1.5 ConEd Learning Hours
10:45 a.m. ‐ 12:15 p.m.
Access to clean drinking water in Indigenous reserves is vulnerable. Despite continued efforts and negotiations in developing water infrastructure, the majority of homes on many reserves rely on wells and lakes for daily usage—water deemed hazardous for drinking and washing. The water scarcity poses injustice to the resiliency of a water‐rich country like Canada. Resilience is defined as developing systems and capacities to be able to absorb future shocks and stresses over time to maintain essentially the same functions… while at the same time working to mitigate the present causes of future shocks and stresses.
In Quebec, Kitigan Zibi and Manawaki are facing a similar problem. It is the combination of substandard drinking water in Kitigan Zibi and seasonal flooding in Manawaki. How do architectural social innovations reconcile the water resilience of Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg in Canada? The national news reported that the water in places under ‘boil water advisory’ was deemed hazardous for drinking. What are the low‐tech solutions in reserve communities reconciling water resilience? How do initiatives operate in Indigenous communities in the face of the water crisis?
Learning Objectives
1. Understand water resilience and access in First Nation communities.
2. Learn about bottom‐up community engagement for inclusive design.
3. Understand Reconciliation in stewardship of land through intervention.
4. Learn about empowerment through design process and dialogue.
Matthew Lee
Intern Architect, ZAS
Matthew Lee is an Intern Architect with the OAA. He is presenting his McGill University Master's graduation thesis, "Water Resilient Infrastructure: Where Does the Water Go?" Matthew was awarded the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) Student Medal in 2021. His subject focuses on access to clean drinking water in Indigenous reserves. He is curious about how architectural innovations offer an alterative path for achieving water resilience for the people of Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg at the border of Ontario and Quebec.
Matthew was granted permission to conduct community engagement with the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg by the McGill Research Ethics Board. With the help of Chief Whiteduck and his band office, Matthew conceptualized two architectural interventions to address the pressing issue: a domestic ice stupa water collection system and a stormwater park. Professionally, Matthew is currently involved with the mass timber construction of Toronto and Region Conservation Authority Headquarters (TRCA) in York. Matthew has researched the impact of transit‐oriented development in urban environments at the University of Oxford for his MSc in Sustainable Urban Development. He presented essays at the World Sustainable Built Environment Conference in Hong Kong in 2017 and the International Conference on Building Resilience in Lisbon in 2018.