Nussbaum: Kìwekì Point, now reborn, connects us to the land and to one another

National Capital Commission CEO Tobi Nussbaum at Kiweki Point (the former Nepean Point), beside the National Gallery of Canada in downtown Ottawa, which opened May 16, 2025. Photo by JULIE OLIVER /PostmediaArticle content

Last week, the NCC opened Kìwekì Point, a site with views on places and buildings that has been at the centre of history, exploration, conflict, political development and now movement towards reconciliation of our three founding nations.

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Kìwekì Point also stands close to the confluence of the Ottawa, Gatineau, and Rideau Rivers – a landscape both beautiful and deeply symbolic – that have long brought people together. They were ancient trade routes, sites of diplomacy, and gathering places for the Algonquin Anishinabeg and neighbouring nations.

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On these shores, early encounters between Indigenous peoples and newcomers took place – encounters that forever changed the history of this land and the later founding of Canada.

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One such moment occurred in 1613, when Samuel de Champlain, founder of New France, journeyed up the Ottawa River. Then, the Algonquin population in this expansive territory was estimated at between 2,000 and 3,000 people. Champlain’s journals recorded not only his travels but also his meetings with Indigenous leaders, including the formidable Chief Tessouat of the Kitchisipirini, (meaning “People of the Great River”), who Champlain had met in 1603 in Tadoussac but had not seen in the intervening 10 years.

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Tessouat commanded significant influence in the region. His community, based near present-day Pembroke on Morrison’s Island, controlled a vital stretch of the Ottawa River. Trade and travel moved through his territory and tolls were enforced as a demonstration of sovereignty.

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But Tessouat was not only a political leader. He defended culture and identity against growing outside pressure. Tessouat stood firm against Jesuit missionaries, warning that widespread conversion could erode Algonquin tradition, land and way of life. His resistance was not simply about religion. He safeguarded a worldview rooted in relationship with this land.

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Kìwekì Point Photo by Jean Levac /PostmediaArticle content

We reimagine Kìwekì Point with that same spirit of protection, presence, and pride. It’s not just a geographic marker. It attests to the resilience of the Algonquin Nation and pays tribute to the enduring connection between people and place reflected in the relationship between Champlain and Tessouat, which had its moment of tension but ended with respect and friendship.

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But correcting this site’s symbolism has taken over 100 years. In 1915, a statue, build by Hamilton MacCarthy, was unveiled to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Champlain’s expedition past this point on the Ottawa River. Originally, the monument was to include a figure of an Anishinabe guide in a canoe, acknowledging the indispensable role Indigenous peoples played in Champlain’s travels. Unfortunately, that component was delayed and, when added in 1918, the scout appeared kneeling, without the canoe and positioned beneath, not alongside, Champlain.