Heritage Day

We are thrilled to invite you to Heritage Day 2025, celebrating with the theme: "Heritage Champions: Crafting a Legacy of Preservation and Innovation." It’s a time to come together and honour the incredible work being done to preserve Ottawa’s rich and diverse history!

Tuesday, February 18, noon to 2 pm
Free, in-person event at Ottawa City Hall, 110 Laurier Avenue

The Heritage Showcase

Come explore the vibrant heritage community of Ottawa! Local historical societies, museums, and heritage organizations will be featured in Jean Pigott Hall before and after the official ceremony at noon. You’ll have the opportunity to meet heritage professionals and volunteers, ask questions, and plan your next cultural adventure.

Theme: Heritage Champions

This year’s theme highlights the enduring and essential work of heritage professionals - planners, architects, craft and trade specialists, educators, and volunteers - who are dedicated to preserving Ottawa's rich history. We will also showcase innovative approaches that these champions use to sustain our cultural legacy for future generations.

Why celebrate Heritage Day?

Heritage Day is a chance to recognize the people and efforts that preserve our collective history. Ottawa’s heritage is told through its historic buildings, cultural landscapes, and traditions. From archives to museums, and from traditional rituals to storytelling, our shared heritage connects us to the past, while shaping our future.

This day is also an opportunity to honour the dedicated staff, volunteers, and professionals who work tirelessly to conserve our heritage. They ensure that future generations can enjoy the same sense of belonging and connection to history that we do today.

Whether you’re deeply rooted in Ottawa or new to the city, we encourage everyone to explore heritage destinations, engage with cultural landscapes, and connect with heritage professionals, educators, and traditional knowledge keepers. Learn how these champions of heritage are safeguarding our history, and discover volunteer and professional opportunities to get involved.

Join the Cultural and Heritage Programs and Spaces Branch, in partnership with Capital Heritage Connexion, to embrace, explore, and celebrate the rich heritage of Ottawa on Heritage Day and throughout the year. Celebrate Heritage Week from February 17 to 23,  with activities and events that showcase Ottawa's diverse and vibrant cultural history.

Anishinàbe Odjìbikan is a First Nation-led archaeological field school, created through a collaborative effort between the Anishinàbe Algonquin communities of Kitigàn Zìbì Anishinàbeg (KZA) and the Algonquins of Pikwàkanagàn First Nation (AoPFN). The initiative was born in 2019 after the discovery of a stone mòkòman (knife) during the rehabilitation of Parliament Centre Block. This significant finding led to a meeting between PSPC (Public Services and Procurement Canada), KZA, and AoPFN, resulting in a funding agreement through the Strategic Partnership Initiative (ISC & PSPC). The field school’s mission is to build archaeological expertise within the Anishinàbe Algonquin Nation, bringing together team members from both communities to protect, preserve, and reclaim their history.

As of the 2024 field season, Anishinàbe Odjìbikan has worked on over 10 pre-contact archaeological sites within the National Capital Region and beyond, including major contract work. Their efforts have been acknowledged in various media outlets, including CBC, The Globe and Mail, and Le Devoir. They have  traveled and networked with heritage professionals, gaining invaluable insights. They consider sharing their work with the public as a privilege , hoping to inspire change and foster understanding at the community level.

Centered in the heart of Anishinàbe Algonquin territory—now known as the National Capital Region, encompassing Ottawa and Gatineau—their excavations are rooted in ancestral stewardship. They actively work to rescue, protect, and preserve their archaeological heritage while fostering a sense of responsibility and connection to the land. By involving youth from their communities, they provide archaeological training, and mentorship aiming to empower the next generation, nurturing cultural identity and relationship to the land.

Guided by their elders, knowledge keepers, and language speakers, their work blends traditional Anishinàbe values with contemporary archaeological practices. This holistic approach ensures their efforts are not only physical but also emotional and spiritual acts of reclamation. They are dedicated to the preservation of their ancestors’ legacies, ensuring that their cultural history remains an integral part of Canada’s future.

Their vision is to inspire other Indigenous communities to develop similar initiatives designed to create a lasting presence and representation in the field by bringing together youth, elders, and experts through strategic partnerships. By doing so, they strive to broaden Indigenous involvement in archaeology, strengthen ties between communities, culture, and the land, and build lasting connections between the past, the present, and the future.