A rendering of Thunderhead, the 2SLGBTQI+ monument set to open in Ottawa in 2025. (Photo: Government of Canada)
Shovels recently broke ground at the site of Canada?s 2SLGBTQI+ National Monument in Ottawa.
The monument, called Thunderhead, is being built to recognize historic discrimination faced by generations of 2SLGBTQI+ people in Canada, which include the colonial roots of homophobia, biphobia and transphobia as well as the cruel actions of the Canadian government during the LGBT Purge.
Thunderhead is being built on unceded and traditional Anishinabe Algonquin Nation territory, close to Portage Bridge and Wellington Street on the Ottawa River. The monument will celebrate the resilience of all queer and trans communities and serve to inspire the change still needed in Canada. This monument was designed by Elder Albert McLeod, Winnipeg-based Public City Architecture, and artists Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan.
Within a landscaped park, a massive column is broken apart by a thunderhead cloud from within, just as 2SLGBTQI+ communities have risen up to break barriers and demand justice and equality. Thousands of mirrored tiles inside reflect diverse identities and aim to hold the memory of queer lives that ended too soon.
In Anishinabe teachings, thunderclouds are home to the Thunderers “whose storms renew the land and make things right,” say the designers. This monument, and its words, were developed with input from thousands of 2SLGBTQI+ community members, incl...