kitche migawap âcimowin = Tipi tectonics: building as medicine

Abstract

The exploration of the Cree Tipi’s construction and structure is investigated to reveal precolonial tectonics that will be implemented into a building design by interweaving traditional knowledge and technical applications. The research is to propose alternate building practices as a strategy to implement Cree cultural significance into building construction to promote Indigenous health. The documentation is guided by Cree oral histories (stories) from my Indigenous heritage, originating from Montreal Lake Cree Nation in the Boreal Forest region of Saskatchewan. Indigenous tectonics are explored by deconstructing the Tipi through Gottfried Semper’s Four Elements of Architecture. The method of unearthing or discovery is explored through a series of drawings. Tipi tectonics establish a framework to better understand the differences between non-Indigenous and Indigenous construction and methodologies of health. Indigenous knowledge will develop strategies to implement Indigenous design and ways of healing into a final building design.