As Indigenous people our connection to the land is at the core of who we are. Every river, lake and piece of land had a name and a story. It might tell us what the land looked like, who lived there or whether the area had good hunting and fishing ground; stories handed down and remembered.
Since early contact, our lands have been renamed by Canada’s settlers. Many of our traditional place names were erased and replaced. Some names were derogatory like Killsquaw Lake in Saskatchewan. Other names are a reminder of a dark history like Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway in Ottawa or Avenue Christophe-Colomb in Montreal.
But now that is changing, or rather name-changing.
Alestine Andre is a Gwich’in researcher from Tsiigehtshic, formerly known as Arctic Red River. Ingrid Kritsch is an anthropologist and archaeologist from Ontario.
For the last 30 years, the duo have been interviewing Gwich’in Elders, and used their knowledge to return about 1000 place names to their traditional territory.
Christopher Columbus is often credited with “discovering” the “New World.” Once celebrated as a great explorer – his legacy has shifted from discoverer to invader. But his monuments still stand in many streets, parks, towns and cities. That’s what brings Kahnawake – Mohawk Sean French to march along Avenue Christophe-Colomb . He plans to continue marching until the name of the street is changed.
Changing a place name can also heal and repair relations because as Kellie Wuttunee says, names have power. The Cree lawyer from Saskatchewan pulled over to the side of a lake one day in 2017. She looked up to check where she was, a sign read: Killsquaw Lake. That started Kellie on a 2 year mission to change the derogatory name.
The traditional territory of the Algonquin people is also known as Ottawa - the Capital of Canada. That’s where you’ll find many references to Canada’s first Prime Minister:
Sir John A. Macdonald. While he is rightly memorialized as such, he also had a darker history. Macdonald was the architect of the Indian Act - federal legislation that governs “status Indians” and life on reserves. He also oversaw the expansion of the residential school system. That's why Algonquin poet and storyteller Albert Dumont wanted the name changed. Last September 30, he gave notice to the National Capital Commission - the board that decides on name changes. Dumont said he would protest the parkway that year - and every year until it was renamed.
