Algoma University – Mukwa Waakaa’igan Indigenous Centre of Cultural Excellence

The Mukwa Waakaa’igan Indigenous Centre of Cultural Excellence is a significant development at Algoma University in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Envisioned as a safe and welcoming space, the Centre is dedicated to cross-cultural teaching, learning, and understanding, allowing visitors from around the globe to engage with and learn from Indigenous heritage. It is designed to be a place for truth-telling, healing, cultural preservation, and reconciliation, and will notably house the Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre (SRSC) Archives and the Aboriginal Healing Foundation Collection.
 
The name "Makwa Waakaa’igan," meaning "Bear's Den" in Anishinaabemowin, was given through ceremony and reflects the building's role as a place of learning and healing. The architectural design is profoundly influenced by Indigenous teachings, evident in everything from the building's form to its material selection. The concept imagines a form that recalls "Makwa" – the bear, a carrier of medicine, a healer, and protector – rising from the ground and moving towards the North, the direction of the Spirits, from water, the origin of life.