Harvard Indian College

How does one remember or reconstitute a site of erased architecture? How can we honor Indigenous histories during colonial times without ignoring their stripping of rights and land, murders, and cultural assimilation?

My partners and I studied the history of Harvard Indian College, one of Harvard’s first buildings that educated Native Americans “equally” to their European-descended peers, in relationship to Harvard’s Indigenous representation and the university’s legacy as a Christian school. The building has been demolished but its bricks are said to be dispersed in other buildings across Harvard Yard. Using the speculative framework, we envisioned a parallel universe one degree different from today’s world where the Harvard Indian College was not demolished as a way of exploring how we could preserve the site.

Masters Research Studio with Matthew Okazaki, Fall 2022 - Project Partners: Rayhan Kabul, Amelia Shelton, Rylee Smith, and Amera Youssef