Amazing Hoop Dance Gathering Place celebrates Canada’s indigenous cultures

The Hoop Dance Gathering Place at Mohawk College is a beautiful outdoor pavilion that celebrates the indigenous cultures of Canada. Brook McIlroy designed the space as an open-air, circular structure inspired by Aboriginal concepts of inclusiveness. The addition will function as a space for teaching, music, story-telling, ceremony, relaxation and contemplation.

The project, located in a large courtyard on the Mohawk College campus, was developed in collaboration between Brook McIlroy Architects, Mohawk College, Aboriginal students of the College, and Elders and members of the several prominent indigenous communities and organizations.

The Hoop comprises four elements- an open air pavilion, a fire circle, a water garden and a traditional garden. It has two radiating and intersecting circles joined by a raised seating platform, which reference traditional construction techniques used in the Longhouse typology typical of northern Iroquoian communities. It will function as a space “that could be used to really infuse indigenous pedagogy into a western ways of teaching,” said Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, who recently unveiled the structure.