Announcing the recipient of the Peter Jacobs Indigenous Scholarship and the BC2 Indigenous Scholarship for 2022 and 2023, Jordan Cantafio.
Jordan Cantafio is a Red River Métis student at the University of Manitoba, currently completing an internship towards his Master's degree in Landscape Architecture. His internship focuses on the use of macrophytes in a Canadian climate to remove mercury contamination from a large-scale aquatic environment. Specifically, his research focuses on the contamination of water in the English-Wabigoon River system in western Ontario by the Dryden chlor-alkali plant, which has greatly affected the aquatic ecology and communities along the river, such as Grassy Narrows and the Whitedog First Nation. Jordan co-chairs the Indigenous Design & Planning Students Association (IDPSA), whose mandate is to promote and maintain Indigenous representation within the faculty. Jordan strives to integrate specific and reliable Indigenous content into programs and courses, while taking care to recognize the contextual differences of communities and cultures. Jordan currently works closely with the Elder in Residence and is involved in several projects, both at the University and in the community. Jordan expresses his sincere gratitude for being recognized and rewarded with these scholarships. Supporting indigenous students in this field is very important for the present and future of landscape architecture, and enables Indigenous voices to be at the forefront of this profession, displaying an abundance of knowledge and experience with the land.