Misi Zibi Mamidosewin

In Riverside Park, there is a new installation consisting of 4 pillars. We first saw it last week when designs were being etched via air blasting into the 7' tall pillars.

Blasting through an overlay to etch the design into the stone.

Earlier this week, we passed by again when the etchings were complete.

Composite by Sue

We haven't yet seen the final addition (the plaque below), but it will be posted on the outside of the pillars, when the dedication takes place today, which is appropriately the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation.

I know that the resolution is too low to read in this downloaded image.
I wanted to get my own photo yesterday, but the plaque was not up yet.

The spot in a corner of the park is to be known as Misi Zibi Mamidosewin in the tongue of the indigenous Anishinaabe people, and as The Gathering Place in our language.

The best description that I have found is from an earlier an earlier publication before the project came to fruition.

The Misi Zibi Mamidosewin planning committee is working on developing an installation at Riverside Park that will acknowledge both the past and presence of the Anishinaabe peoples and the unceded land on which we live, play and work.

The project is in development with local Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, the Town of Carleton Place and the Carleton Place and Beckwith Heritage Museum.

The Town of Carleton Place and the Carleton Place and Beckwith Heritage Museum are working in collaboration with local Indigenous and non-Indigenous persons to develop an impressive stone installation at Riverside Park.

The park is nestled on the shores of the Mississippi River and is on the unceded land of the Anishinaabe people who lived here before all others. 

The Mississippi River has long been a travel and trade route for the Anishinaabe people and this installation will demonstrate their history in Carleton Place along with a sharing of cultural teachings.

The Four Directions Stone Pillars: In the park by the walking path four vertically arranged natural stone pillars will stand approximately 6-7 feet tall each facing a cardinal direction. An engraved image of the bird or animal representing that direction will appear at the top of each pillar. Engraved beneath the images will be the Anishinaabe name and the English translation.

The height of the pillars invites a sense of reverence in having to look up to the animals relevant to the direction they are facing. Through Indigenous ways of knowing we recognize that the animals are closer to the Creator of our understanding than human beings are, because they are still connected to the harmony required to live naturally in the world without causing harm. So we look up to them.

In the proposed design 2 paddles will be on each pillar. One paddle will be standing up and the other facing downwards. The significance of the paddles indicates that when raised, we are all resting and gathering strength. The downward paddle symbolizes that we are all paddling and moving forward together in unison. The paddles are also a historic nod to the trade and travel route that is the Mississippi River.

Along the walking path and beside the river a large plaque will be installed to further explain the history of the first peoples of Carleton Place, and their life along the Misi Zibi River.