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THE ASSEMBLAGE OF KIKINO (“OUR HOME”): Métis Material Culture and Architectural Design in the Settlements 1 DAVID T. FORTIN is a registered architect and > David T. Fortin assistant professor at the Laurentian University School of Architecture in Sudbury, Ontario. He has written extensively on topics related to science- fiction films and architecture as well as systems thinking in design. This essay is part of a research A boundary is not that at which some- project supported by the Social Sciences and thing stops but, as the Greeks recognized, Humanities Research Council to study the role the boundary is that from which some- thing begins its essential unfolding.2 of architectural design thinking among Métis communities in the Canadian Prairies. - Martin Heidegger, “Building, Dwelling, Thinking.”

ith the establishment of the WAlberta settlements through the Métis Population Betterment Act in 1938, came a rare geographical condi- tion immensely significant to the mixed- blood people of the Canadian Prairies—a boundary. These lines drawn throughout the Albertan landscape fulfilled the pri- mary demand of a devastated Métis com- munity, which was the opportunity “to improve their socio-economic position by utilizing the resources of the settlement lands.”3 The Métis in Alberta struggled disproportionately during the 1930s as their traditional hunting and fishing ter- ritories were increasingly ceded to west- ward homesteading, leaving them to live in circumstances that have been described as “pitiable,”4 “desperate,”5 and “deplor- able.”6 The establishment of the new territories thus offered an immediate homeland that could provide sustenance and cultural preservation, along with an urgent sense of hope. Given that minimal built infrastructure existed at the time of their establishment,7 there was essentially a blank geographical canvas on which to design and build a profound sense of place where, as Carl Jung eloquently stated, “all the yearnings and hopes of the soul are adequately expressed.”8 The decision by Kikino, one of the present- day settlements, to rename itself after the Cree word for “our home” reflects FIG. 1. MAP OF THE ALBERTA MÉTIS SETTLEMENTS. | COURTESY OF THE GOVERNMENT OF ALBERTA.

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the monumental promise this event held essential to recognize that although the terms of territorialization and deterritor- for these communities. settlement boundaries exist as physical ialization, Delanda writes: lines in space, they are more lucidly Yet, the meaningful expression of a cul- experienced in the psyche, as invisible and [P]rocesses of territorialization are pro- ture through the built environment has permeable membranes, punctured by a cesses that define or sharpen the spa- always been multifaceted and this holds multitude of physical and social exchanges tial boundaries of actual territories. especially true for Métis people in that negate any futile attempt to define Territorialization, on the other hand, also given their complex emergence as a fusion a Métis “style.” Instead, the material and refers to non-spatial processes which between First Nations and European immaterial exchanges within, through, increase the internal homogeneity of an peoples during the fur trade,9 and their and between these boundaries illustrate assemblage, such as the sorting processes subsequent evolution into a distinct the complex relationship between the which exclude a certain category of people nation composed of multiple subcultures.10 settlement buildings and the people who from membership of an organization, or the Symbols such as the Métis flag and sash, designed, built, and use them. In order to segregation processes which increase the the Red River Cart, the birchbark canoe, clarify these material and cultural intrica- ethnic or racial homogeneity of a neighbour- and Michif language, have all become cies, this essay will start with a very brief hood. Any process which either destabilizes synonymous with the distinct identity of introduction to assemblage theory. spatial boundaries or increases internal Métis people across the country.11 Métis heterogeneity is considered deterritorializ- artistic and cultural expression have also ASSEMBLAGE THEORY AND THE ing. A good example is technology, ranging been celebrated in terms of traditional ALBERTA SETTLEMENTS from writing and a reliable postal service weaving, beadwork, music, clothing, and to telegraphs, telephones and computers, the design of other objects, etc.12 Authors, To view societies as assemblages is to study all of which blur the spatial boundaries of amongst others Maria Campbell, Margo them in terms of the myriad relationships social entities by eliminating the need for Kane, and Joseph Boyden, have similarly between the individual components of co-presence . . .17 brought Métis perspectives into a national the overriding network or system, includ- literary consciousness. Yet, despite two of ing internal and external interactions. As regards the Alberta Settlements, there Canada’s most accomplished and prolific Manuel Delanda argues that the concept were a series of significant territorializing architects being recognized as Métis,13 of assemblage is defined based on two events leading up to the government’s rarely has architectural design been con- perspectives, both relevant to the present recognition of the territories through sidered as meaningful.14 This is arguably discussion. The first one defines the vari- cartography, including the convergence due to popular perceptions of “architec- ous roles that components can play in a of Métis solidarity and the organized pol- ture” being inclusive only to those projects system, ranging from purely material to itical will in the region.18 Every social, pol- stamped by professionals despite the long- purely expressive. For example, there are itical, and physical development from that standing positions of scholars like Henry a range of material components, “from point onward can be viewed as either fur- Glassie who asserts that “there are no food and physical labour, to simple tools ther territorializing or deterritorializing differences among kinds of building. All and complex machines, to the buildings these initial developments. For instance, are cultural creations, orderings of experi- and neighbourhoods serving as their the criteria set for membership and land ence, like poems and rituals.”15 If “folk” physical locales.”16 As for expressive roles, acquisition in the settlements and the and “vernacular” are rightfully accepted they can be phenomena such as shared introduction of distinctly Métis topics into as such valuable cultural contributors, postures, languages and dialects, behav- school curricula are two primary territor- then all buildings and structures within iours, social norms, and taboos. ializing forces, while the improvement the relatively new boundaries of the of the roads and the introduction of the Alberta settlements provide significant The second dimension Delanda discusses Internet could be seen as deterritorializ- opportunities to consider their cultural is the degree to which the processes and ing. Even though there have been numer- impact through their design, fabrication, interactions of the components stabilize ous other significant events and actions construction, and inhabitation. the assemblage by increasing its internal along these lines, this essay focuses on homogeneity, or the opposite, destabilize the built environment and its impact on Before discussing more specifically the it by increasing its heterogeneity. Here, Métis sense of place and identity in the buildings and structures, however, it is using Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari’s settlements, using these guiding terms.

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FIG. 2. EXAMPLE OF AN EARLY LOG HOME WITH SOD FIG. 3. JACK LYNIS RESIDENCE, KIKINO SETTLEMENT. | DAVID T. FORTIN. ROOF, PADDLE PRAIRIE SETTLEMENT (FORMERLY KEG RIVER). | GLENBOW MUSEUM ARCHIVES.

des Métis (1896-1909) is recognized as of Kikino highlights this early in situ TERRITORIALIZATION THROUGH the first distinctly Métis community in construction. CONSTRUCTION Alberta, yet it was a Catholic missionary colony modeled after the Paraguayan The first people to arrive in Kikino were When the first Métis families arrived at Reducciones of the sixteenth century and faced with building a new home and com- the settlements during the 1930s and its architecture largely reflects this hack- munity on the open prairie that surrounded 1940s, they were faced with a scenario neyed narrative more than that of the Lone Pine Lake. Trees had to be cut, hauled, similar to that of homesteaders through- Métis people who actually lived there.20 and sawn. Homes were built using logs, flat- out North America for centuries. With few Furthermore, recent field research sug- tened on two sides and shingles cut from resources and an allocated piece of land, gests that there is very little to no evi- spruce. A school was built by the new resi- they erected their homes and community dence on the settlements of what is often dents. The land was broken, stumps were buildings using only basic tools and the described as a Métis vernacular, the Red removed with teams of horses, and the materials readily available. This initial con- River system of corner posts with verti- rocks were picked. It was an immense task struction phase, however, was not the very cal grooves in which to stack logs,21 even and there were few power tools to make the first permanently built Métis community though various accounts demonstrate job easier. Much of the work was done with in the province or on these specific terri- that it was used in other Alberta Métis an axe, hammer, and swede saw.24 tories. For example, Buffalo Lake had pre- communities, such as the Father Lacombe viously been one of the most significant Chapel built in 1861, and at the Victoria Adrian Hope, a renowned former presi- Métis hivernant (wintering) camps in the Mission during the same era.22 dent of the Métis Association of Alberta Canadian Northwest where, in the nine- from Kikino, similarly recalls building his teenth century, as many as one hundred Like their ancestors in Manitoba and log home: and sixty log cabins had been built for throughout the Prairies,23 the early homes families during the hunting months. But of the Alberta settlements typically used I pulled up by Whitefish Lake up here and I these cabins had been fabricated hastily rough or hewn logs with some kind of seen some great big trees of dried poplar. and not much information exists regarding corner notching, often a dovetail joint, And I thought that will make a house . . . their construction to compare to the mid- and had basic floor plans consisting of I hauled them down, four each day, hewed twentieth-century settlements.19 St. Paul one or two rooms. A historical account them and put them in their place. When I

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had nine, by God, I had them high as this wall . . . nine big logs. But I had to get some slabs or something to put on top for a roof . . . I went to the old sawmill and picked out my slabs. Slabs on top; trimmed them up a little bit. Then I went and made hay. I came home with a big load of hay and I put half the load on top of my roof. Ani started digging dirt and put dirt on top. Finally I had it all covered. That fall I plastered the out- sides. I had a little cook stove in there. No Floor!25

These kinds of accounts remain vivid in the memory and identity of the Métis communities today, as evidenced during a series of interviews conducted in 2014 for this research. Glen Auger, an elder from

Buffalo Lake, remembers the log home FIG. 4. EXTERIOR OF MUSKEG HOME, EAST PRAIRIE SETTLEMENT. | DAVID T. FORTIN. he was raised in as well as the community school, both of which were built with sim- ple axes and saws. The elders coordinator at Gift Lake Settlement, Dale Laderoute, says that historically, “everyone lived in log homes,” and that the commun- ity worked together to build them. At Peavine Settlement, Sheila Knipp, grand- daughter of local Métis leader Alcide Beaudry, proudly tours the small log store that her mother built, while at Elizabeth Settlement, Public Works Director Rick Blyan fondly recalls the mostly vanished log hunting cabins that used only the “basic local materials.”

Timber construction, however, is not strictly a historical phenomenon in the

settlements. Jack Lynis, a Kikino resident FIG. 5. ENTRY OF MUSKEG HOME, EAST PRAIRIE SETTLEMENT. | DAVID T. FORTIN. and builder, left to work temporarily in the lucrative Alberta oil fields during structural members with only his chain- construction and results in an exclusive the mid-1980s before deciding to return saw. Similarly, a resident of East Prairie architectural composition. The interior and build a log home in the settlement. Settlement gave up his “new” home to of this “muskeg home” exhibits rustic Lynis learned techniques through self- return to what Public Works coordinator elements (i.e., rough timber posts, wood directed research and has since gained John Supernault refers to as “the old burning stove, hunting rifle, traditional a reputation, offering courses to other ways.” He chose a site on the edge of medicines hung to dry) and manufactured settlements and completing a shelter at a remote section of muskeg to build an ones (corrugated plastic panels, coloured the Lac La Biche Golf Club, where, in the off-grid two-storey home that combines skylights, prefabricated doors and fram- spirit of Adrian Hope, he hewed all the contrasting approaches to material and ing connectors—even a Marcel Breuer

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himself with the environment, that is, he has to know how he is a certain place.”26

The act of building in one’s homeland with materials directly from it, using only one’s hands and basic tools, similarly embodies the traditions of the indigenous Métis ancestors whose construction tech- niques, Juhani Pallasmaa argues, “[are] guided by the body in the same way that a bird shapes its nest by movements of its body.”27 In many cases, as in the examples mentioned above, it is the yearning for a reconnection with the landscape and an FIG. 6. INTERIOR OF MUSKEG HOME, EAST PRAIRIE SETTLEMENT. | DAVID T. FORTIN. architecture that meaningfully reflects this relationship that leads to the choice Other projects on the settlements likewise of material and construction, and if one demonstrate an ongoing appreciation for stitches together the collection of log- humble construction typologies that dir- built cabins and homes, hunting shacks, ectly reflect the Métis people’s lifestyle. smoke structures, and wood-sided build- For example, archival photos document ings, it becomes apparent that there is an a minimalist wood pedestrian bridge undeniable homogenizing aspect to the that existed at East Prairie Settlement to role that wood has played as a territorial- improve mobility for the residents. More izing material component in the history of recently, timber structures have been the Alberta settlements. The folklore and erected for hunting, livestock shelter, imagination of the nostalgic log cabin per- and for the smoking and/or drying of sist, but this image has evolved into a more buffalo and fish meat, for instance. The complex, but crucial link between the resi- campground at Kikino features cabins dents, their lifestyles, and their lands. built by Lynis and a log-built store and office. These modest structures demon- DETERRITORIALIZATION THROUGH strate subtle variations responding both FABRICATION to site and personal preference, and most often use a combination of store-bought As evident as the homogenizing log FIG. 7. EARLY FOOTBRIDGE, EAST PRAIRIE and repurposed materials. structures in the Alberta settlements SETTLEMENT. | GLENBOW MUSEUM ARCHIVES. are, however, there are equally appar- Cesca-inspired chair). Additionally, the The prominence of such log construction ent deterritorializing aspects of the built exterior combines twelve feet by twelve on the settlements, which could easily environment. In terms of factors increas- feet hewn log construction and a lean- be misconstrued as nostalgic, transcends ing the heterogeneity of the settlements, to for a sweat lodge, with conventional the symbolic and instead forms an essen- it is essential to first note the significant wood framing, commercial OSB sheath- tial link between the residents and their increase in accessibility over the last ing, store-bought wood lattice, and spray cherished homeland akin to Christian half-century. Compared to the initial foam insulation to replace traditional Norberg-Schultz’s influential writings conditions that discouraged travel and chinking. Although the details are rudi- on the genius loci during the 1980s. One communication (lack of roads and electri- mentary and ad hoc, the home is unique might see the various Métis builders as city, for instance), most of the settlements in its conscious combination of traditional archetypal of his central thesis: “To gain are now only a short drive away from and Western construction and material an existential foothold man has to know neighbouring towns and have digital approaches. where he is. But he also has to identify technologies comparable to those of any

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that not only met the Canadian Building Code for Residential Construction, but also the lifestyle standards of families in nearby non-Aboriginal communities. In all of the six settlements visited during fieldwork, the process for residential construction has typically involved the government establishing the cost for a single-family home and the settlement administration then requesting contract bids from off- settlement companies. Residents are then presented with a few floor plans to choose FIG. 8. MEAT-SMOKING AND DRYING STRUCTURES, ELIZABETH SETTLEMENT. | DAVID T. FORTIN. from as well as items such as paint colour, cabinet options, and occasionally minor The impacts of these deterritorializing adjustments to the plans. As Elizabeth factors are clearly reflected in the built Settlement elder Archie Collins notes, environment of the settlements, includ- however, there was never any perceived ing predictable issues linked to afford- agency when it came to design: “You get ability and subsidized housing programs. a home. You get a package. You get a dol- For example, a Housing Committee of lar amount that you are going to spend on the Alberta Métis Association prepared that home and the building codes dictates in 1973 a document intended to “illus- on how that building is built and what trate the basic concept in house design kind of insulation, what kind of vapour that is desired by Métis and Indian fam- barrier, and the vents and everything.”31 ilies.”29 The publication comprised basic floor plans and front elevations for two With a few exceptions, this has been “frame built” homes with vertical siding, the experience for the vast majority of three log homes, and one “half-log” residents on the settlements. Despite home. Yet, while one of the requests of the options presented by the Housing the committee was to provide for “adapt- Committee, Buffalo Lake infrastructure ability to [construct] in remote areas manager Bruce Gordon recalls that he with local materials,” it also made clear originally requested a log home but was that “conventional homebuilder’s house told that it was not an option. Gordon designs were reviewed and found to be argues that many residents would have acceptable,” as well as the idea of “fac- preferred a log home if possible: tory assembly.”30 It further noted that FIG. 9. MEAT-SMOKING STRUCTURE, EAST PRAIRIE exterior materials be selected to “mini- We’re kind of stuck with materials that SETTLEMENT. | DAVID T. FORTIN. mize maintenance.” you can get out of the yard. The lumber community. This has resulted in increased yard . . . I know a lot of people don’t like immaterial (Internet) and material This short document adequately highlights the vinyl siding and they’d rather even go (including conventional building materi- some of the major issues influencing the to stucco or something different . . . I’ve als) exchanges with outside communities housing developments on the settlements heard people talk . . . they’d rather have and the ensuing inevitable cultural influ- through the various government-subsid- a log home rather than this type of thing. ences. As one Elizabeth Settlement elder ized programs. While there remains the Because . . . I don’t even think they find summarizes, “Most of our young people desire for log construction, there is also these homes as warm or comfortable, they are influenced by the technology avail- an acceptance of “conventional” prefabri- want a sense of feeling at home. It’s just a able to them . . . and we’re so close to the cated housing, which provided settlement structure that they’re living in.32 city, it’s taking away our ways.”28 residents the opportunity to live in a house

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impermanence” and that log exteriors “have been suggested,”36 another hous- ing study in 1977 concluded that “the Emergency Trailer Program is the only program providing new additional hous- ing stock to the settlements.”37 While the quality of construction has drastically improved since the trailer era, the subsid- ized housing existing on the settlements (including the early catalogue houses, various mobile homes, and even recent projects by Habitat for Humanity) remains indistinguishable from communities out- side of the settlements.

This cultural and environmental discon- nect often extends beyond residential construction as well. A stark example of this in terms of community structures, many of which are assembled from pre- ordered industrial steel building pack- ages, is the Buffalo Lake Recreation Centre described by Bruce Gordon: “Our FIG. 10. THE PROMINENCE OF LOG CONSTRUCTION AND WOOD SIDING THROUGHOUT THE SETTLEMENTS HAS A DEFINITIVE gymnasium that was built, [it was] built TERRITORIALIZING EFFECT. | DAVID T. FORTIN. to code. But we wanted [people] to know Gordon’s comments elucidate the inher- diverse and usually standardized parts.”34 that, basically, you’re in a Métis commun- ent disconnect between dweller and For Frey, the result of such an endeavour ity when you come into it so we had kids dwelling in terms of the prefabricated when it comes to building, is a sense of at Caslan school [do] the big mural.”38 home. According to Pierre Frey, the idea alienation. He argues that in of prefabrication and emphasis on ration- The necessity for the mural reflects the alization is antithetical to the idea of constructing a home, a school, a market or complete disconnect between the ori- genius loci. He writes: some other community amenity—in short ginal building and any sense of Métis any building that answers a social need . . . identity and reaffirms Norberg-Schultz’s [T]he construction industry, by rationalizing the standards set by manufacturers or by convincing assertion that “[to] make prac- and optimizing its processes, at one and legislative or regulatory requirements pro- tical towns and buildings is not enough.”39 the same time renders them uniform and duce perverse side effects. Then it is not causes a massive displacement of the cen- only the worker on the site who is alienated RETERRITORIALIZATION THROUGH tres of decision-making. By the end of those but the end user too.35 DESIGN processes, the building site can no longer be described as the place where the building The majority of houses on the Alberta While the above examples succinctly is produced. It is merely the place where settlements exhibit this kind of detach- illustrate the familiar debate between components designed and built elsewhere ment between landscape and artefact. in situ and prefabrication processes in are assembled.33 Despite the recommendations for log terms of territorialization and deterri- homes by the Housing Committee in torialization (or the persistent tensions The essence of fabrication is revealed in 1973 and a subsequent report in 1975 on between indigenous and modern ideol- its definition—which is “to invent” or housing for teachers living in the settle- ogies through design), it is necessary to “create,” “to make up for the purpose ments that argued mobile homes “have also acknowledge other developments of deception,” or “to construct from a sort of built-in psychological effect of impacting the relationship between Métis

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FIG. 11. TYPICAL HOUSING, ELIZABETH SETTLEMENT (LEFT TO RIGHT: MOBILE HOME, MANUFACTURED HOUSING, AND NEW HOUSING PROJECT WITH HABITAT FOR HUMANITY). | DAVID T. FORTIN.

Another prominent example of an archi- tectural pursuit of Métis-specific design is Kikino Elementary School, which won a Canadian Architect Award of Excellence in 1986. Designed by Japanese architect Yoshi Natsuyama, then of Koliger Schmidt Architect-Engineer, the conceptual design emerged from Natsuyama’s research into Métis culture and his camping at the site during two separate visits to better understand the community and the place. While the juror comments in the publi- cation on the successful massing of the building (creating a welcoming village FIG. 12. BUFFALO LAKE SETTLEMENT RECREATION CENTRE. | DAVID T. FORTIN. effect) and its appropriate use of “visual and cultural objectives” (which include identity and architecture on the settle- during the 1970s, most notably a rehabili- the colours and patterns of selected Métis ments. If the previous territorialization tation centre in , a school in art, and formal references to the churches processes can be summarized as in situ Paddle Prairie Settlement, and a hous- in the settlement),44 it is Natsuyama’s design-build projects executed largely ing prototype for Grouard (near Peavine personal investment in the project that by settlement residents, and the deter- Settlement).41 According to Trevor Boddy, reveals some of its more subtle contribu- ritorialization processes are conversely the design of the rehabilitation centre tions. Partner Bruce Koliger recalls that considered as designed and often pre- aimed to be a “self-reliant community Natsuyama camped out in order to “sense fabricated from outside of settlement stressing traditional land-based lifestyles the air and feel the ground,” an approach boundaries, then a second form of ter- as an aid to recovery,” and prioritized to design that the designer expands on. ritorialization, or reterritorialization, basic construction in order to employ might be considered through the design local Métis and First Nations commun- When I camped at the proposed site in [the] of structures intended to reflect and cul- ity members to build it.42 The Grouard woods, before [beginning] design work, tivate Métis culture and identity, but from housing project similarly used stackwall I felt the breezy wind along the slope of beyond the boundary. construction to allow for smaller poplars [the] woods. Probably the wind was breez- and other trees too small for log con- ing there before the hamlet was started, While not personally identifying with struction to be used. In both cases wood or even before the Caucasian and Native any particular Métis community or cul- is again foregrounded, however its appli- came there. The same wind was there since ture,40 Alberta-born Aboriginal architect cation transcends aesthetics to consider hundreds or thousands [of] years . . . If one Douglas Cardinal worked extensively constructability and issues related to could perceive the passage of time as this with Métis communities in Alberta material availability and labour.43 and could see oneself by this kind of mind,

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FIG. 13. ELEVATION AND SECTION OF BONNYVILLE REHABILITATION CENTRE BY DOUGLAS CARDINAL. | CANADIAN ARCHITECTURAL ARCHIVES.

FIG. 14. ELEVATIONS OF GROUARD HOUSING PROJECT BY DOUGLAS CARDINAL, USING STACKWALL CONSTRUCTION. | CANADIAN ARCHITECTURAL ARCHIVES.

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FIG. 15. INSPIRATIONAL PHOTOS OF SITE TAKEN BY ARCHITECT. | PHOTOS COURTESY OF YOSHI NATSUYAMA.

These examples highlight an essential aspect of territorialization related to the Alberta settlements. One of the inherent characteristics of assemblages is the vital connection to components outside of the territory. If the discussion ended with only the dichotomous relationship between in situ and prefabricated processes, an overly simplified conclusion would state that locally built timber construction is the only territorializing factor impacting what might be perceived as distinctly Métis design on the Settlements. But, as David Kolb reminds us, such simplification is never sufficient:

[A] frequent problem with places today is the replacement of complex interwoven

FIG. 16. SMALL WIND TURBINES AND SETTLEMENT LOGO, KIKINO SCHOOL. | DAVID T. FORTIN. identities and places by series of simpler identities and places . . . more complex places can support a richer and more self- aware inhabitation that embodies more fully and explicitly the conditions and processes the sadness or anger might be changed . . . link between the presence of the place that make places possible at all.47 to [a] different stage.45 and the community itself. It is clear that, despite being foreign to the site and the As Delanda did, he further adds that com- The design of Kikino School thus strives community, Natsuyama unveiled aspects plex places acknowledge their multiple to strengthen Métis culture and identity about Métis culture that resonated with roles and forces, as well as their exter- through its visual cues and massing, but the community and set a new standard nal links to other places and the mul- also through the modest wind turbines for subsequent schools in other Métis tiple processes that bring them together. atop the towers, providing an ethereal communities.46 In this way, Kikino School forged new

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FIG. 17. KIKINO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, DESIGNED BY KOLIGER SCHMIDT ARCHITECT-ENGINEER; RENDERING BY CESAR USON. | IMAGE COURTESY OF KOLIGER SCHMIDT ARCHITECT-ENGINEER.

FIG. 18. ELEVATION OF GIFT LAKE REPLACEMENT SCHOOL, NORTHERN LAKES COLLEGE, DAYCARE, AND HEADSTART COMPLEX, ILLUSTRATING MASONRY AND FENESTRATION DESIGNS REFLECTING THE MÉTIS SASH AS WELL AS THE INCLUSION OF THE SETTLEMENT LOGO. DESIGNED BY GROUP2 ARCHITECTURE AND INTERIOR DESIGN. | IMAGE COURTESY OF GROUP2.

territory in considering what a distinctly which is the historical depicted colour for CONCLUSION - MÉTIS AS RHIZOME Métis contemporary design process might the Métis sash; blue and white, symbolizing involve and this line of pursuit has con- the colours of the Métis Nation flag; green, If the Alberta settlements can be con- tinued in other projects, such as a new signifying fertility, growth and prosperity; sidered using the above terms, we rec- education and community facility in Gift and black, symbolizing the dark period in ognize their unique place not only in Lake Settlement, designed by Group2 which the Métis people had to endure dis- Canadian history, but also in discussions Architecture and Interior Design. Here, possession and repression.48 about Canadian design thinking. A final the design team led community consul- conceptual leap thus summarizes the tation sessions and “design charrettes” To what level the building user will com- architectural relevance of the settlements that formed a vision for the project that prehend the symbology of the colours is in Alberta—their assemblage as rhizome. aimed to reflect the community’s needs debatable, but it is revealing that great The rhizome, a key metaphor used by and desires. lengths were taken to search for the Deleuze and Guattari, considers complex identity of the Gift Lake Métis through assemblages to be in a constant state of Describing one aspect of this design the decision-making process regarding becoming, or presencing, as in the open- process, school principal Barb Laderoute design. Like at Kikino School, the design- ing Heidegger quote. The rhizome is expressed her pride in the specific choices ers were not from the settlement but especially useful in considering the Métis for colours used in the school: worked with the community to identify in Alberta related to the multiple geo- the most pertinent aspects of their cul- graphical locations of the Settlements, as The colours chosen are from the Métis ture that could be somehow translated well as the syncretic nature of the Métis sash. The colour variations include: red, into architecture. in Canadian history:

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A rhizome has no beginning or end; it is Rights that states they are “the true spirit design and material culture on the always in the middle, between things, of Canada and . . . the source of Canadian Alberta settlements are as unique in their interbeing, intermezzo . . . The middle is identity.”51 evolution as the people who live there. by no means an average; on the contrary, it is where things pick up speed. Between It would be reductive, therefore, to try NOTES things does not designate a localizable rela- to discuss the architecture and material tion going from one thing to the other and culture of the Alberta settlements only in 1. This research is supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of back again, but a perpendicular direction, a their relation to Red River or the image of Canada. transversal movement that sweeps one and the nostalgic log cabin. Similarly, it would 2. Heidegger, Martin, 1993, “Building, Dwelling, the other away, a stream without a begin- be naive to omit the influence of the pre- Thinking,” in Basic Writings, New York, ning or end that undermines its banks and fabricated buildings or various churches Routledge, p. 343-364, at p. 356. picks up speed in the middle.49 that directly link the settlements to their 3. Ghostkeeper, Elmer, 1981, “‘Our Land and neighbouring communities and their Our Culture Is Our Future,’ Strategies and Métis culture originated between storied pasts. And while it could be argued Implications of Development on the Métis European and First Nations lineages, both that the Koliger Schmidt and Group2 Settlements of Alberta,” Canadian Journal of Native Studies, vol. 1, no. 1, p. 151-157, at genetically and ideologically, but it can- design teams, like the various other firms p. 152. not be considered simply as a fusion of who have created administrative and edu- 4. O’Byrne, Nicole, 2013, “‘No Other Weapon the two. The Métis settlers in Alberta fol- cational buildings on the settlements with Except Organization’: The Métis Association lowed generations of liminal movement varying levels of success, deterritorialized of Alberta and the 1938 Métis Population across the Canadian Prairies without ever the settlements by bringing in their “out- Betterment Act,” Journal of the Canadian having a single point of origin. Although side” approaches, the effect of the design Historical Association / Revue de la Société historique du Canada, vol. 24, no. 2, p. 311- Red River is recognized as the location process in these cases has reterritorialized 352, at p. 323. where the Métis “nation” emerged, an evolving sense of identity and culture 5. Harrison, Julia, 1985, Métis: People Between Métis people have always been inher- within the settlements. Thus, as long as Two Worlds, Vancouver, Glenbow-Alberta ently linked to both indigenous and for- there is a recognition of, and an active Institute, p. 96.

eign perspectives and thus their “origin” discussion between, the territorializing, 6. O’Byrne : 323. as an Aboriginal people is convoluted. As deterritorializing, and subsequent reter- 7. There were a significant number of buildings Julia Harrison writes, quoting twentieth- ritorializing processes of the built environ- erected in the wintering camps of Buffalo century Métis leader Stan Daniels, ment on the settlements, the assemblage Lake during the 1800s, yet most of them of buildings will continue playing their were destroyed. See Doll, Marcel F.V., Robert S. Kidd and John P. Day, 1988, The Buffalo the Métis have found themselves “caught role in providing an infinite becoming of Lake Métis Site: A Late Nineteenth Century in the vacuum of two cultures with neither a nation eternally between, and a con- Settlement in the Parkland of , fully accepting [them].” The marginality of firmation that, as Louis Riel predicted, , Provincial Museum of Alberta. the Métis—who have not been given either his “people will sleep for 100 years, and 8. Jung, Carl G., 1933, Modern Man in Search of the resources and rights of Indians or full when they awake, it will be the artists a Soul, New York, Harcourt, p. 201. access to white society and its advan- who give them back their spirit.”52 Every 9. See Sealey, D. Bruce and Antoine S, Lussier, tages—has created an almost negative meat-smoking structure, animal shelter, 1975, The Métis: Canada’s Forgotten People, identity: “they are Métis because they are self-built home, renovation, and addi- , Manitoba Métis Federation Press. not somebody else.”50 tion, clearly exhibit this spirit and when 10. See Foster, John E., 2007, “The Métis: The these are considered in discussion with People and the Term,” in Patrick C. Douaud (ed.), The Western Métis: Profile of a People, And yet, while still negotiating this those community buildings that specific- Regina, Canadian Plains Research Centre. marginality, the Métis have arguably ally pursue what a “Métis architecture” 11. See Goulet, George and Terry Goulet, 2006, embraced their “between-status,” as evi- is, or what it should be, they collectively The Métis: Memorable Events and Memorable denced in the 1979 Declaration of Métis confirm that approaches to architectural Personalities, , FabJob, p. 27-47.

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12. See Barkwell, Lawrie, Leah M. Dorion and 25. Id. : 28. 43. Id. : 75. This is especially relevant to places like Audreen Hourie, 2006, Métis Legacy Volume Peavine where smaller poplars are common 26. Norberg-Shultz, Christian, 1984, Genius Loci: II: Michif Culture, Heritage, and Folkways, due to geographical features and a recent log- Towards a Phenomenology of Architecture, , Gabriel Dumont Institute. ging program that has seen many residents New York, Rizzoli, p. 19. sell their larger trees. 13. Douglas Cardinal and Étienne Gaboury. 27. Pallasmaa, Juhani, 2005, The Eyes of the Skin: 44. “Award of Excellence: Kikino Elementary 14. There have been multiple descriptions of his- Architecture and the Senses, Sussex, Wiley and School, Kikino, Alberta,” 1986, Canadian toric Métis housing and construction metho- Sons, p. 26. Architect, vol. 31, no. 12, December, p. 12-15. dology. This will be discussed in detail in 28. Personal interview, August 6, 2014, Elizabeth future aspects of this research project, but this 45. Personal email, March 8, 2015. Settlement. essay will focus on the context of the settle- 46. According to Kikino Chairman Floyd ments in Alberta. For a basic description of 29. Alberta Métis Association, 1973, House Thompson. Phone interview, August 6, 2014. Métis housing, see for example Barkwell et Designs for the Alberta Métis Association, al., 2006 : 66-69. Edmonton, Alberta Métis Association, p. 2. 47. Kolb, David, 2008, Sprawling Places, Athens, University of Georgia Press, p. 53. 15. Glassie, Henry, 1999, Material Culture, 30. Ibid. Bloomington, Indiana University Press, p. 227. 48. Clegg, Chris, 2013, “Construction To Begin 31. Personal interview, August 6, 2014, Elizabeth Immediately: Gift Lake Learning Centre 16. Delanda, Manuel, 2006, A New Philosophy of Settlement. Sod Turning Ceremony,” South Peace News, Society, New York, Continuum, p. 12. 32. Personal interview, August 8, 2014, Buffalo [http://www.southpeacenews.com/news- 17. Id. : 13. Lake Settlement. desk/volume51/130508/news2.html], accessed February 3, 2015. 18. Leadership was key to the organization of 33. Frey, Pierre, 2013, Learning from Vernacular: the Métis in their pursuit of a land base, Towards a New Vernacular Architecture, 49. Deleuze, Gilles and Félix Guattari, 1987, including men such as Jim Brady, Malcolm Tours, Actes Sud, p. 29. A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Norris, Pete Tomkins, and Joe Dion. Brady 34. “Fabricate,” Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Schizophrenia, New York, Continuum, p. 25. was an intellectual socialist highly influenced [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictio- 50. Harrison : 15. by Marx, Engels, and Lenin. See Harrison nary/fabricate], accessed May 2, 2015. : 97. See also, The Métis Association of 51. Ibid. Alberta, Joe Sawchuk, Patricia Sawchuk and 35. Frey : 32. 52. Quoted in Barkwell, Lawrie, Leah M. Dorrian Theresa Ferguson, 1981, Métis Land Rights in 36. Swift, W.H., 1975, Report of the Northland and Darren Préfontaine, 2001, Métis Legacy: Alberta: A Political History, Edmonton, Métis School Division Study Group, Edmonton, A Métis Historiography and Annotated Association of Alberta, p. 187-212. Alberta Department of Education, p. 98. Bibliography, Volume 1, Winnipeg, Pemmican, 19. Doll et al. : 211. 37. St. Germain, Sandra and Dale Bairstow, 1977, p. 189. 20. The Métis Association of Alberta et al. : 6, Métis Settlement Housing Study, July-August 159-185. 1977, Edmonton, Department of Housing and Public Works, Policy and Program 21. “In Canada a method known as the Red River Development Branch, p. 29. system was developed. Squared posts had either a channel rebated in them or flanges 38. Personal interview, August 8, 2014, Buffalo attached on either side, which took the ends Lake Settlement. of squared logs dropped into them.” Oliver, 39. Norberg-Shultz : 23. Paul, 2003, Dwellings, New York, Phaidon, p. 114. As David Burley and Gayel A. Horsfall 40. Personal interview, October 14, 2014, , (1989, “Vernacular Houses and Farmsteads ON. of the Canadian Métis,” Journal of Cultural 41. Trevor Boddy (1989, The Architecture of Geography, vol. 10, no. 1, p. 25) note, however, Douglas Cardinal, Edmonton, NeWest, this system was imported from Francophone p. 75) describes the project as being for the communities along the St. Lawrence River. Grouard Métis Settlement; however, there is 22. See Kalman, Harold, 1994, History of Canadian no Grouard Métis settlement. It is possible Architecture: Volume 1, Don Mills, ON, Oxford, that this was designed for the nearby Peavine p. 339-341. settlement or Métis people living in or near Grouard. 23. See Barkwell et al., 2006 : 66-69. 42. Boddy : 72. 24. Miller, Bill (ed.), 1984, Our Home: A History of Kikino Métis Settlement, Edmonton, Alberta Federation of Métis Settlements, p. vi.

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