Alberta’s Douglas Cardinal brings curation of Indigenous architecture, design home

Architect Douglas Cardinal speaks to media on Feb. 18, 2025, at the Edmonton City Centre Mall West about the March 8 opening of his exhibit, "UNCEDED: Voices of the Land." (Brandon Lynch / CTV News Edmonton)

Edmonton will host an exhibition of work by more than a dozen prominent Indigenous architects and designers, a historical achievement in the world of architecture.

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Created for the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale, “UNCEDED: Voices of the Land” is the first Canadian entry to the international presentation to be showcased in North America in its entirety.

The collection of work by 18 Indigenous artists from across Turtle Island, as Indigenous peoples call North America, will be open to the public in Edmonton City Centre Mall West March 8-June 21.

Architect and exhibition creator Douglas Cardinal, who will turn 91 the day before the exhibit opens, said a task force for the project originally only wanted to tell of the horrors of Canada’s residential school system.

“They wanted us to be treated as victims,” he told reporters on Tuesday at an event announcement at the mall.

Born in Calgary in 1934, Douglas attended St Joseph’s Convent Residential School near Red Deer as a boy before studying architecture at the University of British Columbia and then the University of Texas School of Architecture in Austin.

“We want the exhibit to be able to say: No matter what you throw at us, we’re going to be joyful and we’re going to be happy, and we’re going to remain powerful. And so our exhibit is to show our power and beauty. … Our singing is victorious and our dancing is victorious,” he said.

“You will walk out with humility because you’ve confronted a very powerful people.”

As co-lead Lewis Cardinal put it, the exhibit showcases Indigenous worldviews, traditions, wisdom, ceremony and more through architecture.

“They’re like pieces of art themselves, and it’s art that kids get to go to school in, places where you work, places where you gather.”

After the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale, UNCEDED was featured at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau – which Douglas designed – in 2019.

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It was supposed to be brought to Edmonton in 2022, but organizers delayed the plan due to a resurgence in COVID-19 cases.

After Edmonton, UNCEDED will be moved to Calgary. Douglas said it “means a lot” to be bringing the project back to his home territory.

Lewis called his project leader a “historic individual.”

“He was the first Indigenous architect. The first architect, period, in Canada to bring in computer-generated design. … But he also went on to inspire all of the Indigenous architects that started to come up. They always refer to Douglas' work and how much that played an important part,” Lewis said. “This community of Indigenous architects really demonstrated that things can be done with perseverance, tenacity and creativity.”

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Those involved with the project are also in talks to take UNCEEDED’s tour globally, including perhaps Australia and Switzerland.

Tickets for Edmonton’s viewing go on sale Wednesday. General admission is $25 before fees.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Brandon Lynch