Bottom Center: ISAPD member Anjelica S. Gallegos, Greenberg Fellow Diego A. Tituana, UNRIPS Board member Dr.Cunningham and various undergraduate, graduate, and PhD Yale scholars.

On October 11th 2019, ISAPD member, Anjelica S. Gallegos attended the United Nations Rights of Indigenous Peoples Series (UNRIPS) session in New York City.

Yale Greenberg Fellow and Ecuadorian Foreign Service Diplomat, Diego A. Tituana, led a group of Yale scholars actively working on Indigenous issues in a variety of fields to the United Nations headquarters. The scholars had the opportunity to converse with UNRIPS Special Rapporteur Victoria Tauli – Corpuz and current UNRIPS board member and past Chair, Dr.Myrna Cunningham. Tituana, Corpuz and Cunningham assisted in the United Nation’s approval of 2019 as the International Year of Indigenous Language.

The United Nation Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted by the General Assembly in 2007 and can be viewed here.This inaugural UNRIPS session is the beginning of an ongoing series for students interested in Indigenous knowledge and rights to attend future UNRIPS events.

ISAPD was featured in Paprika!, the weekly broadsheet written and directed by students at the Yale School of Architecture. As part of the September 19, 2019 sheet ISAPD’s exhibition Making Space for Resistance: Past, Present, Future was reviewed and members were interviewed on the spatial significance and construction processes of the exhibit. The full article can be viewed here: https://yalepaprika.com/articles/making-space-for-resistance

ISAPD members Summer Sutton, Anjelica S. Gallegos, and Charelle Brown with Duane Blue Spruce, Facilities Planning coordinator at the Smithsonian Institution. Photo by Tony Fiorini

The opening reception for the Making Space for Resistance: Past, Present and Future occurred on September 6, 2019 at the Yale School of Architecture. The diverse crowd included students and professors from the architecture, forestry, anthropology, history and art departments.

ISAPD members discussed the historical background and theory behind the idea of the exhibit. The five spatial realms were discussed in detail along with the meaning behind the “paths” on the floor of the exhibition. The indigenous histories and lifeways associated with all of the textiles and materials in the exhibition were brought to the attention of the audience. The curatorial process and specific examples of art pieces within the exhibit, construction process and community involvement played a key role in creating an Indigenous spatial identity.

Duane Blue Spruce, (Laguna Pueblo), architect and planning coordinator of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) in New York, shared his experience of becoming an architect as an Indigenous person. Additionally, Sutton interviewed Blue Spruce where he shared some details of his past and current projects including serving as the primary liaison between the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C. and the architectural design team for ten years. His published work includes “Spirit of a Native Place”, “The Land Has Memory” and “A Native Son’s Tribute to New York”.

After the discussion, the attendees were encouraged to enjoy refreshments and experience the exhibition.

Charelle Brown discusses the group’s efforts to connect with indigenous communities through social media and family involvement. Photo by Tony Fiorini

Summer Sutton interviews Duane Blue Spruce about his involvement in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. Photo by Tony Fiorini

From Left to Right: Diego Tituaña Matango, Yale Maurice R. Greenberg World Fellow 2019; Abdul-Rehman Malik, Yale Maurice R. Greenberg World Fellow 2017; Summer Sutton, Yale Architecture PhD Student and ISAPD Member; Ned Blackhawk, Professor of History and American Studies, Yale University. Photo by Tony Fiorini

Spectators were encouraged to look at the exhibition after the discussion. Photo by Tony Fiorini

The Yale M.Arch Class of 2021 voted to adopt a tribal land acknowledgement for the Building Project of 2019. ISAPD member and M.Arch Class of 2021 student, Anjelica S. Gallegos, collaborated with the Yale New England Indian Papers Series (Native Northeast Research Collaborative) to provide information on the Indigenous inhabitants and care takers of the building site.

The current building site on Plymouth Street of New Haven, Connecticut falls under the jurisdiction of two separate articles of agreement between Quinnipiac leaders and English authorities during the 17th Century. The annotated treaties are referenced on the Yale Building Project of 2019 website.

ISAPD members are positive and resolved the tribal land acknowledgement and vital collaboration with the Yale New England Indian Papers Series (Native Northeast Research Collaborative) will become part of the Yale School of Architecture’s Jim Vlock Building Project legacy.

Read the tribal land acknowledgement here.

ISAPD recently launched a campaign to create a commemorative art installation which honors and spreads awareness of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women epidemic.

The designed installation will be built by members of ISAPD during the summer of 2019 and will be featured in the gallery show curated by ISAPD entitled:

Making Space for Resistance: Past, Present Future
Yale School of Architecture – North Gallery
August 29, 2019 -October 5, 2019

To read more about the campaign please visit the gofundme website here!

The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women art installation will provide a unique and necessary commemoration to the Indigenous women from an architectural perspective and will energize the spatial practices of healing from those often overlooked.

Thank you for your support!
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ISAPD is thrilled that our exhibition proposal for the North Gallery in the Yale School of Architecture has been selected! Our exhibit, Making Space for Resistance: Present, Past, Future will open August 29, 2019 and run through October 5, 2019. We’re looking forward to sharing more of our vision for this exhibit as the weeks count down!