OTTAWA -- A Sandy Hill park has been renamed in honour of a local Inuk artist known for her pen and coloured pencil drawings.

Council approved the name change to Annie Pootoogook Park in February 2021, but COVID-19 restrictions delayed the renaming ceremony until Sunday. 

The event was held outside the Sandy Hill Community Centre, showcasing Inuit culture and language with all the proceedings translated into Inuktitut by an Inuk elder.

Over 100 residents and visitors, along with local officials, city councillors and Members of Parliament were on hand, including Governor General Mary May Simon, who marked the occasion by connecting this renaming with the journey towards reconciliation.

"We turn our adversity into strength and Inuit across Canada’s Arctic and urban settings, like here today, are finding ways to move forward," Simon said. "Reconciliation is a process and does not have an end date, it requires work every day."

Pootoogook was born into a family of artists in Cape Dorset, Nunavut. She became a world-renown artist who called Ottawa home, where most of her famous works of art were created.  Her art reflected her experience as a female Indigenous artist living and working in contemporary Canada.

Rideau-Vanier Councillor Mathieu Fleury, whose ward the park is located in, acted as master of ceremonies for the event. Fleury says he hopes Annie Pootoogook Park will become a place to celebrate Inuit and Indigenous culture.

"It is our job to continue to program the park in reflection of Inuit art and discovering that," Fleury said. "Today’s naming of Annie Pootoogook Park, in the reconciliation discussion, is one important element but it needs to continue."

Neighbours living near the park, CTV News spoke to, are happy to see the name change. Amie Arnold saying it is an honour Pootoogook deserved that creates an opportunity to explore Inuit heritage.

"We live in the neighbourhood and we wanted to learn about Inuit culture and be part of this celebration," Arnold said.

Pootoogook passed away on Sept. 19, 2016 in Ottawa at the age of 46, her death was initially deemed suspicious after her body was found in the Rideau River.  Ottawa police investigated her death, but it was ruled non-suspicious.