Jason Surkan //
Architect SAA, AIBC, B.A.S, M.Arch., MRAIC
Born and raised near Kistapinânihk/Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Jason Surkan is a son, grandson, great-grandson, father, step-father, uncle, and brother. His maternal family ties are from the Red River Métis community. Jason is a registered member of the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan.
He holds a Bachelor of Architectural Studies (B.A.S. 2016) from Carleton University and a Masters of Architecture (M.Arch. 2018) from the University of Manitoba. Jason also studied at the University of Saskatchewan and the University of British Columbia. Jason has studied under Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning Architect, Glenn Murcutt. During his time in Ottawa, Jason worked for Indigenous Architect, Douglas Cardinal on both a professional and cultural level. He has also worked with Oxbow Architecture and David T Fortin Architect. Jason is a member of the RAIC’s Indigenous Task Force in Architecture.
As a registered Architect with the Saskatchewan Association of Architects, Jason owns and operates SOLO (Situated On Land Office) Architecture on Treaty 6 Territory in the Lakeland Area. Jason carries experience and knowledge in Cultural Bridging, Sustainable, Adaptive Reuse, and Community Engagement projects. Notable projects include Gabriel Dumont Institute Expansion, Round Prairie Elders’ Lodge, Long Point First Nation CLT School, Riel Scout Camp, Land Based Healing Centre at Batoche, CCA Indigenous Architecture Residency, Batttlefords River Valley Wayfinding Plan, Opaskwayak Cree Nation Utility Core, Whitefish Lake First Nation Housing, Indigenous Peoples Space, Miyoonakishkatoohk Trail at Batoche, Stories from the River Nuit Blanche YXE21, and SSHRC Métis Architect Research Project.
His work is focused on the interconnected relationship between Indigenous people and their traditional territories. Much of his work aims to highlight and support sustenance hunting, land-based cultural practices, and foraging activities in his home territory. His extensive amount of land-based experiences frame his approach to the visioning, tectonics, and inhabitation of architecture. It is an approach that honours the traditions of his ancestors through inherited experiences that were and continue to be distilled by countless generations of lived experience in harsh environmental conditions and honours the ingenuity of Indigenous peoples. His work exhibits a northern sensibility to its approach and aims to positively impact the lands and communities it is built in.
Publications //
+ OUR VOICES: INDIGENEITY AND ARCHITECTURE V2 // 2020
Book chapter on Indigenous Design as Narrative.
+ KIYOKEWIN KUMIK // 2019
M. ARCH. Thesis work supporting Elder Maria Campbell’s vision for The Crossing.
+ RESEARCH JOURNEYS IN/TO MULTIPLE WAYS OF KNOWING // 2019
Book chapter on Métis Design and Space Making alongside Angie Tucker, Vickie Bouvier and the late Charles Bourgious.
+ MÉTIS RISING // 2019
Book chapter on thesis work, Kihokewin Kumik completed with Maria Campbell.
+ OUR VOICES: INDIGENEITY AND ARCHITECTURE // 2018
Book chapter on Métis Domestic space co-authored with Dr. David Fortin and Danielle Kastelein.
+ SITE MAGAZINE // 2017
Towards an Architecture of Métis Resistance was published in the Vernaculars edition of the SITE
Magazine in the summer of 2017. It is also available online here.
Presentations + Articles //
+ CANADIAN ARCHITECT // 2022
Towards an Architecture of Métis Resistance was published in the Vernaculars edition of the SITE
Magazine in the summer of 2017. It is also available online here.
+ MAAMWIZING // 2018
Public Presentation on Masters Thesis Work, Kihokewin Kumik at Laurentian University, ON.
+ RISING UP // 2018
Public Presentation on Masters Thesis Work, Kihokewin Kumik at Laurentian University, ON for part of the Rising Up Event.
+ PECHAKUCHA CHRISTCHURCH // 2018
20X20 Pechakucha Presentation on Masters Thesis Work, Kihokewin Kumik at a public venue in Christchurch, NZ.
+ JASMAX // 2018
Presentation on Masters Thesis Work, Kihokewin Kumik at Jasmax Architecture in Auckland, NZ.
+ SSHRC MÉTIS ARCHITECTURAL RESEARCH // 2017
“Métis domestic thresholds and the politics of imposed privacy” - Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada, - co-authored with David Fortin and Danielle Kastelein, presented by Danielle Kastelein (2017-05-25).
+ SSHRC MÉTIS ARCHITECTURAL RESEARCH // 2016
“Towards an Architecture of Métis Resistance: The Evolving Tectonic and Spatial Orders of a Saskatchewan Vernacular” - Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. (2016-06-04) - co-authored with David Fortin, presented by Jason Surkan.
