OC Transpo is proposing that the LeBreton LRT station be renamed Pimisi Station after a recommendation from the Algonquins of Ontario.
Since the light rail project began, the city has “embraced the opportunity to recognize and celebrate the art, culture and heritage of the Algonquins through the planning, design and building of the LeBreton Flats transit station as an ‘Algonquin-centred’ station,” according to a report to the transit commission.
The station’s locale is significant to the Algonquins as it is near Chaudière Falls and Victoria Island, both sacred gathering places.
Pimisi, the Algonquin word for “eel,” is considered sacred to the Algonquin people, as it is the “prayer carrier of the waters.”
“Algonquin traditions and culture have been shaped by their relationship to the land and the life within it. Algonquins have always had a deep connection to Pimisi – as a provider of nourishment, medicine and spiritual inspiration," says the report.
The transit commission will decide on this name and others, as well as the design of the trains, on Aug. 21.