Building communities: Diné-owned business helps tribes plan, design, build

By Stacy Thacker
Special to the Times

SAULT STE MARIE, Mich.

Kim Kanuho found her niche when she created the Fourth World Design Group, a community planning consulting firm.

The Navajo woman-owned business is going on its seventh year and has helped many tribes with community and economic development initiatives.

Fourth World Design Group fills a gap for tribal nations looking to grow, Kanuho said. It’s what makes her company stand out.

By offering professional services in land-use planning, community planning, master planning, project management, economic development planning and community engagement, Fourth World Design Group has become a one-stop consulting firm for tribes.

Projects for the company range from small scale sites to large regional sites but the feasibility of growing these sites is always in mind.

When the company first started, they were setting out to just do planning and design but they quickly realized that they needed to take it a step further.

Building to keep tribal communities successful meant figuring out how to keep the money flowing within the community to keep it economically self-sustaining. So they expanded to offer other services.

“Let’s be realistic and look at the types of businesses that would work in our different tribal communities,” Kanuho said.

By looking at the data, the economic feasibility and market studies, the company can determine if a gas station, laundromat or large-scale hotel works best for a community.

“Being strategic, it really comes down to long-term planning, long-term development, long-term envisioning and with that comes infrastructure, land withdrawals,” she said. “So it is a process and it is time consuming.”

But it’s worth it, Kanuho said, adding that being strategic in the beginning saves a lot of time and money down the road for tribes.

Kanuho said her company is also looking at the whole picture and that means helping tribes incorporate culture into their planning.

“A lot of tribes want to preserve their culture and so I think we’ve come a long way from just working through the BIA and working with the federal government,” she said. “They always told us this is a one size fits all, you don’t get any choices, but now our tribes do have a voice and a say.”

Bringing culture to the planning process is something Fourth World Design Group enjoys because they are looking ahead to the future and thinking about what the infrastructure will say and reflect on the tribe they’re working with.

“We can incorporate certain natural elements of the landscape back into the designs of the site,” Kanuho said. “As Native people we have been planning, designing and constructing for centuries and what we’ve learned is that our ancestors planned, designed and constructed with the elements that surrounded them.”

Kanuho looks at Canyon de Chelly and the use of the rocks, water and trees. She sees the respect and the relationship to nature. There is a sense of K’e there, she said.

“Everything went back into the design of their housing, their community, their cultural spaces, gathering spaces, cooking spaces, they really incorporated those natural elements and it didn’t cost them anything,” she said. “To me that’s truly sustainable.”

Every tribe they work with has landmarks or creation stories they want to use in their building and planning. It’s just as much a need and a valuable step in the process, Kanuho said.

She originally wanted to be an architect but when she started exploring other design fields, she found urban planning and her passion grew. She wanted to help tribes create their dream communities and keep them sustainable.

“I know I could be working in a city or a town but my heart is always with the Navajo people and the other tribes,” Kanuho said. “I just have chosen to focus on tribal communities.”

Information: www.fourthworlddg.com

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