"Let every step you take upon the earth be as a prayer." -Black Elk As an international student, I was never familiar with the Native American culture, and this studio serves as a very good starting point for me. Black Elk Speaks is a required book for the studio, and it really set the tone for the project. We took a 6-day field trip this past week traveling to South Dakota to see some Native American sacred grounds and visit Dr. Craig Howe, who is an Ogalala Sioux tribe citizen, and an expert in tribal architecture. Devils Tower It's also known as the Bear's Tipi. It's a magma-formed intrusion that is still getting taller each day. It is also a Native American sacred ground for many tribes including the Lakota. Deadwood Deadwood was originally part of the Native American reservation, but the settlers rushed in when they found out there's gold around the area. After the gold depleted. they switched gear into a tourist town with high-class cuisine, bars, and casinos. Mt. Rushmore Mt. Rushmore is a world-class monument with an unique location and outstanding craftsmanship. The monument also has some controversies since it's built on a Native American sacred ground, and it celebrates the European settlers who killed and enslaved Native Americans. Custer state park After the massacre of buffalo in mid-1870s, the herds have slowly recovering within the parks. Bison herds are extremely important to Lakota people back in the days since everything they used were from Bison (food, clothes, tools, toys, boats, tipi...etc). American Bison are super healthy for the environment! "The natural instinct of bison is to "selectively graze". This means they graze on dominant grasses - avoiding forbs and woody species - resulting in patchy distribution which allows for increased plant species and diversity by allowing forbs to flourish. Bison are always moving, they don't stay in one place for very long. So, rather than eating the grasses down in one place, bison graze on the ground cover that would "choke" nutrients from the ground. They naturally remove excessive growth, thus allowing more room for healthy plants and grasses to grow. As stated earlier, bison are always moving, their hoof prints can bury seeds, helping the growth of grasslands, but the pockets their hoof prints create are able to catch moisture and rain, aiding in moisture retention and the growth of plants. Small ponds and water holes have actually even been created by bison wallows (bison rolling on the ground, creating a shallow depression) which also aide in moisture retention." Source: http://thebisonlife.nebraskabison.com/2013/04/impact-of-bison-on-environment.html "Everywhere is the center of the world. Everything is sacred." -Black Elk Studio The project is to design a heritage center for the Lakota nation. Students have the freedom to adjust their programs and include different types of functions (Ex: museum, school, observatory, theater, library, hotel...etc.). The project aims to revitalize the economy and culture awareness within the reservation. Wingsprings We visited Dr. Craig Howe's facility for his specialty in tribal architecture and insightful project critiques. Dr. Howe categorizes different Native American architectures around the country into 5 types: Individualism, Indianism, Indigenousnism, Nationalism, Tribalism. The first three types are the wrong and shallow attempts for Native American architecture, the last two types are the ones he recommended. The first three types failed due to its focus on the superficial elements (materiality, color, painting, form). Dr. Howe thinks that in order to achieve a good tribal architecture, one has to consider with the space, context, and time. One of my favorite paragraphs from the book Black Elk Speaks: "Everything the Power of the World does is done in a circle. The sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power whirls. Birds make their nest in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours. The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle. The moon does the same and both are round. Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves. Our tepees were round like the nests of birds, and these were always set in a circle, the nation's hoop." -Black Elk
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AboutThis blog was launched in August, 2015 during my 8th year of studying abroad in Barcelona, Spain. I decided to start this blog and record some of my thoughts and moments. This blog is also dedicate to Richard Fu, a good friend of mine who is now guarding me from above. He inspired me to get out of the comfort zone and be curious about the world. Amig@'s blogs
Check out my brother Will's blog (in Mandarin) to see what he's up to these days (Design, fashion, food, technology, music, film...etc) Check out Kris' website for some high quality photos around the world Archives
September 2023
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