For Immediate Release
June 1, 2022
OTTAWA, June 1, 2022 - In honour of National Indigenous History Month, the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) is proud to announce an extension of our collaboration with NVision Insight Group to offer an online Indigenous cultural awareness training program for the Architecture community.
The RAIC is committed to engaging in sustainable actions to foster reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. Our renewed strategic plan is anchored in reconciliation and building and strengthening our relationship with Indigenous peoples. Offering an ongoing cultural competency training program supports our vision to answering Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action to provide education on “the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal– Crown relations.” This course is for anyone who works with Indigenous communities or organizations, anyone who employs an Indigenous workforce, anyone committed to social, cultural, or economic development and anyone committed to a stronger Canada, a more compassionate Canada, and a Canada of empowered Indigenous communities.
Since launching the course in 2021, hundreds of architecture professionals and firms have made the commitment to enhance their Indigenous cultural awareness and joined us on The Path. We are also proud to announce that starting June 1, 2022, the RAIC will contribute a portion of each course registration to the Indian Residential School Survivor Society, an organization that provides essential services to Residential School Survivors, their families, and those dealing with Intergenerational traumas.
The Path: Your Journey Through Indigenous Canada is a series of five online modules created by a majority Indigenous-owned company and has been developed with First Nations, Inuit and Métis advisors and reviewers. Additionally, the modules were vetted by an Indigenous lawyer for accuracy related to legal references within the modules. This course will introduce you to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis ─ the three Indigenous peoples recognized in the Canadian constitution. Topics include the cultural and historical differences between First Nations, Inuit, and Métis; the evolution of the relationship between Canada and Indigenous people from pre-contact to yesterday’s headlines; stories of social and economic success, reconciliation, and resilience; understanding intercultural communication in the workplace, and ways to strengthen relationships with Indigenous peoples.
The online course is completely video-based, available in English or French, and is the only course of its kind to focus in equal depth on all three Indigenous peoples: First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The course is on-demand and takes approximately 4 to 5 hours to complete with a certificate provided upon successful completion.
“It is our responsibility to build relationships with Indigenous peoples based on a recognition of rights, respect, cooperation, and partnership. Learning more about Indigenous cultures, histories and languages is crucial to developing a common understanding and opening the door to respectful relationships” states John Brown, FRAIC, President of the RAIC. “We have an ambitious goal for all members of the RAIC to complete this training. This program is one small step that we can all take together in creating a more culturally safe sector moving forward.”
As a national organization, with headquarters in Ottawa, the RAIC honours the peoples and land of the Algonquin Anishinaabe Nation and all First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples and their valuable past, present and future contributions to this land. The RAIC acknowledges the historical oppression of lands, cultures, and the original Peoples in what we now know as Canada, as well as the role architects and architecture played in that oppression. The RAIC respects and affirms the inherent and Treaty rights of all Indigenous peoples across this land as well as those outlined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People.
The RAIC is committed to listening and learning along this journey together.
RAIC members can access the full course for $100 + HST. The course is also available to others for $145 + HST. Visit our website for more information and to register for The Path.
ABOUT NVISION
NVision Insight Group is a majority Indigenous-owned consulting company with First Nations, Inuit, Métis and non-Indigenous shareholders and staff. NVision is an authorized vendor and provider of cultural awareness training for the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB). Over the last twenty-five years, NVision Insight has grown from a small group of friends working on a single project to become one of Canada’s leading Indigenous consulting firms, with more than 100 staff across the country, and offices in Ottawa and Iqaluit.
ABOUT RAIC
The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) is a not-for-profit, national organization dedicated to representing architects and architecture since 1907. The RAIC is the only national voice for excellence in the built environment in Canada focused on providing Canada’s architectural community with the tools, resources, and education to elevate their practice. The RAIC is committed to showcasing how design enhances quality of life, while advocating for important issues of society through responsible architecture. The RAIC’s purpose is to create a better world for all by empowering Canada’s architectural community. Through our work, the organization envisions a strong architectural community that is valued and empowered to create change. The RAIC’s national office is based in Ottawa with a growing federated chapter model. Current chapters and networks are based in British Columbia, Alberta, and Nova Scotia. https://www.raic.org/
For more information:
Ashley Belleau-Dame