Oct 8, 9 & 10
2026
Portland, OR
Portland State University · School of Architecture
Registration
Registration is now open. Register now for early-bird pricing.
Indigenous Public Interest Design:
Cultural Knowledge and Practices
The Structures for Inclusion (SFI) Conference will be held at Portland State University on October 8, 9, & 10th 2026, co-organized by Design Corps and The Center for Public Interest Design along with the SEED Network, and ITECK. The theme for the conference is “Indigenous Public Interest Design: Cultural Knowledge and Practices,” and presentations will highlight projects, architects, designers, engineers, and planners that exemplify Indigenous Public Interest Design. This three-day, in-person event will feature speakers and practitioners sharing Indigenous cultural knowledge and practices and their value in the built and natural environments. Registration required for in-person and on-line attendance.
Organizers
First held in 2000 by Design Corps, the purpose of the SFI conferences have been to share the best ideas and practices that are reaching those currently underserved by architecture. So for twenty-six years, Design Corps has hosted SFI conferences with various design organizations showcasing the most impactful ideas and projects addressing Social, Economic and Environmental Design (SEED) utilizing the SEED Evaluator methodology of Design Corps’ SEED Network. This conference will provide a community of shared interests to learn, network and share.
The Center for Public Interest Design (CPID) is a research and action center at Portland State University’s School of Architecture dedicated to inclusive design practices that address the growing needs of underserved communities worldwide. Through research, fieldwork, and community engagement, they promote a mode of practice that is socially conscious, environmentally sustainable, and economically accessible to all. The CPID fosters interdisciplinary collaboration among professionals, faculty, students, and community partners to advance the emerging field of public interest design.
Indigenous Traditional Ecological & Cultural Knowledge (ITECK) – The Indigenous Traditional Ecological & Cultural Knowledge (ITECK) Program tends to the land in and around what is now called Portland, Oregon, while cultivating community amongst Indigenous peoples, cohorts, and our plant and animal relatives. This transdisciplinary, multifunctional program interweaves ITECK within Western academic structures to uplift Indigenous voices and reclaim the urban landscape for food, medicine, and ceremony. The ITECK Program engages with local Tribes and the urban Native community and provides educational opportunities for K-12 and PSU students. We strive to advance Indigenous science and ways of knowing through collaborative projects and advising with agency partners, local non-profits, and programs within Portland State University and the region.
Schedule
Lincoln Hall Reception
Check In & Coffee
Lincoln Hall Auditorium
I-SEED Award Projects: Exemplary Indigenous Design
More Info
AIA CEU Credit Offered: 2.25 AIA LU|HSW
- Angie Wilson - Principal Architect, DSGW Architecture
- Victor Pascual - Design Professional, DSGW Architecture
Lincoln Hall Auditorium
I-SEED Award Jury Discussion
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Jury Members
- Elisha V. Charley, MCRP - Clinical Assistant Professor, Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, Arizona State University
- Judy BlueHorse Skelton - Associate Professor (Retired), Indigenous Nations Studies, Portland State University
- Michaela Shirley, MCRP - PhD Candidate in American Studies, University of New Mexico
- Scott Moore y Medina - President, Design Corps; EAPC Architects Engineers; University of Oklahoma
- Souksavanh T. Keovorabouth, PhD - Assistant Professor, Northern Arizona University
- Ted Jojola, PhD - Director, Indigenous Design + Planning Institute, School of Architecture + Planning, University of New Mexico
- Theodore Edaakie, AIA, NCARB, AICAE - Architect at Studio Southwest Architects
Break
Lincoln Hall Auditorium
Keynote
Everything is Interrelated
Sergio Palleroni – Professor, Portland State University School of Architecture
More Info
This presentation will cover more than four decades of collaboration with Indigenous and First Nations communities across the Americas and Asia. It will highlight lessons learned in the field working with these communities and with students to build capacity and agency for both. My search to transform architecture into a more community based, collaborative, and equitable practice is a response to the conditions of marginalization I witnessed growing up in Northern Patagonia and since in communities we served. These collaborations, as well as work with other marginalized communities globally, have informed my lifelong commitment to advancing the field of public interest design by rethinking and expanding the tools, skills, and protocols of architecture to dismantle regional and global disparity.
Sergio Palleroni, is a Professor Emeritus and the former (and first) Director and Co-Founder of the Center for Public Interest Design at Portland State University. Previously a professor at the University of Washington and Texas (Austin), he is internationally recognized for his multidisciplinary research and fieldwork with academic institutions worldwide with socially and economically marginalized communities. He has worked on housing, sustainable architecture and community design in the developing world since the 1980's both for not-for-profit agencies, directly in collaboration with communities in needs, and governmental and international agencies such as UNESCO, UNDP, and the Grameen Bank. His work with students have received US National Design Award from the Smithsonian and White House as well as recognition from ACSA, NCARB and other educational institutions for the impact and pedagogy of this as well as recognition from and global recognition.
Lincoln Hall Auditorium
The Conversation Continues
Lunch
Self Provided
Tours Depart
Tours are subject to change. More info soon.
PDX Airport
NASCC Bus Loop
ITECK + Oak Savanna
NASCC Lobby
PLACE
Self Transport
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FROM THE ORGANIZERS
We acknowledge the great knowledge of Indigenous people around the world, rich traditions collected and passed on through generations. There is also new Indigenous knowledge being created in the present.
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Our hope for this conversation, occurring over a year in many formats, is to respect and share some of this knowledge while revering that it belongs to the originators. We are grateful to the Indigenous contributors willing to share their knowledge.
We also respect the cultural backgrounds, lived experiences, and professional knowledge that Indigenous and non-Indigenous bring to this collective conversation. Learning from every person is a gift.
Our goal is to understand more about how design and planning have empowered and strengthened Indigenous communities in the past, and how design and planning can empower and strengthen Indigenous communities in the future. How can these lessons help us better serve all communities?
Our method is Learning by Sharing, from Sergio Palleroni, who has forty years of working with Indigenous communities around the world, from Tibet to Mexico to the Pacific Northwest.
Our hope is that this knowledge, combined with the tools of design, will provide positive pathways forward for Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities.
Accessibility
The Structures for Inclusion conference at PSU in Portland, Oregon aims for an inclusive, accessible event that enables all individuals, including people with disabilities, to engage fully. Participants requiring accommodations should contact Bryan Bell at Bryan@designcorps.org or info@designcorps.org by Sunday, October 4, 2026. Requests made after this date will be provided to the best of our ability.