The Indigenous Task Force of the Royal Architecture Institute of Canada (RAIC) states there are only 20 registered Indigenous architects in Canada. This number represents one-fifth of the 1 per cent of prasticing architects in the country.
“Within the Daniels student body, we have only ten Indigenous students out of more than 1,500,” says Trina Moyan, who is Nehiyaw (Plains Cree) from Frog Lake First Nation. “Because of the policies in the Indian Act, our Peoples have been made vulnerable and marginalized for generations. These ten students have lived through the impacts of that history. They have pushed through and fought hard to get here. BIRD – Building Indigenous Representation at Daniels – is about increasing future student enrolment.”
Launched in January as a six-month pilot, BIRD is supported by the University of Toronto’s Access Strategy and Partnerships Office and its Access Programs University Fund (APUF), dedicated to supporting U of T initiatives that reduce barriers to education.
“Creating a sense of familiarity and comfort within the Daniels environment and the university broadly will hopefully inspire Indigenous students to apply to these programs,” says Jewel Amoah, assistant dean of equity, diversity and inclusion at the Daniels faculty.
BIRD has been informed by consultations with internal U of T partners engaged in supporting access and outreach for Indigenous students, including the Office of Indigenous Initiatives, First Nations House and the Indigenous Recruitment Officer, as well as Indigenous students at Daniels, Greater Toronto Area school boards and local architecture firms engaged in projects with Indigenous communities.
"This broad collaboration in the design and implementation of BIRD reflects our intention to engage Indigenous voices with and in the Daniels community," says Robert Levit, acting dean of the faculty. "Our response to the Calls to Action begins with establishing access for Indigenous youth to Daniels and helping these young people to build relationships with the people and programs across our community."
Through grassroots outreach—including to the Indigenous knowledge‑centred Kapapamahchakwew (Wandering Spirit School) in Toronto, the Urban Indigenous Education Centre and the Eshkiniigjik Naandwechigegamig (ENAGB) Indigenous Youth Agency—twenty urban youth are participating in this year’s pilot.
The program is coordinated by members of the Indigenous Students' Coalition at Daniels, Angel Levac (Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory) and Shadrak Gobert (Frog Lake First Nation).
"Through my outreach for the program, I found that Indigenous youth are genuinely excited about what Daniels has to offer,” says Gobert. “What stood out most is that our young people are motivated, capable, and ready to lead and make change; they just need access to opportunity and a strong support system to help them thrive. Many simply weren't aware of the range of opportunities and programs that are available to them. BIRD aims to be a meaningful part of that journey to support their paths."
In addition to hands-on activities and visits to exhibitions, the students will visit community spaces on campus, such as Ziibiing and First Nations House. They will also learn about the different study options and careers, with an emphasis on programs offered at the Daniels faculty, including architecture, forestry, landscape architecture, urban design and visual studies.
Feedback from participants in the BIRD program will help to inform future access and outreach initiatives geared towards Indigenous youth, as well as intensify ongoing work to include Indigenous knowledge and history across the faculty's undergraduate and graduate programs.
“You can come here. You can learn, and through your Indigenous worldview you can shift and bend and change the way these professions are taught and practiced,” says Moyan, who, together with Elder Dorothy Peters and Amos Key Jr., form the First Peoples Leadership Advisory Group at the Daniels faculty.
Elder Dorthy is a Traditional Teacher, Community Nookmis, and a member of Jiima’aaganing (Seine River) First Nation. Key Jr. is a member of the Mohawk Nation and Traditional Faith Keeper of the Longhouse at Six Nations of the Grand River Territory.
Grounded in community knowledge and relationships, the advisory group’s efforts and ongoing support of BIRD connect to the viewpoints shared by one of the world’s most prominent Indigenous architects, Douglas Cardinal. Born in Calgary to a father of Blackfoot heritage and a German/Métis mother, Cardinal serves as the decanal advisor on Indigenous knowledge at Daniels. Cardinal, who received an Honorary Doctor of Laws from U of T in 2022, identifies contemporary Indigenous architecture as an embodiment of six core Indigenous values and principles. Among these is the teaching that “when one plans for the future, one must plan for all life-givers for seven generations.” BIRD is now part of this generational planning, helping shape a future rooted in Indigenous knowledge.
“We're all here trying to do beautiful work that benefits all of life. This is a foundational teaching amongst First Peoples and is central within our code of ethics,” says Moyan. “We all need to be guided by those beautiful grandfather teachings of love, respect, truth, honesty, humility, bravery, and wisdom. These teachings should be the principles of design taught at Daniels. Having more Indigenous students studying at Daniels will help to make that happen.”
BIRD also expands the Daniels faculty’s ongoing commitment to access and outreach.
Nikibii Dawadinna Giigwag (NDG), meaning “flooded valley healing” in Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe), connects Indigenous youth with elders, mentors, and landscape architects through summer employment. Founded in 2018 by Elder Whabagoon, who is Ojibwe, sits with the Loon Clan, and formerly served as the faculty’s first Indigenous advisor, and by Liat Margolis, an associate professor of landscape architecture, the program blends land-based learning with design and community building.
Now in its fifth year, Building Black Success Through Design (BBSD), led by Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream Joshua Kirk, is a free 12‑week mentoring program supporting Black high school students interested in architecture, art and design. Participants develop portfolio‑ready work while exploring creativity, cultural heritage while exploring theme of design for belonging through site-specific Toronto projects.
“Access and outreach programs help address the underrepresentation of Indigenous and Black students at the university,” says Amoah. “By naming these groups as priority communities, we’re able to put real resources and support behind increasing their representation as well as make sure our curriculum better reflects their experiences as well.”
Levac, who is enrolled in the critical practices stream of the visual studies specialist program, agrees, adding BIRD is the kind of program she wishes she'd had.
“As a first-generation student, navigating university programs, services, co-curriculars and choosing the right courses, felt daunting,” says Levac. “BIRD is a great launchpad for participants. We welcome all questions and curiosities about the Daniels faculty and U of T, with the goal of making students feel confident in their application and having a friendly face should they start school here one day.”
To help inspire that future, Levac shares an encouraging message:
"For Indigenous students reading this: You are smart and powerful and we need people like you to join our table of Indigenous teachers, students, leaders and changemakers. Dream big, then bigger.”
Photo: January 17 launch event
