Elizabeth Yeoh
Restorying Dammed Waters: Towards Kichisippi Pimisi (American Eel) recovery in Algonquin Provincial Park
Elizabeth Yeoh
Restorying Dammed Waters: Towards Kichisippi Pimisi (American Eel) recovery in Algonquin Provincial Park
Restorying Dammed Waters: Towards Kichisippi Pimisi (American Eel) recovery in Algonquin Provincial Park
→ ARCH 692
About
Since time immemorial, the migrations of Pimisi (American Eel) to the Kichisippi (Ottawa River) watershed have woven a vast web of interdependencies. Damming projects along these waters have driven Pimisi to endangerment, impacting ecological balances, cultural ties for the Algonquin Anishinaabeg, and relational understandings of the watershed.
Restorying Dammed Waters responds to current Pimisi recovery efforts by intervening in barriers to their habitat in what is now Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario. Successive and prolonged dam operations stemming from the park’s settlement have long enabled the commercialization of wilderness for logging and recreation. Through drawing and mapping, I deconstruct the colonial underpinnings of these infrastructures that shape the delineations and potential encounters between Pimisi and other beings.
The synthesis of these studies offers an alternative story for the park’s aging Cache Lake dam to support recovery. The design of a series of restorative and interpretive interventions reinstates the rights of Pimisi to access these waters, improves habitat conditions, and invites human awareness and care. Amidst the broader discourse of reconciliation, Pimisi recovery is an opportunity to consider a relational approach to design that bridges species, scales, and ways of knowing.
About
Since time immemorial, the migrations of Pimisi (American Eel) to the Kichisippi (Ottawa River) watershed have woven a vast web of interdependencies. Damming projects along these waters have driven Pimisi to endangerment, impacting ecological balances, cultural ties for the Algonquin Anishinaabeg, and relational understandings of the watershed.
Restorying Dammed Waters responds to current Pimisi recovery efforts by intervening in barriers to their habitat in what is now Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario. Successive and prolonged dam operations stemming from the park’s settlement have long enabled the commercialization of wilderness for logging and recreation. Through drawing and mapping, I deconstruct the colonial underpinnings of these infrastructures that shape the delineations and potential encounters between Pimisi and other beings.
The synthesis of these studies offers an alternative story for the park’s aging Cache Lake dam to support recovery. The design of a series of restorative and interpretive interventions reinstates the rights of Pimisi to access these waters, improves habitat conditions, and invites human awareness and care. Amidst the broader discourse of reconciliation, Pimisi recovery is an opportunity to consider a relational approach to design that bridges species, scales, and ways of knowing.
Restorying Dammed Waters responds to current Pimisi recovery efforts by intervening in barriers to their habitat in what is now Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario. Successive and prolonged dam operations stemming from the park’s settlement have long enabled the commercialization of wilderness for logging and recreation. Through drawing and mapping, I deconstruct the colonial underpinnings of these infrastructures that shape the delineations and potential encounters between Pimisi and other beings.
The synthesis of these studies offers an alternative story for the park’s aging Cache Lake dam to support recovery. The design of a series of restorative and interpretive interventions reinstates the rights of Pimisi to access these waters, improves habitat conditions, and invites human awareness and care. Amidst the broader discourse of reconciliation, Pimisi recovery is an opportunity to consider a relational approach to design that bridges species, scales, and ways of knowing.
