In this episode of Between the Threads, host Somia Sadiq sits down with award-winning Métis land designer Desirée Thériault to explore trauma-informed design, land-based memorialization, and Indigenous spatial reclamation. Together, they discuss how landscapes carry memory, the role of design in honoring missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG2S+), and how thoughtful urban design shapes belonging across Winnipeg.
Key Takeaways:
- Desirée Thériault’s journey from growing up outdoors to becoming a Métis land designer.
- The concept of trauma-informed design and land-based memorialization.
- How the land carries memory and honors missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG2S+).
- The power of active public spaces, Indigenous placemaking, and spatial reclamation.
- Top places in Winnipeg that showcase the city's rich ecological and cultural history.
Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction & Little Desirée’s Connection to the Land
03:51 - Finding Landscape Architecture & "Designing First Kisses"
09:12 - Memorialization as Healing & MMIWG2S+ Spatial Reclamation
15:29 - Land-Based Memorials & How Places Hold Memory
22:33 - Designing the Alexander Docks & Sacred Public Spaces
34:16 - Uncovering Hidden Stories in Winnipeg’s Exchange District
39:04 - Desiree’s Top 5 Winnipeg Places to Experience Story & Land
47:15 - The Responsibility of Holding Stories in Design
About Our Guest:
Desirée Thériault is an award-winning Métis land designer and partner at Narratives. Grounded in trauma-informed design, her work weaves Indigenous cultural resurgence, memory, and storytelling into landscape practice, specializing in memorialization, resilient placemaking, and Indigenous reclamation.
Follow Desirée Thériault on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/by.desiree
Connect With Us:
- Kahanee: https://www.kahanee.ca | https://instagram.com/kahanee_storiesforpeace
- Narratives: https://www.narrativesinc.com | https://instagram.com/narrativesinc
Show Credits:
- Host: Somia Sadiq
- Guest: Desirée Thériault
- Produced by: Kahanee & Narratives
- Curator: Courtney Friesen
- Music: Lior Soltz - Glistening Ripples Lullaby (Creative Cut - Dreamy)
About Between the Threads:
Between the Threads is a podcast by Kahanee, a social enterprise dedicated to storytelling, peacebuilding, and systems change. The podcast is produced in partnership with Narratives, a purpose-driven firm offering holistic consulting in planning, impact assessment, capacity building, and design to empower change across Turtle Island.
We acknowledge that this work was created on Indigenous lands. We honour the Indigenous peoples who have cared for this land since time immemorial and continue to do so today.
#Winnipeg #IndigenousDesign #BetweenTheThreads #LandscapeArchitecture #Metis #Placemaking
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