Indigenous Perspectives And Community-Led Approaches To Shaping Indoor Environments
Chair(s): Sarah Haines (University of Toronto, Canada), Helen Stopps (Toronto Metropolitan University)
Many First Nations communities across Canada continue to face critical housing challenges, including poor indoor environmental quality (IEQ), overcrowding, and homes in urgent need of repair. These conditions are not only structural but deeply tied to systemic inequities and colonial legacies. Addressing these challenges requires approaches that center Indigenous perspectives, lived experiences, and self-determined priorities. This session will explore community-led strategies for improving IEQ through a Two-Eyed Seeing framework, bringing together Indigenous and Western ways of knowing to co-develop meaningful, sustainable solutions. Through hands-on activities and presentations from Indigenous leaders and housing practitioners, participants will gain insight into the cultural, technical, and environmental dimensions of indoor environments in First Nations communities. Drawing from our "From Harvest to House" program, we will highlight how storytelling, knowledge sharing, and capacity building are used to empower community champions and drive local innovation. By grounding our work in relationships and respect, we aim to shift how engineered solutions are conceived and implemented, ensuring they are not only technically sound, but also culturally resonant and community-driven.
Presentations of the Workshop
Two-Eyed Seeing And IEQ Challenges On-Reserves
Natalie Clyke1, Sarah Haines2
1From Harvest to House, 2University of Toronto
Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in on-reserve housing presents urgent health and safety concerns, with many homes facing issues such as mold, poor ventilation, and overcrowding. These challenges are compounded by systemic inequities in housing provision and a lack of culturally appropriate design standards. This session introduces participants to the Two-Eyed Seeing (Etuaptmumk) approach as a guiding principle for understanding and responding to these complex issues.
Two-Eyed Seeing invites us to bring together Indigenous and Western ways of knowing, enabling a more holistic understanding of IEQ that values both technical assessment and the lived experiences of community members. Through this session, participants will explore the historical and structural context behind current housing conditions on-reserves and consider how Indigenous knowledge can inform and enhance conventional engineering and environmental practices. Designed as an entry point, this session equips attendees with the foundational concepts and context needed to engage respectfully and effectively in work related to IEQ and housing equity in Indigenous communities.
From Harvest to House: Centering community engagement and community led-approaches to housing
Natalie Clyke1, Helen Stopps2
1From Harvest to House, 2Toronto Metropolitan University
The From Harvest to House program centers Indigenous leadership in addressing persistent housing inequities in First Nations communities. By empowering local champions and leveraging tools such as storytelling, knowledge sharing, data collection, and capacity building, the project supports the development of housing solutions that are both technically sound and culturally rooted. This initiative responds to the growing need for community-driven strategies that not only improve indoor environmental quality (IEQ) but also enhance long-term resilience through the integration of cultural values.
In this session, we will share insights from our review of current gaps in on-reserve housing and discuss how the From Harvest to House program addresses the intersectional nature of these challenges. Emphasizing relational approaches and Two-Eyed Seeing, the project demonstrates how blending Indigenous knowledge systems with engineering and design practices can foster more sustainable, healthy living environments. Looking ahead, future phases of the program will explore the use of virtual reality tools for training and housing maintenance in northern and remote communities, innovations aimed at reducing accessibility barriers and enhancing local capacity.
Redefining Our Relationship To Building Materials Through Two-Eyed Seeing
Becky Big Canoe1, Joshua Thronton2
1Mno Aki Land Trust, 2Natural Build
This session explores how Two-Eyed Seeing can inform architectural design and improve indoor environmental quality (IEQ). Beginning with a reflection led by Becky Big Canoe guiding participants through the recollection of traditional methods of knowledge keeping and her experience exploring opportunities for geographically available and sustainable building materials. Participants will then join Joshua Thornton in a hands-on exercise exploring different states of consciousness to solve a structural equilibrium challenge. By engaging both analytical and relational approaches to natural materials, the session encourages new ways of thinking about design, air quality, and material performance. Participants will leave with a deeper understanding of how culturally grounded, community-responsive methods can enhance both technical capacity and IEQ outcomes in the built environment.