The Indigenous Collective Group (ICG) at ASLA is a growing community of Indigenous landscape architects, designers, and allies committed to weaving Indigenous lifeways, language, and knowledge into the profession of landscape architecture. Our collective creates a space where Indigenous peoples are visible, celebrated, and empowered within the field, uplifting voices that carry wisdom, resilience, and responsibility to the land.

For Indigenous peoples, the land is more than a place—it is a relative, a teacher, and a source of life. Our relationship to the land is guided by reciprocity, respect, and care. This connection is expressed through language, ceremony, and story, which remind us that healing people and healing the land must go together.

 Tribal lands of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville, northeastern Washington / Shane Moses, Tribal Member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville, courtesy of the Indigenous Collective Group (ICFG) 

Language holds profound importance in design. It carries Indigenous science, ecological knowledge, and cultural teachings that guide us in caring for the environment. Revitalizing Indigenous languages supports the healing of lands and communities, offering pathways for climate adaptation and resilience through Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge (ITEK).

By aligning ITEK with landscape architecture, we embrace an approach that restores balance to people and ecosystems while honoring cultural continuity.

The ICG is grounded in storytelling, mentorship, and co-creation. We bring together Indigenous knowledge keepers, communities, and landscape architects to share practices that honor culture, heal ecosystems, and empower the next generations. By restoring traditional knowledge, language, and medicine, we ensure that our work reflects the wisdom of ancestors while preparing future leaders to thrive.

Help Amplify Indigenous Voices at ASLA 2025

This year, we have the extraordinary opportunity to bring our vision to life at the ASLA 2025 Conference on Landscape Architecture in New Orleans—a place where we can stand together, share our stories, and help transform the field for generations to come.

Your support will help make possible:

• Learning sessions and Practice Basecamp presentation highlighting Indigenous-led approaches to design, stewardship, and advocacy.
• A Youth Workshop, engaging Native youth in hands-on learning, dialogue, and mentorship in landscape architecture.
• An ICG Gathering (October 13), creating space for connection, ceremony, and community building.
• Welcoming Indigenous guests, ensuring hospitality, access, and support for those joining from across Turtle Island.
• Honoring our Host Nations, the United Houma Nation and the Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana.
• Featuring special guest Cody Blackbird, Native American musician, flutist, and activist.
• Celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day (October 13), and encouraging ASLA to honor the host Indigenous nations at the annual conference, building lasting relationships between landscape architecture and Indigenous nations.

Through landscape architecture, we carry forward the responsibility to heal both the lands of the planet and the well-being of its peoples, ensuring balance for generations to come. 

Make a contribution and support our goal of raising $20,000 for our presence at ASLA 2025.