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| Matthew B.
Ackerman, LEED-AP AIA |
| Jeffrey L.
Zucker,
LEED-AP AIA |
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Respect
Your Grand Mother
Jeff and I recently got
back from our interview with the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, for a new
Cultural Center facility that their Tribe is planning to build. This RFP (Request
For
Proposals) process, which our company devotes a fair amount of effort
towards,
has been a fascinating, stressful, eye-opening, and at times, quite
gratifying experience for the two of us.
Even though the Pokagon Tribe is located somewhat outside of the area that,
up
to now, we've considered "our territory", we felt CATALYST was
appropriately qualified for this particular project, due to our firm's
longstanding
experience with Native American Nations in general, as well
as our specific experience with Tribal Cultural Centers.
This time, Jeff and I traveled to the Four Winds Casino in southwestern Michigan,
to interview before a Native American committee composed of about a
dozen tribal members, who had been charged with the task of vetting the
qualifications of the four shortlisted design teams, which had made it
through the Tribe's first round of review. Some 40 architectural firms from across the country
had
submitted proposals for this project.
While we were pleased to have made the initial cut– the subsequent shortlist
interviews usually take quite a bit of time
(and unpaid effort) to prepare the presentation materials typically
expected. In the week leading up to the interview, our team
poured
over the
Tribe's available resources, in somewhat of a crash course on Potawatomi history,
tradition, and
culture.
 As in the past, I was moved and then saddened as I
learned more about
the Potawatomi's particular struggles to retain their territory, as well as their simple
way of life– which they had lived in peace for centuries upon
the lands surrounding the Great Lakes.
Their characteristic
humility, values of respect, and rituals for expressing gratitude to 'Grand Mother
Earth' (“Nokmeskignan” in their native
language) for
each plant and animal used to
sustain their day to day life, was a sobering reminder of how our
predecessors to this land, actually lived in sustained harmony
with their environment.
Jeff & I have been fortunate over the years to have worked successfully
with
numerous Native American communities across the southwest. Their individual
stories
are often heart-rending, but in some cases are now, like the mythical
Phoenix, rising anew from the ashes. CATALYST
has been a good fit for these Tribes’ modern expressions of
sustainability,
because
of our
own
commitment to energy and
resource-efficient design and construction– a set of values which
underpins the cultural traditions of nearly all of our Native American
clients, and has for
centuries.
While
at times I feel a gnawing sense of guilt that my own
forefathers were, in some way, responsible for the relentless
dismemberment
of Native American culture in this country, I
do feel a small sense of relief however, to now be a part of these
Tribes’
contemporary efforts to reclaim their culture, and preserve the threads
of their earth-honoring language and heritage.
The model of our Native American brethren– to live with awareness for,
and in gratitude of, the earth's gifts– serves as an invaluable compass
for how our own aspirations towards greater sustainability could be
made more... authentic, perhaps? There's much to learn from their
ancient wisdom, and the ways in which this
land’s original peoples, have
striven to respect and honor their (our!) Grand Mother Earth…
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 Questions?
Email Deb. |
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CATALYST
ARCHITECTURE
is an award winning, full-service sustainable design
firm located in Prescott, Arizona. We specialize in educational,
commercial, master planning and custom residential work, with an
emphasis on high- performance design, and caring client relationships.
At CATALYST, our
mission is to creatively transform the space and budget needs of our
clients, with the opportunities and ecology of the site, into
functional and sustainable solutions that move the spirit.
Comments
or feedback? Email us.
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