(I01) Lessons from the Village: Indigenous Values Meet Sustainability Certification Systems

San Francisco is the land of Ramaytush Ohlone People. Millions of Indigenous peoples have been displaced by centuries of U.S. policy of removal and extermination. The Village SF is establishing a space of belonging for urban, Indigenous people that solves for their current reality—namely that American Indians are urban, inter-tribal, inter-racial, and without a physical and cultural home. A place like The Village does not exist in any other urban area—a physical building where urban American Indians can gather to connect with each other and their indigeneity and receive critical essential services in a culturally sensitive environment. In this session, project team members Equity Community Builders (ECB), PYATOK architecture + design, and Stok will share the story of how The Village SF came to be and where it's heading. From their experience bringing this one-of-a-kind cultural, spiritual, and social services space to life, presenters will dive into questions at the crux of this unique exercise in Indigenous placemaking: How are today's green building frameworks aligned with the project's vision, set by long-standing, immutable Indigenous values? How can an Indigenous ownership group and majority non-Indigenous building professionals collaborate authentically to bring to life a building embodying Indigenous values? How can cost and space constraints be navigated to deliver an ambitious Native-led vision? Through this lens, presenters will share the unique cultural-based sustainability imperatives and the dialogue that are guiding the project's environmental direction. Presenters will discuss how they are aligning sustainability goals with the Native cultural vision to identify relevant building frameworks and hotspots that fit the owner's values and vision while incorporating practical limitations like cost constraints. Operated by Native-led organizations, The Village SF is a blueprint for Indigenous placemaking in San Francisco and urban areas across the nation, with collaboration, community, and sustainability at its core.