Aundjitowin...: In the footsteps of Anishinabeg architecture. Aund-ji-to-win (Ojibwe v.: Change, alteration, amendment, reconstruction---as pertaining to building) (Ontario)

This thesis examines the urban powwow ritual and considers the absence of a culturally appropriate space for this event in North American cities, and specifically, in the city of Ottawa. The urban powwow has emerged in many cities across Canada, as more and more aboriginal individuals migrate into urban environments from rural areas and reserves. On reserves, aboriginal bands continue to embrace traditions relating to the building of ceremonial spaces, but these traditions often encounter resistance in urban contexts, obliged to insert themselves into existing fabrics and buildings. Interestingly, the Anishinabeg of Manitoulin Island have been able to adapt, innovate, and retain architectural traditions relating to their powwow since the arrival of Europeans. The evolution of architectural traditions pertaining to the powwow among the Anishinabeg therefore provides a useful case study for the contemporary urban powwow. The examination of architectural changes to ceremonial buildings over the history of the Anishinabeg powwow demonstrates the Anishinabeg's ability to balance building traditions with ever changing cultural environments. The adaptation and retention of traditional Anishinabeg ceremonial spaces on reserves thus informs the thesis design of an urban powwow space. The thesis chooses as its site the Odawa Native Friendship Centre in Ottawa, a long standing symbol of the city's aboriginal community, and the host of three annual urban powwows. In considering the question of an architectural language of the urban powwow in the Canadian Capital, this thesis broaches the question of representation in relation to the ceremony. An architectural relationship with the urban powwow ceremony can be as meaningful as the traditional one established on reserves.