Native Nation Building Studio

Native Singers with hand drums giving the blessing during the Journey to Churchill opening day at the Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.  Hand-drawn and water-colored conceptual design of the multistoried Wildlife Center located within the Washington State University Arboretum. Mountain Maidu Elder, local artist, and volunteer landscape architects drawing initial conceptual drawings for Tásmam Kojóm Maidu Cultural Park during a workshop in Chester, California. White River or Spalkohl in the Lushootseed Language that runs through the Muckleshoot Indian Tribes Reservation located in Auburn, Washington. MIG Landscape Architect Meeting with Kumeyaay Nation member during the Annual Traditional Gathering at the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel Reservation to request input on the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel Tribal Community Plan.

Native Nation Building Studio

For Indigenous by Indigenous. MIG supports Indigenous communities in planning your own futures. We listen, learn and translate the needs, desires and priorities of the communities we serve, to balance informed decisions in setting direction—to help strengthen communities’ cohesiveness, self-determination and assertion over their Nation’s sovereign status.

We bring together professionals who have a passion for collaborating on Indigenous community-building, each with a desire to share their gifts and knowledge, support the well-being and long-term success of Indigenous communities, and help accelerate equity-based actions for Indigenous communities.

Our goal is to help strengthen Indigenous people’s connections to land and community, make those connections visible, and physically reconnect Indigenous people to the land.

The Studio is more than a series of projects. It is a journey with you. We wish to invest our time and resources to provide a comprehensive set of planning and design services that are sensitive to your cultural heritage and respectful of your community’s aspirations.

Relevant Resources

MIG News
“We are in an Indigenous Renaissance…but there are still many circles of harm to break.” José de Jesus Leal, Director of MIG’s Native Nation Building Studio, shared his powerful perspective about Indigenous people and land at the recent National ASLA Conference in Minneapolis.
MIG News
The US has had a fraught history in educating Native American children. “Growing Ute Futures” can profoundly change the future for the children of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe.
MIG News
Landscape Architecture Foundation released its case study of Yanaguana Garden Play Area in San Antonio, citing quantifiable environmental, social and economic benefits.
 

Partner with Us

We'd be happy to meet, discuss your projects and opportunities, and determine how we can help. Or just have a friendly chat! Let us know how best to contact you.

Contact the studio