Producer / Director Bryan Gunnar Cole – Nia Tero & Wayfinders Circle, approached Design for Awareness looking to create two maps for a film about the Blackfoot Confederacy – Niitsitapi. The first map needed to indicate the borders of the existing reservations, while also showing the full expanse of Blackfoot territory. The second map needed to indicate the locations of the Residential Schools, and the gravity of this network of forced assimilation.
The design process required a deep dive into the colonial nature of map making, with its underlying dual purpose of possession and control of property. How does one depict an indigenous perspective of territory, concerned with looking after the land, rather than owning it? Ultimately we chose to back into the message: starting with the colonizer map, blending the existing reservation borders, and allowing the land itself to emerge.
A special thank you to all involved for the profound lessons learned throughout this process.