The new central library in Ottawa will be named Ādisōke, an Anishinābemowin word referring to the telling of stories, as officials seek to use the forthcoming building to help revitalize the language of the Anishinābe Algonquin Nation.
Representatives from Kitigan Zibi Anishinābeg and the Pikwakanagan First Nation joined political and library officials Thursday morning at the 555 Albert St. construction site to announce the name of the joint facility, which will house the main branch of the Ottawa Public Library (OPL) and Library and Archives Canada (LAC) when it opens in late 2024.
“Words and names are powerful,” said Anita Tenasco, director of education for Kitigan Zibi Anishinābeg.
Tenasco spoke to those in attendance about the concerns within the Anishinābe Algonquin Nation about the erasure of its language, as many communities are losing or are already without fluent speakers.
She called on the joint library team to continue partnering with the nation to work towards preserving and revitalizing the Anishinābemowin language.
“Please help us to revitalize and record our dialects. Please support us in showing Ottawa and the world that we still exist. Please assist us in sharing our stories as we see fit,” she said.
The building itself will have Indigenous culture baked into its design, with space for regular Indigenous art displays and circular rooms inspired by wigwams available for meetings.
Leslie Weir, the librarian and archivist of Canada, said Anishinābemowin will be present in more than just the name of the building. Elements such as welcoming, wayfinding and room names within the library will also make use of the language, she said.
Weir said LAC will work with the host nations to preserve and make their stories accessible to those in the building as part of the federal institution’s Indigenous Heritage Action Plan to address needs for reconciliation and decolonization.
Mayor Jim Watson also called the naming of the library in the Anishinābemowin language an act of reconciliation. He similarly cited the renaming of the Prince of Wales Bridge to the Chief William Commanda Bridge a few weeks ago as a step in that direction.
The new library will replace the current central OPL library on Metcalfe Street, which Watson said “has served us well, but it’s a bit of a bunker.”
The project is still out to tender for contractors’ bids, a process that city staff expect to close in late summer or early fall.
The joint facility has been pegged at a cost of $192 million, but Simon Dupuis from the library project team told reporters Thursday that they won’t know the cost impact from the pandemic and other market conditions in the city until the bids are in front of them.
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