Natalie Majda
MA STUDENT, PLANNING
Restoring Indigenous voices and knowledge in heritage planning
ENVIRONMENT
Natalie Majda
MA STUDENT, PLANNING
Restoring Indigenous voices and knowledge in heritage planning
During one of her first corporate jobs after university, Natalie Majda got into the habit of taking her lunch breaks outside, at a park and heritage home along Mississauga’s lakeshore.
The place “felt like a piece of history,” she says, “as if you were going into a different world where things were a bit slower.” Spending time in the space made her wonder, Who takes care of these places? Who identifies them and preserves them for future generations?
At the time, Natalie was searching for a greater sense of meaning and purpose in her career. That’s when the stars aligned and she discovered heritage planning — her current focus as she pursues a Master of Arts in Planning at the University of Waterloo.
Working toward reconciliation
Heritage planning is a broad field that involves identifying places, such as buildings, structures, sites and landscapes, that have cultural value to a community and stewarding them for future generations.
Historically — and problematically — heritage planning has favoured certain communities’ culturally significant spaces over others’. The lack of heritage recognition and protection for marginalized groups is a challenge that Natalie plans to address in her master’s research paper, which will analyze Ontario heritage planning law through an Indigenist lens.
Her goal with the research is to identify policy gaps in the representation and stewardship of diverse Indigenous heritages and cultural heritage worldviews, and to explore potential improvements using Indigenous-authored heritage legislation and grey literature.
While her interest in the field started out with a love for history, older things, “people’s stories and the meaning behind important places,” now, she says, “it’s about looking at heritage from a different perspective.”
“I don't want to speak on behalf of Indigenous people because I’m not Indigenous but, based on my research, governments have created processes and systems that have limited Indigenous peoples’ ability to self-determine how their heritage is protected and stewarded. My work is looking at how things can change in order to restore the voice, knowledge and governance processes of Indigenous people in heritage planning — whatever that means for each community.”
Immersed in community
Engagement is an important part of heritage planning and Natalie has gained lots of hands-on experience working with different communities, both during her summer internship for the master’s program and through roles she held prior to graduate studies.
“I’ve done a few municipal planning roles where we put on programming to celebrate cultural heritage,” she says. “It’s nice to see how it excites people in the community. People bring their families to those events and see places they care about being preserved and celebrated.”
During her internship as a student planner at the City of Cambridge, she got the chance to connect one-on-one with community members who would contact the planning office to inquire about local heritage sites.
The role put her classroom learning into practice and, all along the way, she had support from faculty at the School of Planning who helped her make the most of the experience, particularly when it came to connecting work and academics.
“I chose a master’s in planning because I was ready for a career master’s program — something that would prepare me for my profession,” says Natalie. “But I appreciate how you’re still getting a good balance of academic growth as well.”
Nurturing a network
As part of a tight-knit cohort of about 20 to 25 students, Natalie has formed close bonds with classmates as they support each other through both the fun and rigorous parts of the program. Those relationships have helped her feel a sense of community, even as a commuter student.
Encouraged by her peers, she took on the role of president of her department’s graduate student association, the Association of Graduate Planners. With the executive team, she’s involved in supporting the social and academic experiences of graduate planning students, as well as giving feedback to the School of Planning and Faculty of Environment on relevant issues.
The program’s small size was a significant factor for Natalie when it came to choosing a university for her master’s — as was Waterloo’s strong reputation in the planning community.
What she didn’t realize until after she started was how many opportunities she would have to engage with alumni across Ontario, or the well-connected alumni network she would be joining when she graduated.
“I really enjoy the program for the sense of support it gives me, but I’m also aware of the importance of these connections with my peers and my faculty, in terms of my future,” Natalie says. “These are the people I’m going to be working with for many years as a planner — whether that’s in British Columbia or Ontario or on the East Coast.”
Off campus, Natalie is strengthening her professional network and supporting the next generation of planners through conference talks, panels and volunteer engagement at the provincial and national levels. She recently served as director of programs and events at the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario’s NextGen organisation, helping emerging heritage professionals find connections in the field.
After graduation, Natalie hopes to leverage the network she’s built on and off campus to continue her career in heritage planning as a registered professional planner and qualified heritage professional.
Working toward reconciliation
Heritage planning is a broad field that involves identifying places, such as buildings, structures, sites and landscapes, that have cultural value to a community and stewarding them for future generations.
Historically — and problematically — heritage planning has favoured certain communities’ culturally significant spaces over others’. The lack of heritage recognition and protection for marginalized groups is a challenge that Natalie plans to address in her master’s research paper, which will analyze Ontario heritage planning law through an Indigenist lens.
Her goal with the research is to identify policy gaps in the representation and stewardship of diverse Indigenous heritages and cultural heritage worldviews, and to explore potential improvements using Indigenous-authored heritage legislation and grey literature.
While her interest in the field started out with a love for history, older things, “people’s stories and the meaning behind important places,” now, she says, “it’s about looking at heritage from a different perspective.”
“I don't want to speak on behalf of Indigenous people because I’m not Indigenous but, based on my research, governments have created processes and systems that have limited Indigenous peoples’ ability to self-determine how their heritage is protected and stewarded. My work is looking at how things can change in order to restore the voice, knowledge and governance processes of Indigenous people in heritage planning — whatever that means for each community.”
Immersed in community
Engagement is an important part of heritage planning and Natalie has gained lots of hands-on experience working with different communities, both during her summer internship for the master’s program and through roles she held prior to graduate studies.
“I’ve done a few municipal planning roles where we put on programming to celebrate cultural heritage,” she says. “It’s nice to see how it excites people in the community. People bring their families to those events and see places they care about being preserved and celebrated.”
During her internship as a student planner at the City of Cambridge, she got the chance to connect one-on-one with community members who would contact the planning office to inquire about local heritage sites.
The role put her classroom learning into practice and, all along the way, she had support from faculty at the School of Planning who helped her make the most of the experience, particularly when it came to connecting work and academics.
“I chose a master’s in planning because I was ready for a career master’s program — something that would prepare me for my profession,” says Natalie. “But I appreciate how you’re still getting a good balance of academic growth as well.”
Nurturing a network
As part of a tight-knit cohort of about 20 to 25 students, Natalie has formed close bonds with classmates as they support each other through both the fun and rigorous parts of the program. Those relationships have helped her feel a sense of community, even as a commuter student.
Encouraged by her peers, she took on the role of president of her department’s graduate student association, the Association of Graduate Planners. With the executive team, she’s involved in supporting the social and academic experiences of graduate planning students, as well as giving feedback to the School of Planning and Faculty of Environment on relevant issues.
The program’s small size was a significant factor for Natalie when it came to choosing a university for her master’s — as was Waterloo’s strong reputation in the planning community.
What she didn’t realize until after she started was how many opportunities she would have to engage with alumni across Ontario, or the well-connected alumni network she would be joining when she graduated.
“I really enjoy the program for the sense of support it gives me, but I’m also aware of the importance of these connections with my peers and my faculty, in terms of my future,” Natalie says. “These are the people I’m going to be working with for many years as a planner — whether that’s in British Columbia or Ontario or on the East Coast.”
Off campus, Natalie is strengthening her professional network and supporting the next generation of planners through conference talks, panels and volunteer engagement at the provincial and national levels. She recently served as director of programs and events at the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario’s NextGen organisation, helping emerging heritage professionals find connections in the field.
After graduation, Natalie hopes to leverage the network she’s built on and off campus to continue her career in heritage planning as a registered professional planner and qualified heritage professional.