Chief William Commanda Bridge formally dedicated
Previously known as the Prince of Wales Bridge, it has been renamed for legendary Algonquin Chief William Commanda.
Andrew Duffy, Ottawa Citizen
Nov 10, 2022 • 11 minutes ago • 3 minute read
With a dedication ceremony Thursday, the Chief William Commanda Bridge now officially links Ottawa and Gatineau.
Mayor Jim Watson was joined by Ottawa Centre MP Yasir Naqvi and a host of Indigenous leaders and elders to celebrate the naming of the former rail bridge, now being converted into a multi-use pathway.
The $22.6-million project, financed by the city with the help of $8.6 million from the federal government, is not expected to be completed until next spring. Supply chain issues and a shortage of construction workers have combined to delay the project by about six months.
Previously known as the Prince of Wales Bridge, it has been renamed for legendary Algonquin Chief William Commanda.
Watson told the gathering he could not imagine a more fitting name for a bridge that spans the Ottawa River.
“As a spiritual leader, a promoter of environmental stewardship and a great bridge builder between our nations, Chief William Commanda was loved and respected by all,” said Watson in one of his last acts as mayor. His successor, Mark Sutcliffe, will be sworn in on Tuesday.
Commanda, who died in August 2011 at the age of 97, spent decades building bridges between Indigenous peoples and the larger Canadian population. He called for forgiveness and reconciliation despite facing hardship and racism in his own life.
Elder Claudette Commanda said her grandfather was a humble man who did not seek accolades or titles. She called him “gramps.”
“He honestly believed that everything he did was for the people,” said Commanda. “But he’d be very honoured by this recognition: He’d feel very validated and loved. He truly believed that what all human beings need is validation.”
Born on the Kitigan Zibi reserve on Nov. 11, 1913, one of seven children, Commanda once told an interviewer he grew up hungry: “I could be crying and asking for food and they looked at me, nobody ever gave me anything.” Commanda said he escaped residential school only by hiding in a bush.
He overcame alcoholism as a young man, and worked as a guide, logger and trapper, and became an expert birch bark canoe maker. He guided his community as chief for the two decades between 1951 and 1970, and fought for the recognition of Indigenous rights.
Commanda was devoted to living simply and in harmony with nature. He attended the 1991 Rio Earth Summit, and called on the federal government to return Chaudière Falls, a sacred meeting place for Indigenous peoples, to its natural state.
Fluent in English, French and Algonquin, Commanda founded a peace organization called Circle of Nations, which advocated reconciliation and forgiveness. He met with the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela and a host of Canadian political leaders.
During his lifetime, Commanda was awarded the key to the city, an honourary doctorate from the University of Ottawa, and was made an officer of the Order of Canada in 2008.
At Thursday’s naming celebration, Chief Dylan Whiteduck of Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg urged the people of Ottawa to continue down the path of reconciliation that Commanda followed during his lifetime. “Keep continuing to build this bridge between our nations, our communities and our people,” he said.
Chief Wendy Jocko of the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation called the Chief William Commanda Bridge “a physical manifestation of spiritual and cultural bridge building and reconciliation.”
This is the second time that the bridge has been renamed. Initially known as the Chaudière Railway Bridge, it was sold to Canadian Pacific Railway and renamed in honour of Albert Edward, the Prince of Wales, soon after it was built.
By 1920, it was not strong enough to support new, heavier locomotives, and there was talk of tearing it down. But it was eventually refurbished and it continued to host freight traffic until 2001.
For the next two decades, the increasingly decrepit bridge was closed and fenced off.
Last year, the city approved a plan to convert it into a pedestrian, cycling and cross-country skiing corridor.
https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local...ally-dedicated
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