Lisa Page (Nepean Point)

Samuel de Champlain Statute at Nepean Point in Ottawa, Ontario

The statute of Samuel de Champlain sits atop of Nepean Point overlooking Canadian legislative and judicial institutions in the nation’s capital, signifying an emblem of European exploration, cartography and colonization. This fixed representation silences the dynamic realities experienced by Aboriginal peoples living in Canada as a result of European colonialism. A legacy of colonialism persists in the form of modern systematic injustices including disproportionate numbers of Aboriginal peoples imprisoned, missing and impoverished. The very same narratives constructed of European colonialists such as that of Champlain’s invisibilize these economic, political and social injustices. Self-representation within the legislative and judicial institutions, providing the backdrop of Champlain’s statute, is vital to the empowerment of Aboriginal peoples living in Canada.

This content has been updated on 5 December 2016 at 14 h 56 min.