Preliminary

In Canada, the substance abuse crisis has disproportionately affected the Indigenous population by design. The effects of this ongoing crisis can be seen in the lack of resources and appropriate treatment methods provided to the community, as well as a lack of awareness and effort on a systemic level. The purpose of this research is to establish the history of this issue, determine what does not work and conduct further research regarding how to design Indigenous substance abuse treatment centres. Through literary review and questionnaires with current employees of Indigenous substance abuse treatment centres, research was conducted to showcase how design can directly impact the treatments provided. Utilizing Indigneous cultural treatment methods and designing specifically to them, while combining awareness with existing western methods can aid designers in creating new facilities that are highly beneficial to the healing of Indigneous communities in Canada.