ABSTRACT
This chapter reports on the design research work carried out by the partnership Living in Northern Quebec: Mobilizing, Understanding, Imagining (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Canada • 2015–2021 • https://www.habiterlenordquebecois.org/" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">www.habiterlenordquebecois.org/). This work aims to better understand the aspirations of the Inuit (in Nunavik) and Innu (in Nitassinan) communities with regard to the qualities and meanings of their living environments. Scholars and professionals (in architecture, urban design, planning, and geomorphology), along with Indigenous advocates and stakeholders, have highlighted the challenges faced by Northern communities as well as their social importance and physical scope while thinking of new ways to address them. Collaborative activities (including design and codesign) provided a “meeting space” where ontologies intersect, in order to reveal distinct and evolving worldviews. This chapter covers five themes: (1) the conceptual underpinnings involved in building a partnership space with Indigenous communities; (2) the collaborative design research approach developed and tested by the participants; (3) the idea of dwelling as territory and home, which helps tackling such concepts as the sense of place and the nomadic ideal; (4) an overview of the challenges facing an urbanizing North; and (5) a review of innovative student projects and research outcomes. The partnership has welcomed the collaboration of Indigenous communities in building trust and openly discussing housing with the Southerners. It has become increasingly clear that Innu and Inuit communities are confident in participating in the “re-situation” of their territories and the emergence of new territories of interaction and development on a renewed path to self-determination.
