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BLACK HISTORY IN BYTOWN

2025-2026  

LOCAL OTTAWA HISTORY

Since Bytown’s founding in 1826, Black communities have shaped Ottawa’s civic, economic, and cultural development. Due to her professional experience in heritage and curation along with the focus of her Graduate studies, Keisha Cuffie has been commissioned by the City of Ottawa, CityStudio Ottawa, and Carleton University to lead this research initiative into the city’s history.

The research will inform public-facing outputs and contribute to a more accurate, inclusive historical record.

Impact

  • Accurate record: Documents and corrects gaps in Ottawa’s historical narrative since 1826.

  • Public visibility: Includes Black individuals, communities, and institutions in civic memory and education.

  • Policy relevance: Informs municipal decisions on commemoration, heritage, and equity initiatives.

This work ensures that Black histories are recognized not as peripheral narratives, but as foundational to Ottawa’s development, and to its future.

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Land Acknowledgement

Black Legacy Collective recognizes and acknowledges with gratitude the sacred land on which our main office is situated as the traditional and unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishnaabeq Nation. We are cognizant that Canadian contemporary society, beneath a veil of “equality” and “reconciliation”, maintains the long-held colonial tactic to dispossess our Indigenous friends of their traditional lands and livelihoods. We stand in solidarity with these lands’ original peoples. We acknowledge the continued presence and vibrance of these Nations as well as the growing, thriving communities of urban Indigenous peoples. We remain committed to learning how to be better neighbours. A portion of our annual proceeds is donated to Indigenous led causes.

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