Implicit ordering : a tribal center to connect land, community and creativity

Abstract

A design proposal was developed for a new tribal center to meet the current and future needs of the Anishinabe community on the Lake Vermilion Reservation, Bois Forte Band of Minnesota Chippewa, in northern Minnesota. At issue in the development of the design were issues of cultural usage of space, cold climate design imperatives, its selection, and programming considerations. Several considerations in the design of the center itself were site specific: a limited building footprint, primacy of view within the center versus climactic considerations, and the provision of access to the center given the steep topography of the land adjacent to the peninsula. Others were less easy defined, but imposed quite specific obligations. Anishinabe, for example, need to have a building in which they are spatially aware of their connection to the greater environment. The final design was sited on a peninsula set aside by the Band for community development and not built upon to date. The peninsula is located within easy walking distance of the public housing area and near to the reservation's best swimming beach. The new tribal center will integrate its future parking facilities with those of a proposed beach park. In addition to the main road, a walking trail will connect the beach and tribal center to the housing area. A secondary ceremonial road will preserve the established ritual of burial by connecting the new center to the tribal gravesites. The center itself houses a community hall for festival gathering and dancing, an auditorium for town meetings, a medical clinic for visiting physicians, a small library and student study space, a communal kitchen and dining area, and tribal offices.