Students share ideas for university Indigenous centre

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Renowned architect Douglas Cardinal met with Aboriginal undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Alberta campus on Jan.16 and 17 to gather ideas for a proposed Indigenous centre.

Through the students' input and ideas, Cardinal will develop a foundation based on their vision of the kind of facility they need.

Using the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College in Regina as a model, the students sat in a circle and made suggestions on the need for a rock garden, quiet room, and the shape of the building.

According to Lewis Cardinal, director of Native Student Services at the university, the building will be more than just a building.

"It is being spelled out clearly what the students want in this centre. We not only want to showcase the Indigenous flora and fauna in the Alberta region, that is not only what we want to do, but we also want to showcase our languages and our Native perspective. We would like this place to be a place where students, faculty, and staff can find a home, a feeling of community, and resources for their needs or work," he said.

"In the near future, Edmonton will have the largest urban Aboriginal population in Canada," said Lewis. "We already see the result of that taking place and we are also seeing the growth of Aboriginal students at the U of A. So if we build something small, we will not be able to accommodate all our needs. It will be filled and almost obsolete by the time we move into it, so we need something that is big enough to house programming and cultural activities."

He also said the students want the building to be close to the heart of the university itself.

"They don't want it put on some university property in the middle of nowhere. It has to be a part of the vibrant community of the university here because we want to send the message that Aboriginal people, our culture, our history and our perspective are a part of universal learning and that we belong at the university. The number 1 reason why Aboriginal students drop out of the U of A is because they feel that they do not belong here. We are here as workers, as staff and faculty to say to the Aboriginal people, you do belong here, so come on over and enroll," he said.

Douglas Cardinal hopes that the centre will help the students through the challenging times of university.

"They need the help and support, not only from their community, but also from their Elders so we want to create a place for the students to find that kind of support," he said.

Douglas believes that there is vital need to assist the students in the way they express or see themselves.

"That is what our commitment is and that is the commitment of the university who asked us to be involved. It will be open for everyone who needs encouragement to go through university. As soon as we get all the ideas together, we are going to get the overall concept done, the whole vision of it and the cost of the centre. Then we will go onto the next stage," he said.

"I think when the students were first asked to participate they jad a hard time because no one has ever really asked their opinion and they were never really given their voice," said Brenda Jones, co-ordinator, the university's Aboriginal Student Access. "But once they kind of took their time, and they realized that nobody is judging them in what they say, they found their voice and I think that is great."

"We want this building to be built by 2005. We are hoping everyone pitches in. Not just the students are interested in this centre being built, but it is also the people from the community. It is turning out pretty good. It is almost generating a life of its own each time Douglas comes to the university," she said.