The intention of the Indigenous Wayfinding Initiative is to address how people move through the University’s spaces through “a comprehensive system of signage and wayfinding.” However, it is also intended to be a figurative pathway that educates the wider campus community and celebrates the Indigenous Peoples and territories on which the campus is situated. Through two workshop discussions with Indigenous members of the campus community, the functional objectives of the Indigenous Wayfinding Initiative were addressed, and some suggestions were offered. However, the participants also spoke to the deeper, “transformational” potential of wayfinding interventions that embody Indigenous knowledges and identities, and their capacity to motivate the campus community to learn about and uphold the University’s commitment to reconciliation.
In addition to the suggestions that are documented in the Workshop Findings section, the workshop participants generally agreed that Indigenous Wayfinding is an important initiative that ought to be supported by the following considerations:
- Create an advisory body to support and guide the Indigenous Wayfinding Initiative. An advisory body or committee should comprise Indigenous members of the University and community members from the Six Nations of the Grand River and Mississaugas of the Credit First Nations. Indigenous community members ought to be involved in all aspects of the Indigenous Wayfinding Initiative from its planning and design to its eventual implementation. However, it is also recommended that Indigenous community members are actively engaged in the long term as knowledge holders and keepers of the initiative.
- Education is essential and needs to embedded within any wayfinding intervention. Education is the paramount concern to avoid wayfinding strategies that are, at best, performative or symbolic gestures. Whether the University chooses to implement wayfinding interventions that reflect (re)naming, narrative and/or placemaking approaches, it is essential that all members of the campus community have an opportunity to learn and develop a deeper understanding about the meaning or significance of those interventions. In effect, if wayfinding is to be transformational and provide culturally and historically thick experiences of the campus, it ought to be more than the superficial application of labels to campus spaces.
- Consider an integrated Indigenous Wayfinding strategy that reflects multiple approaches. The three approaches to Indigenous wayfinding – i.e. (re)naming, narrative, and placemaking – should not be regarded as alternative strategies. In other words, the University is encouraged to think about how each approach can be considered and integrated into a comprehensive Indigenous Wayfinding strategy.
- Consider a phased approach to Indigenous Wayfinding. Building the relationships needed to create an advisory group of Indigenous community members can take considerable time. Moreover, whether and how to name spaces or use symbols/iconography that reflect Indigenous identities and narratives also requires significant care and time. The University is encouraged to consider how it will implement Indigenous wayfinding within short (0-3 year), medium (3-5 year), and long-term (5-10 year) phases.
- Look for and address immediate ‘wins.’ There are multiple spaces across the campus that represent Indigenous People and communities in the life of the University. In the short-term, these can be inventoried and documented – e.g. a physical and/or virtual campus map that can be used on campus tours – to highlight and direct campus users to Indigenous campus spaces.
- Embed Indigenous Wayfinding within the Campus Plan. The Campus Plan is the primary document that guides the planning and management of the University’s physical spaces. In effect, the Campus Plan is the gatekeeper of the ‘big ideas’ that informs campus development over a ten-year period, and the University of Waterloo’s plan will be updated in 2025. Over the next year, there is a well-timed opportunity to incorporate and elevate the Indigenous Wayfinding Initiative within the framework of the Campus Plan to ensure that it has a place in future campus planning and design decision-making.