SAH Announces New SAH Indigenous Architecture Affiliate Group

Jul 12, 2023 by SAH News

The Society of Architectural Historians is pleased to announce the formation of the SAH Indigenous Architecture Affiliate Group, which aims to build a community of scholars whose work focuses on Indigenous architecture.

The SAH Affiliate Group defines Indigenous architecture as “architecture designed by or for Indigenous people. The group considers architecture in a broader sense to include not only buildings, but how people define and use space on the land and how they create buildings in response to their worldviews and the interrelationship between humankind and the natural environment. This definition encompasses traditional forms of Indigenous architecture (pre-colonial to present), colonial architecture affiliated or concerned with Indigenous communities (such as BIA boarding schools or HUD housing), and recent Indigenous architecture (designed in collaboration with Indigenous communities and/or designed by Indigenous architects).”

The Affiliate Group will concern itself with the study of Indigenous architecture from all time periods. Geographically, the group is beginning from a position in North America, but scholars whose work focuses on Indigenous architecture beyond North America are welcome to join.

Members of the SAH Indigenous Architecture Affiliate Group will connect and collaborate on research on Indigenous architecture, seek funding sources to support their work, organize paper sessions and roundtables, and support and mentor Indigenous students of architecture and architectural history. The group also aims to increase publications on Indigenous architecture, which is underrepresented in architectural discourse and education.

The co-chairs and founding members of the SAH Indigenous Architecture Affiliate Group are listed below. 


Affiliate Group Co-Chairs:

Jason Tippeconnic Fox, PhD (Comanche/Cherokee)
Architectural Historian, Idaho State Historic Preservation Office

Anne Lawrason Marshall, RA, PhD
Professor Emeritus, Architecture/American Indian Studies, University of Idaho


Distinguished Elders Joining as Founding Members:

Daniel J. Glenn, AIA, NCARB (Apsáalooke-Crow)
Principal Architect of 7 Directions Architects/Planners

Theodore (Ted) S. Jojola, PhD (Isleta Pueblo)
Distinguished Professor & Regents’ Professor, Architecture & Planning, Univ. of New Mexico
Founder & Director, Indigenous Design and Planning Institute, University of New Mexico

Johnpaul Jones, FAIA (Choctaw/Cherokee)
Principal, Jones and Jones

Brian McCormack, RLA (Nez Perce)
Principal Landscape Architect, McCormack Landscape Architecture

Lynn Paxson, PhD
University Professor & Professor of Architecture Emerita, Iowa State University