Dammed
Landscapes
This project could not have been possible without the guidance of Jeff Harper from the Leech Lake Division of Research Management and my academic advisor Diane Davis, as well as the generous support of the Penny White Foundation at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design.
Many thanks for this project go to my partner, Sam Naylor, for website design, paddling behind me, hoisting canoes with me, and always providing supportful feedback throughout this trip. Thanks also to my parents, David and Claire, for dog sitting and providing canoe shuttles as needed.
Landscapes
River Infrastructure at the Mississippi’s Headwaters
This project could not have been possible without the guidance of Jeff Harper from the Leech Lake Division of Research Management and my academic advisor Diane Davis, as well as the generous support of the Penny White Foundation at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design.
Many thanks for this project go to my partner, Sam Naylor, for website design, paddling behind me, hoisting canoes with me, and always providing supportful feedback throughout this trip. Thanks also to my parents, David and Claire, for dog sitting and providing canoe shuttles as needed.
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Elaine Stokes, PLA
Doctor of Design Student — Harvard Graduate School of Design
Critic — Rhode Island School of Design
Elaine is an educator and landscape architect who studies the cultural and narrative implications of North American infrastructure. She is currently in her second year of the Doctor of Design program at the GSD, after spending several years working in professional practice, first at Stoss Landscape Urbanism and then Sasaki. Elaine’s research explores the riverine corridors of the Upper Mississippi River, focusing specifically on dams constructed on sites recognized as sacred land by Native nations. Her work considers storytelling as a critical method deployed by both federal agencies and indigenous communities to explore new infrastructural imaginaries. This research is situated within the theoretical frameworks of water rights, indigenous sovereignty, river infrastructural history, landscapes of memory, and contemporary territorial landscape practice.
Elaine currently teaches at Rhode Island School of Design, where she has led a range of studios and seminars focused on urban infrastructure and digital representation. Previously, Elaine earned her Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from Washington University in St. Louis and her Master in Landscape Architecture from the GSD, where she graduated with distinction.
estokes [at] gsd.harvard.edu ︎︎︎ ︎
etstokes [dot] com ︎︎︎ ︎