Design evolves through collaboration—connecting land, culture, and community. NORR is moving the conversation forward by supporting the Indigenous-Led Design Fellowship at the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA).
Established in 2022, this international program invites Indigenous designers to submit projects that support Indigenous communities and their experiences of the built environment—bringing their work into conversation with the CCA Collection and current research initiatives.
More than a museum, the CCA is a global research institution with one of the world’s most significant architectural archives. Addressing the historical underrepresentation of Indigenous authorship and perspectives, the CCA notes, “the ambition of the Fellowship is for Indigenous-led Design Fellows to probe this absence and to intervene in the Collection in ways that could be meaningful to their practices and communities.”
Through our participation, we are helping sustain the Fellowship, which supports two Fellows each year as they pursue community-based design research and a residency at the CCA in Montréal, QC. Past Fellows have explored early Métis housing in the Northwest Territories and family land stewardship in Peguis First Nation—work that broadens how Indigenous design is understood and how it informs architecture more widely.
While global in scope, the Fellowship also speaks to Canada’s ongoing process of reconciliation—an evolving national framework for rebuilding relationships with Indigenous peoples, including Calls to Action that reach directly into the built environment, and invite architects, engineers, interior designers, and planners to consider how design can help renew and rebuild those relationships.
“Our commitment to the Fellowship is about listening, learning, and creating space for Indigenous voices”, said Brian Gerstmar, President and Chief Executive Officer of NORR. “It contributes to a more inclusive, meaningful design culture.”
By supporting approaches led by Indigenous designers, knowledge keepers, and communities, we help design become a tool for accountability, not just creation.
Credits
Reciprocity: A conversation with Indigenous-led Design Fellows Ivana Molina Apaza, Tin Ayala, and Amina Lalor, 12 July 2025. @CCA. Photo: Matthieu Brouillard
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