Architectural Tools and Technology for Tribal Communities

Join Center for Architecture for the first program in the In the Realm of Indigenous Architectures series, developed in collaboration with the Indigenous Society of Architecture, Planning and Design (ISAPD). In the Realm of Indigenous Architectures presents built projects, architectural tools, and historical policy illustrating the preservation of culture and transformation of Indigenous communities in the United States today.

Miriam Diddy (Hopi, Navajo) is a planner and GIS specialist and has worked on planning, mapping, and community engagement efforts for several tribes across the Southwest. While at AOS Architects, Diddy was the lead designer coding and building the award-winning Zuni Housing Authority mobile app, which collects housing and demographics data on nearly 2,000 homes at Zuni Pueblo. Diddy will highlight the importance of architectural tools and technology for tribal communities and share her experience developing the app and its potential expansive use for other departments or tribes in the future.

Speaker:
Miriam Diddy (Hopi + Navajo), AICAE, Planner, MRWM

About the Speaker:
Miriam Diddy is a planner and GIS specialist. She has a BA in environmental planning and design from UNM. Diddy has assisted on planning and building assessment/inventory efforts for several tribal clients, including the Pueblos of Zuni, Laguna, Cochiti, Santo Domingo, and San Ildefonso. As part of these efforts, she has developed a mobile phone app geared towards the assessment of historic structures in traditional tribal communities that has been customized for multiple clients to streamline data collection and reinforce data sovereignty in Indian Country. Born and raised in New Mexico, Diddy is a member of the Navajo Nation (Diné) with additional Hopi and Ukrainian heritage. She currently volunteers for several non-profits including as Secretary for the American Indian Council of Architects and Engineers (AICAE) and as a Steering Committee Member for the Tribal + Indigenous Planning Division of the American Planning Association (APA). She also serves as Board Member for Creative Startups, a non-profit with the mission of helping individuals successfully launch creative businesses and entrepreneurs that help drive the creative economy.

Related Events
October 4 – Architectural Tools and Technology for Tribal Communities
October 11 – The Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative
October 18 – The Albuquerque Indian Boarding School
October 25 –  Affordable Housing and Community at Siler Yard

About the Indigenous Society of Architecture, Planning, and Design (ISAPD)
The Indigenous Society of Architecture, Planning, and Design (ISAPD) is the parent organization of the former Indigenous Scholars of Architecture, Planning, and Design at Yale. ISAPD is an expanded membership organization, now fiscally sponsored, focusing on increasing international knowledge, consciousness, and appreciation of Indigenous architecture, planning, and design, inclusive of landscape architecture and environmental design, in academia and the professional realm. ISAPD works toward fundamentally supporting and increasing the representation of American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, First Nations, Aboriginal Australians, Māori, and other Indigenous Scholars and Peoples in these fields.

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