Human Flags

The Canadian Government, as a reaction to Cold War era fears, used indigenous people as flags in the high Arctic region during the 1950s. Several Inuit families were relocated 2,000 km north of their traditional hunting and foraging grounds in northern Quebec to the remote Cornwallis Island at 74° N. It took until the 1990s for the Federal Government to conduct hearings on the relocation program, with a formal apology and admission of inhumane treatment given in 2010.

First Nations, Inuit, and Metis struggle for identity and citizenship in modern Canada. Two significant actions wielding greater power of citizenship is self-governance and land management. The establishment of Nunavut, Canada’s newest territory, in 1999 has improved Inuit ability to self-govern. Similarly, the ongoing negotiations of land claims to establish the right to protect and manage land traditionally used for resources and way of life. Numerous land claims are still being negotiated today and should be seen as a pillar of reconciliation for Indigenous citizenship.

Lateral Office

Lateral Office is an experimental design practice based in Toronto founded by Lola Sheppard (Canada) and Mason White (USA). Lateral Office is a recipient of a National Urban Design award (2016) from RAIC, Progressive Architecture award (2013), and Emerging Voices (2011) from The Architectural League. They represented Canada at the 2014 Venice Biennale with the awarded project “Arctic Adaptations.” Sheppard and White are the authors of the celebrated book Many Norths: Spatial Practice in a Polar Territory (Actar, 2017). lateraloffice.com