The First Ever Mayors’ Institute on City Design, co-sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Hosts Special Session for Mayors and Tribal Leaders
The Mayors’ Institute on City Design (MICD) hosted the Bridging Boundaries Special Session in Albuquerque, NM, September 4-6, 2024. The event, co-hosted by the Sante Fe, NM, office of MASS Design Group’s Sustainable Native Communities Design Lab, convened mayors and Tribal leaders in the first-ever special session dedicated to supporting Native citizens across the urban-rural continuum. More than 70 percent of the United States Native American population lives in or directly adjacent to urban centers. As sovereign nations, Tribal leaders often work directly with the U.S. Federal government and less often with local governments even though they share mutual responsibility for Native citizens and residents.
The session brought together Tribal and community leaders in a collaborative partnership to explore how we, as designers of cities and communities, can elevate the unique needs, challenges, and strengths of our Native populations and was profoundly transformative. The dialogue provided an opportunity for leaders to reflect and share candidly about the critical importance of incorporating an Indigenous perspective—particularly when it comes to housing, business incubation, culturally-centered gathering spaces, youth engagement, historic preservation, and equitable access to commerce and fresh foods.
The three-day gathering offered a unique and unprecedented opportunity for mayors and Tribal leaders to come together and discuss ways to bridge the gap between sovereign nations and municipal jurisdictions to serve Native citizens better. Participating mayors and Tribal leaders included Mayor Tim Keller, Albuquerque, NM, city host; Chairman Bobby Gonzalez, Caddo Nation of Oklahoma; Mayor Becky Daggett, Flagstaff, AZ; Mayor Travis Stovall, Gresham, OR; Mayor David Holt, Oklahoma City, OK; and Chairman Octavio Escobedo III, Tejon Indian Tribe of California.
Experts in architecture, landscape architecture, arts and culture, transportation, urban planning, real estate development, and economic development joined the mayors and Tribal leaders for two and a half days of discussions, exchanging ideas and offering pragmatic advice for each project. Participating experts included Dana Bourland, JPB Foundation, New York, NY; Chris Calott, University of California, Berkeley; Lydia Hausle, City of Boston Planning Department; Sam Olbekson, Full Circle Planning & Design, Minneapolis, MM; Michaela Shirley, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM; Shyla Spicer, Native Arts & Cultures Foundation, Portland, OR; Audrey West, MIG, Seattle, WA; and Joseph Kunkel, MASS Design Group Sustainable Native Communities Design Lab, Sante Fe, NM, and a Northern Cheyenne Nation citizen.
The participating mayors and Tribal leaders brought a range of projects to this session, seeking to address challenges and opportunities through improvements to the built environment. Throughout the session, mayors and Tribal leaders were affirmed in their ambitions for their communities, and encouraged to look beyond barriers when envisioning their futures. Participants took away inspiration from groundbreaking work in other Tribal communities and cities; ideas for authentic community engagement processes centered around Indigenous values; strategies for using the design process to promote community healing; guidance for retooling the RFP process to achieve visionary results; and a new network of practitioners, leaders, and communities doing similar work. Participants left with strengthened aspirations and a new set of tools for leading with design.
Creating an Understanding of How Design and Development Benefit Native Communities
Robust discussions and shared case studies provided each leader with concrete ideas for their project and a new understanding of how the design and development process can benefit Native communities. The Resource Team, a group of multidisciplinary experts whose breadth and depth of experience illustrated how design can generate creative solutions to complex problems, introduced mayors to the many facets of the design process.
One such case study was that of the Caddo Nation, which is poised to transform its downtown landholdings into a network of sites that holistically support Caddo Tribal members. Caddo people are descendants of those who lived throughout what is today Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma and represent more than 6,130 Tribal members. The city of Anadarko, a town on the Southern edge of Caddo County in Oklahoma, is home to the greatest number of Caddo Nation members. The community has an opportunity to create a cultural corridor to strengthen its livelihood and preserve its heritage for future generations.
“The convening of community leaders connected by the desire to support Native populations' needs provided an informed and holistic look at the universal and unique challenges we face,” said Bobby Gonzalez, Caddo Nation Honorable Chairman. “It provided a space to find partners committed to community development in support of our heritage.”
“Mayors are going a mile a minute by nature,” said David Holt, Mayor of Oklahoma City, OK. “The special session forces us to slow down and really think about a challenge, and surrounds that thought process with expertise.”
Albuquerque, New Mexico: Growing Urban Indigenous Population with Connections to Tribal Communities
The session began with a tour of Albuquerque led by host Mayor Tim Keller and Dr. Shelle Sanchez, Arts & Culture Director for the City of Albuquerque, showcasing the city’s unique history and position as a crossroads of Native American, Hispanic, Anglo, and many diasporic cultures. Mayor Keller welcomed the group to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center (IPCC) alongside its President and CEO, Mike Canfield.
Located on sovereign land owned by the 19 Pueblos of New Mexico within Albuquerque’s central business district, the IPCC campus serves as a gathering place and celebrates the vibrant culture of New Mexico’s Pueblos. The group was also welcomed by session host Joseph Kunkel, Principal at MASS Design Group and Director of its Sustainable Native Communities Design Lab in Santa Fe, NM; Ben Stone, Director of Design and Creative Placemaking at the National Endowment for the Arts; and Trinity Simons Wagner, Executive Director of the Mayors’ Institute on City Design.
Albuquerque is home to a growing urban Indigenous population with connections to a broad range of Tribal communities locally and nationally. The 2020 US Census reported that self-identifying American Indian and Alaska Natives made up between 5-6 percent of Albuquerque’s population. According to An Equity Profile of Albuquerque In 2014, Albuquerque’s population has been a majority People of Color since 2014, and Latinos, Asian American/Pacific Islanders, African Americans, Native Americans, and mixed race residents are driving its growth. Seventy-four percent of youth (under the age of 18) are People of Color, which presents an important call to the city to consider their future.
While in Albuquerque, the group explored a series of defining projects and landmarks, from Pueblo of Isleta’s plaza and cultural center to the Rail Yard campus redevelopment to the 4th and Barelas Community Kitchen development.
MASS Design Group co-led the tour of the community kitchen. In collaboration with Street Food Institute (SFI), MASS completed the design and soon-to-be-completed construction of a new commissary kitchen located in Barelas, one of Albuquerque’s oldest and predominantly Hispanic neighborhoods. In 2020, Homewise partnered with NeighborWorks America and conducted the Voices of Barelas survey to identify needs within the community. Localized job training emerged as a high-priority realm for investment. SFI helps people realize the dream of owning and operating a successful food service business. The new commissary kitchen will enable SFI to provide education and training in a lab format for small food businesses to develop recipes and concepts. The kitchen will be a safe place for learning, from intergenerational teachings to shared cultural experiences and traditions.
“There is progress and inspiration in the convening of cultures and communities to solve community problems,” said MASS Design Group’s Kunkel. “Indian Country has continuously demonstrated how innovative financing and culturally responsive design can lead to more equitable and sustainable community development. Working closely alongside Indigenous partners, we ensure the built environment reflects and honors the histories, the stories, and the people. This starts with listening to the community to better understand the needs from their perspectives. Together, we work to identify opportunities with Native partners. We look forward to the next meeting of mayors, Tribal leaders, and partners.”
MICD is co-sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
The Mayors’ Institute on City Design (MICD) is a leadership initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the United States Conference of Mayors. Since 1986, MICD has helped transform communities through design by preparing mayors to be the chief urban designers of their cities. MICD conducts several sessions each year. For a list of upcoming events, past participants, and more information, visit micd.org and follow @MICDdotORG on social media.