NARRATIVES

Are symbols easily (re)made?

In 1996, Assembly of First Nations Chief Ovide Mercredi visited Ottawa’s Nepean Point and was disgusted to find a racist statue of a nearly-naked, unnamed Indigenous man crouched at the feet of a grand statue to Samuel de Champlain, an explorer who the accompanying plaque described as “the first great Canadian”. As a response to protests led by Mercredi, the National Capital Commission moved the Indigenous scout to Major Hill’s Park. Champlain, however, has kept his spot, and continues to thrust an (upside-down) astrolabe triumphantly in the air, enjoying an excellent panoramic view of the National Capital Region. Beginning at Nepean Point, this walk and talk explores how colonial logic shapes Ottawa’s built environment. The tour continues through Major’s Hill Park, dips into the Byward Market, and ends on Parliament Hill where we will meet many storied statues (one statue was accused of sexual harassment, another was designed by the famous sculptor Walter Allward). Through the statues, we will discuss and unsettle the dominant understandings of Confederation celebrated on Parliament Hill.