Memory and Myth:Storytelling as a Design Tool for a Youth Camp in Haida Gwaii

Abstract

Located at Swan Bay on the islands of Haida Gwaii (formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands) in Pacific Northwestern British Columbia, this thesis uses the mode of ‘storytelling’ to design a cultural education camp for the Rediscovery Organization. In these camps, Haida youth learn about traditional Haida culture from the elders of Haida Gwaii. This thesis explores the use of architecture to help re-establish Indigenous identity. I believe that by incorporating elements of Haida stories and Haida methods of storytelling, I can develop an architectural language that begins to speak to the Haida, as well as for them.