During the ASLA 2024 Conference in Washington, D.C., a group of Indigenous landscape architects met at the National Museum of the American Indian. ASLA had approached MIG’s José de Jesús Leal, Principal and Native Nation Building Studio Director, and Nathaniel Willing, ASLA, APA, to convene the meeting. The goal was to understand the needs of Indigenous groups and jump start a grassroots effort to foster connection and collaboration between Indigenous communities and the field of landscape architecture.
Although the meetup was informal, it’s part of a larger plan to build an Indigenous Collective Group within ASLA to enrich the profession and support Indigenous voices in shaping landscapes of the future.
“We’re creating the Collective to uplift Indigenous voices in landscape architecture,” Willing said. “We’re advancing Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) principles of survival, dignity and well-being of the Indigenous peoples of the world, and our Indigenous identity to inspire and empower future generations.”
“We are planting the seeds for generations to come,” said Paul Fragua, MIG Architect/Planner. “As we awaken the voices and knowledge of our Indigenous Peoples we are asking the spirits through prayer, ceremony, song and dance to guide us all to a more sustainable and spiritual coexistence with the natural world.”
Holding this meeting at the American Indian Museum was deeply symbolic, given Washington, D.C.’s legacy of Indigenous civil rights movements. These historic movements have stood firmly for sovereignty, recognition, and human rights, laying the groundwork for future generations to organize and advocate within powerful institutions such as ASLA. The efforts of these past leaders have made possible gatherings like this, where the Collective can now connect, inspire, and build a community dedicated to reshaping the landscape architecture field with Indigenous voices. It will work with the ASLA to begin reconciling the role of colonization in separating Native people from the land, and recognizing that the Nations are sovereign and respected.
The Collective is planning for a robust Indigenous presence at future ASLA conferences and is committed to building a unified future in which Indigenous cultural heritage and knowledge are woven into the landscape of tomorrow, honoring both tradition and progress.
“We will continue this journey together,” said Leal. “We bring awareness that there is another way, maybe a better way, of doing things. One based on respect for all: humans, plants, animals, waters and lands.”