Close X
Saturday, November 30, 2024
ADVT 
National

Edmonton Councillor Faces Criticism For Suggesting City Choose Easier Indigenous Street Names

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 15 Dec, 2016 01:12 PM
    EDMONTON — The grand chief of Treaty Six First Nations says he is discouraged that an Edmonton city councillor has concerns about naming streets with indigenous words that some people may find hard to pronounce or spell.
     
    Coun. Bryan Anderson said he would like the city's naming committee to consider pronunciation and spelling when it decides what to name a new neighbourhood, road or park.
     
    "If at some time in the future, hard-to-spell-and-pronounce names like Wikaskokiseyin (Sweet Grass) are proposed for local neighbourhood roads, and become somebody's address, I hope that the naming committee discusses the potential difficulties that might occur in communicating that address to others, i.e. police, 911, fire, ambulance," Anderson wrote in an email Wednesday.
     
    Anderson said the committee doesn't need to bend over backwards to be authentic when selecting names if there is a better alternative.
     
    He suggested the committee could use names when the phonetic spelling is easy to pronounce or use literal translations for streets and neighbourhoods.
     
    Grand Chief Willie Littlechild said not using proper words would show a lack of respect to indigenous people and damage their spiritual connection to the land.
     
    He likened it to forcing children at residential schools to give up their names and culture.
     
    "When we were children and brought to the school the first thing they did was remove your culture. If you had braids they would cut them. If you had a name they took it away and gave you a number. My name for a long time was Number 65," he said in an interview.
     
    "It really attacks your self identity and self esteem and pride of who you are."
     
    Littlechild, a former commissioner with Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Indian Residential Schools, said it is important to give people an opportunity to reclaim the names of places.
     
    "I was discouraged that someone would reduce the meaning of our words to be irrelevant."
     
    Earlier this year the city renamed an avenue Maskekosihk Trail as part of its commitment to reconciliation with the aboriginal community. The trail links the city to the nearby Enoch First Nation.
     
    Cory Sousa, a city planner who works with the naming committee, said the main criteria for deciding on names is the significance to Edmonton's culture and history.
     
    "We treat indigenous names like we would any other name," he said. "We look at the merit of the name."
     
    In 2014, the city named a new residential area to honour Alex Decoteau, Canada's first indigenous police officer who competed in the 1912 Olympics.
     
    Sousa said the committee of volunteers is considering naming the five neighbourhoods, streets and parks in the area to honour indigenous people.
     
    Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson said using indigenous names acknowledges that the original language of the area was different.
     
    "The act of naming, using indigenous names, not in anglicized ways, is a significant act of reconciliation and decolonization," he said.
     
    Other Prairie cities have named streets and parks to honour their indigenous heritage.
     
    Winnipeg has Salteaux Crescent and Cree Crescent among others and is considering a request from people in the North Point Douglas neighbourhood to rename Rover Ave. to Migizi Ave. — the Ojibwa word for eagle.
     
    Saskatoon has Louis Riel Industrial Park and Chief Darcy Bear Park. Students at schools in the city are proposing that some streets be named after indigenous words.
     
    One student suggested rispay, a Metis word for respect. Another student wrote to the city to propose that a street be named amisk, the Cree word for beaver.
     
    "I think that this word brings us closer to our culture and to our past," wrote Amelie Sarauer.
     
    "The word amisk would be a great street name that reflects the beavers along the South Saskatchewan River in the morning."

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Vancouver Park Board Elects Green Chairman; Party Says Whale Captivity Key Issue

    Vancouver Park Board Elects Green Chairman; Party Says Whale Captivity Key Issue
    Vancouver's parks board has elected Green Party commissioner Michael Wiebe as chairman.

    Vancouver Park Board Elects Green Chairman; Party Says Whale Captivity Key Issue

    Convicted Of Killing Seniors: Travis Vader Testifies At Own Sentencing Hearing

    Convicted Of Killing Seniors: Travis Vader Testifies At Own Sentencing Hearing
    An Alberta man convicted of killing two missing seniors says he was humiliated with a strip search and subjected to horrendous conditions while in custody.

    Convicted Of Killing Seniors: Travis Vader Testifies At Own Sentencing Hearing

    Indus Treaty Processes 'Paused', World Bank Asks India, Pak For 'Alternate Approach'

    In a significant development, the World Bank has paused the separate processes initiated by India and Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty to allow the two countries to consider alternative ways to resolve their disagreements.

    Indus Treaty Processes 'Paused', World Bank Asks India, Pak For 'Alternate Approach'

    Canada's Top Doctor Gregory Taylor Retiring, Ahead Of Schedule

    Canada's Top Doctor Gregory Taylor Retiring, Ahead Of Schedule
    After a little more than two years in the job, Dr. Gregory Taylor is retiring as the country's top doctor, three years ahead of schedule.

    Canada's Top Doctor Gregory Taylor Retiring, Ahead Of Schedule

    Abbotsford Police Chief Sends Letter To Parents About Gang Conflict

    Abbotsford Police Chief Sends Letter To Parents About Gang Conflict
    Abbotsford's police chief has sent a letter asking for help from the parents of young men whom officers believe are involved in a violent gang conflict.

    Abbotsford Police Chief Sends Letter To Parents About Gang Conflict

    Changes To Census Would Be Extremely Difficult Under New Law, Navdeep Bains Says

    Changes To Census Would Be Extremely Difficult Under New Law, Navdeep Bains Says
    Bains said the bill would give Statistics Canada a say over how data is collected.

    Changes To Census Would Be Extremely Difficult Under New Law, Navdeep Bains Says