OUR APPROACH TO
URBAN + ENVIRONMENTAL
DESIGN
Our design process is rooted in Etiological Design©
which celebrates Indigenous Story of Place guided by ancestral protocols, values and teachings.
Through a process of combining Indigenous research methodologies, primary archival research, trauma-informed practice and oral history we daylight hidden histories. We re-centre the design narrative in Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and ancestral teachings from Time Immemorial to address the needs of the present. We communicate and collaborate with Drawing on over 809 generations of accumulated knowledge our team re-centres Indigenous sovereignty and agency in the design process.
We use a Co-Creation process based in Ancestral Governance and protocols with the wider community to develop a unique Story of Place.
Story of Place from an Indigenous perspective deepens our connection to the land, empowering us to build in respectful relation to the lands, waters and skies. Inherently rooted in sustainable, accessible, circular, actor-network thinking. Our approach addresses pressing intersectional needs such as climate change, red-lining, sea-level rise and biodiversity loss.
We are committed to uplifting and celebrating local Indigenous, BIPOC, Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer visions for the future of urban design, architecture, landscape architecture, urban policy and planning. We plan on doing this through capacity building, solidarity and co-creation with communities and members of those communities with these lived experiences so their agency and voices are respected in every level of these design processes.
RESEARCH
We begin any project by combining primary archival and oral history research to form the basis for a respectful and appropriate design process.
This community storytelling practice informs a context that reflects authentic histories that allow community members to participate in the Co-Creation of each project with agency and confidence.
It is our goal to be the mediators, listeners, and the guides to create safe, comfortable environments for meaningful storytelling to produce productive, well-educated and informed pathways forward.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
We set visionary precedents for meaningful community engagement through our Indigenous design and research methodologies rooted in Indigenous values, storytelling, mentorship, pacing, oral history and community-led project practices.
Based in ancestral governance, Indigenous Law, and respectful protocols Sky Spirit Studio has the multi-disciplinary tools to ensure respectful, meaningful, and transformative design and community engagement processes.
It is important to move at the speed of trust.
WORKSHOPS
We are committed to transformative practices that respectfully and inclusively engage with diverse communities to elevate the conversation in meaningful, design and research.
Our workshops aim to educate on authentic histories and realities based in our original research that his been in development for over 15 years.
These workshops are directed towards the spatial design teams we work with, but are open and applicable across many fields supporting and/or impacting Indigenous Sovereignty
INDIGENOUS DESIGN
Etiological Design© is the process of centring Indigenous oral history so that Legends and storytelling shape the entire urban design, and public engagements so that the final design reflects the stories and the People whom originate from the land.
Western design often develops arbitrary identities for sites, when the land has had an identity and a name since Time Immemorial.
We are determined to expand opportunities for Indigenous communities to lead design processes, and express their sovereignty, agency and identities through design.
