as the group’s work progresses.