Regenerative Architecture on the Mandan Hidatsa and Arikara Nation
Pull off US 23 onto Lake Sakakawea Road and continue past an expansive solar field until reaching a circular structure reminiscent of the Badlands. Park and walk past an unforgettable welcome from the Three Chiefs sculpture by MHA Tribal Member Kathy Whitman. You have arrived at the Three Affiliated Tribes – Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara […]
Respecting the Tribe: The 7 principles of Indigenous engagement in the design process
By Mike Laverdure Principal, Director of First American Design Studio Since joining DSGW in 2008, I’ve worked on over 150 projects with 35 tribes in 8 states. Over the past decade we’ve learned a great deal about how to collaborate with Indigenous communities. We’ve discovered there are ways we prefer to work with tribes and […]
DSGW presents “Growing Older Close to Home: Strategies to build skilled care facilities in Tribal communities” at the 2018 Environments for Aging Conference
Environments for Aging brings together national leaders working to develop ideas that improve the living environments for an aging population. In three days, attendees network, learn and share latest innovations and best practices in senior friendly design for long-term and residential care settings. Architect Randy Wagner of DSGW had the opportunity to present with, Ron […]
Integration of Tribal workforce training at Onigum Community Center
This month the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe celebrated the grand opening of the Onigum Community Center. This new energy efficient facility is an anchor to the community and is home to the Onigum Night Hawks. This facility includes community gathering spaces, a gymnasium, library, elder’s area, education spaces, a commercial kitchen, fitness area and […]
The Promise of the ‘Patient Centered Medical Home Model’ for Tribal Healthcare
By Rebecca Lewis, FAIA, FACHA, CID Director of Healthcare Design, Principal of DSGW Architects As architects, we design physical spaces. But as healthcare planners, we also design for human relationships. In clinics and hospitals, the “Patient-Centered Medical Home Model” is not a space at all—but a partnership between patients and their primary healthcare providers. PCMH […]
Fort Totten School to be First Net Zero School on Tribal Land in the Country
Fort Totten, ND – Fort Totten Public Schools is planning to build the first net-zero school on tribal land in the country. A net-zero school is an energy-efficient building that produces more energy than it consumes every year. There are other net zero schools in the United States, but this new school will be […]
Supportive Housing for American Indian Youth
Urban housing project aims to reestablish Native identity among American Indian youth MHP Connect by Carolyn Szczepanski “I couldn’t breathe,” Deb Foster recalls. It was June 2016 and the Executive Director of the Ain Dah Yung Center (ADYC) was on a conference call with half-a-dozen partners. For months, they had been working urgently to secure a site […]
Healing Interiors
by Carlie Kemp, CID, DSGW Interior Designer Creating a healing environment means more than choosing a particular carpet type or paint color. What matters is that people feel welcome, that the environment feels comfortable and familiar. Especially with our work in tribal communities such as the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, clinics are […]
Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe Breaks Ground on New Health Clinic
by Carleen Wild, Moody County Enterprise Groundbreaking ceremonies were held this past week for a tribal health care project years in the making. Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribal officials along with health care staff, and about a dozen others gathered on the land right next to the Wicoicaga Otipi Community Center on Broad Avenue. A new […]
Lac Vieux Desert breaks ground on new clinic
Your Daily Globe by Tom Stankard WATERSMEET – The Lac Vieux Desert Tribe hosted a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday to celebrate its new $10 million state-of-the-art health center. Tribal chairman James Williams said the tribe has been in need of a new facility for some time now. After much trouble, Williams said the tribe found funding […]
