JOSEPH KUNKEL
Joseph Kunkel - Principal at MASS Design Group, Director of MASS's Sustainable Native Communities Design Lab, 2019 Obama Fellowship recipient, Civil Society Fellowship inaugural recipient, 2021 Elain Johnson Coates Award from the University of Maryland's Alumni Association.
Joseph Kunkel is a citizen of the Northern Cheyenne Nation and Principal at MASS Design Group. Much of Kunkel's work has focused on the role of architecture and planning in improving the lives and environments of communities within Indian Country. In 2019, he was awarded an Obama Fellowship for his work with Native communities. He also received the Rauschenberg SEED grant from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation in 2018, a 2019 Creative Capital Award, and was an inaugural recipient of the Civil Society Fellowship.
At MASS Design Group, Kunkel is the Director of the Sustainable Native Communities Design Lab, based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The mission of the Sustainable Native Communities Design Lab is 'to close the wealth gap in Indian Country through culturally-responsive housing development and Native homeownership.' This program is the first of its kind in Indian Country, and through close collaboration with tribes and tribal elders, has leveraged the role of architecture in being a wealth-building generator in Native Communities.
Indian Country is home to over five million tribal members across 573 recognized tribes throughout the United States. Kunkel's work stands out across the American landscape as essential in addressing the housing crisis facing these communities. Whereas many aspire to harness design to impact the quality of life of communities in need, he and his team have created a methodology alongside these communities to make a lasting impact. Much can be learned through the work of Kunkel and the SNC Design Lab, and we urge all to continue to follow their important work and journey.
Joseph Kunkel (Courtesy of MASS Design Group)
What are the unique challenges in addressing housing development and home ownership in Indian Country? What is the role of architecture and design in addressing these challenges?
Simply put, there is a housing crisis in Indian Country. We just don't have enough units for those that need housing. There is an immediate need for 200,000 units of new housing. For those living on Tribal Trust Lands and/or Reservations, the housing that Tribal Members do have access to tends to be sub-par and inadequate. We see a lot of overcrowding and severe maintenance issues in the housing stock that does exist. The role of architecture and design here is meant to respond to the contexts and the cultures we're working in. The built environment often does not reflect the communities we work in, which creates resentment within the communities and a lack of ownership and care. We believe everyone deserves good design, and those that need it the most can only afford it sometimes. So our role is to ensure we're working in these contexts to lift up how a communities culture and contexts are reflected within the built environment.
As you work with native communities, how do you support them in taking agency over the outcome of your shared projects?
As designers, we leverage design language and technical knowledge and empower communities to be the knowledge holders of their communities. We work to combine these knowledges to create place-specific opportunities. This is one way of creating agency with the partners we work with.
Northern Cheyenne Healing Trail by Mass Design Group
Over 50% of Native Indians and Alaskan Native (AIAN) peoples live in rural and small-town areas. What do you enjoy most about traveling to small-town communities, and what connects them?
This number continues to decrease, and we are now seeing just over 50% of Native Americans, Alaskan Natives, and Native Hawaiians living in and around urban areas. That being said, a majority of our Tribal work is in rural places. What I love about these rural spaces is the community. We tend to get lost in our urban environments; when I go back to Montana, it's to ground myself and take a moment to slow down. I take these moments sto reflect on the impact the built environment has on the natural environment.
You received an Obama Foundation Fellowship in 2019; how did that experience help you build on your work and allow you to expand the reach of design in Indian Country?
The Obama Foundation Fellowship was and continues to be a great experience. The network of exceptional leaders from across the world gives me perspective on the work we're doing in and around Indian Country. Thinking about our most pressing challenge, climate change, I'm able to see and listen to community leaders working on solutions in development, the economy, education, and medicine. This inevitably impacts how I think about the built environment and the changes we must make in Indian Country, in our rural communities, and in the larger urban context.
Caddo Child Care Center in partnership with the Caddo Nation in Hinton Oklahoma by Mass Design Group
Can you give us examples of how the design process you've created through working with native communities has impacted the broader portfolio of work at MASS Design Group?
Since 2019, when we brought the portfolio of work of the Sustainable Native Communities Collaborative into MASS, we've been able to expand our work in Indian County and the broader non-Native context, working with partners who are non-Native, serving Native populations. A direct example here is our work with the City of Albuquerque's Office of Equity and Inclusion. Here we've been able to advocate for homeownership for both Urban Natives and African Americans. Outside of Indian Country, we've been looking at rural development and starting to apply what we've learned in Indian Country to rural communities in Southern Colorado and applying engagement strategies to urban contexts like Minneapolis.
What does your ideal future for the rural countryside look like?
We can gain valuable insights from rural and urban environments, and moving beyond the false dichotomy of the rural/urban debate is essential. The challenges we face in these contexts affect our entire society. I am thrilled to witness the rural countryside taking the lead in shaping discussions on community living, climate change, and other urgent societal matters. It is time to acknowledge and elevate the importance of our rural and Tribal spaces.
Change Labs is a Native-led and Native-controlled nonprofit organization based on the Navajo and Hopi Nation in Tuba City, Arizona. It seeks to foster the creation of successful Native American small businesses that provide a social benefit to Tribal communities.
Images provided by Joseph Kunkel and MASS Design Group
