Campaign to rename park after Inuit artist up for vote

Pootoogook's work acclaimed

A proposal to rename Sandy Hill Park after Inuk artist Annie Pootoogook will be heard by a city committee Thursday.

Pootoogook, renowned for her pen and coloured-pencil drawings depicting Inuit life, was an award-winning artist. Born in Cape Dorset, Nunavut, she lived in Ottawa — sometimes on the streets — until she died at age 47. She fell into the Rideau River in 2016, and while her death was initially considered suspicious, Ottawa police eventually deemed it non-criminal.

Stéphanie Plante started the movement to rename the park, which is at 250 Somerset St. E. It will be voted on by the Community and Protective Services Committee.

Plante, a resident of Sandy Hill and fan of Pootoogook's art, said she remembers seeing her on the street — often smiling and drawing.

“She was very lovely,” Plante said. “But it's no secret the last two years of her life were challenging.

“The more I learned about her, the more I was fascinated by her. I thought to myself, `Well, how do we not have anything named after her?'”

Plante started the early steps of researching her proposal in January 2020 and has since received 17 official letters and more than 30 emails of support from community members.

Plante said the city can help educate the public about important individuals such as Pootoogook by changing the names of public spaces.

“We know who Walter Baker is because we go to the Walter Baker Arena. We know who Lord Elgin is because we party on Elgin Street,” Plante said. “I'm hoping to bring that kind of recognition to Annie and her work.”

The proximity of the park to the Nunavut Sivuniksavut school — an Ottawa-based college that helps Inuit youth from across Canada's North — was very important in Plante's proposal.

“I wanted (Inuit peoples) to have a municipal public space for someone they can relate to,” Plante said. “It's important that be in an area where they live.”

Ottawa-Gatineau area has an Inuit population of about 1,280, according to the 2016 census.

“Our public spaces need to reflect the diversity of the people who live in the city of Ottawa,” Plante said.

Veldon Coburn, the adoptive father of Pootoogook's eightyear-old daughter, Napachie, said it can be difficult for Inuit peoples to transition from life in Canada's North to an urban centre like Ottawa.

“Being thousands of kilometres away from home and in a new land, (the park) might give them a sense of welcoming and inclusion,” said Coburn, who identifies as Algonquin.

Coburn said the park could even provide “inspiration” for what Inuit peoples can achieve in this part of Canada.

Napachie was four years old when her mother died and never got to know her. Coburn said a park named after Pootoogook could help Napachie understand much her mother meant to the community.

“I imagine that will be the quest of her entire lifetime, just trying to piece together the life of a person that she never got to know, but who birthed her,” Coburn said.

“(The park) is another commemoration and tribute to her.”