Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - December 26, 2020, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A14 A 14 SATURDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2020 ? WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COMNEWS I CANADA With an ACU mortgage, your money stays at home. Whether you're getting a new mortgage, transferring in or renewing, we know the market and what it takes to get it done. We offer: Book an appointment online or talk to us today. ACUmortgage.ca 204.958.8588 Great rates Expert advice Paid transfer fees? Easy renewal process ? Most standard transfer fees will be paid up to $500. 1.75%* Mortgage rates starting as low as * Rate subject to change. E DMONTON - To Terri Suntjens, symbolism means everything.That's why she decided to get involved with the City of Edmonton's initiative to rename its wards. Suntjens, who is from the Saddle Lake Cree Na- tion, became a co-chair of the Indigen- ous Naming Committee. "Our elders talk to us about how sym- bolism is so important," says Suntjens, who is also director of Indigenous in- itiatives at Edmonton's MacEwan Uni- versity. "And we can teach from that." Earlier this month, the city passed a bylaw to give its 12 numbered wards In- digenous names. A committee of Indigenous women chose the names, which come from nine groups: Cree, Dene, Inuit, Blackfoot, Anishinaabe, Michif (M�tis), Mohawk (Michel Band), Sioux and Papaschase. Edmonton is a gathering place for all nations, Suntjens says, so it was import- ant to consult with elders across the province. The decision by Alberta's capital to give its wards Indigenous names is an example of a movement in Canada away from names or figures with colonial connections. In the summer, a group toppled a stat- ue of Sir John A. Macdonald in Mont- real after a peaceful march through the city's downtown, one of several demon- strations held across the country by a coalition of Black and Indigenous activ- ists. Other statues of Canada's first prime minister have been a point of conten- tion, too, as some want them removed because of his troubled history with In- digenous people. In Halifax, a group including the As- sembly of Nova Scotia Mi'kmaq Chiefs recommended a statue dedicated to city founder Edward Cornwallis be perma- nently removed, and a street and a park honouring him also be renamed. Commemoration of Cornwallis, a British officer accused of genocide against Indigenous people, is incompat- ible with current values, the group said in a report in July. Suntjens says there are schools across the country named after people with problematic colonial histories. Her committee decided early on to stay away from naming Edmonton's wards after people and to honour the land in- stead. "We do not think of people as above us or below us," Suntjens says. "We don't put people up on pedestals. That is not our way." The name for Edmonton's former Ward 2, for example, is Aniriq, mean- ing breath of life or spirit in Inuktun. It was recommended by Inuit elders to honour their people who died of tuber- culosis in Edmonton. In the 1950s and '60s, about one-third of Inuit were infected with the illness and most were flown south for treat- ment. Many died without their families being notified and were buried in cem- eteries in the city. Rob Houle, an Indigenous writer and researcher who also served on the re- naming committee, says feedback has mostly been positive, but some council- lors showed resistance. "Some might have expected these In- digenous names for the wards to be eas- ier or introductory in nature, but that is not what we were tasked to do." That kind of reaction prompted Ed- monton Coun. Aaron Paquette to tweet: "For those who might be worried about pronouncing the potential new ward names. if we can pronounce Saskatch- ewan, we can do anything." In British Columbia, a plan in March to use Indigenous names for some com- munities along the Sunshine Coast was met with backlash. Peter Robson, president of the Pender Harbour and Area Residents Associa- tion, says there was no warning or con- sultation with non-Indigenous people in the area. He says his community of Madeira Park was to be renamed "salalus" as part of an agreement between the B.C. government and the Sechelt Nation in 2018. "One cannot deny that (Sechelt) Na- tion people lived here before non-In- digenous people. However, there is also a newer history of the land. that too deserves recognition," read Robson's letter to the provincial government. A more successful project happened in Alberta in September, when a racist and misogynistic nickname for a land- mark on Mount Charles Stewart in the Rocky Mountains was removed. Elders chose to bring back the feature's origin- al name: Anu katha Ipa, or Bald Eagle Peak. Christina Gray, a B.C.-based lawyer and research fellow with the Yellow- head Institute, a First-Nations-led think tank, commends Edmonton's naming project and says she hopes to see other jurisdictions follow. "This year in particular, we've seen a tidal shift in perspective, especially around problematic figures throughout Canadian history," Gray says. "It is also changing in so many dif- ferent countries that have also experi- enced colonialism and imperialism." - The Canadian Press Indigenous place names mark 'shift in perspective' DANIELA GERMANO GRAHAM HUGHES / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES The head of a statue of Sir John A. MacDonald is shown torn down following a demonstration in Montreal Aug. 29 in which protesters called to end systemic racism in Canadian government. A_14_Dec-26-20_FP_01.indd A14 2020-12-25 9:44 PM ;