The recent renaming of the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway in Ottawa to Kichi Zībī Mīkan (“Great River Road”) comes as Canada Day invites Canadians to define not only where we are, but also who we are in our national imagination.
Reclaiming Indigenous names in our public spaces is just one way to create new avenues for what Cree Elder and scholar Willie Ermine calls “ethical spaces of engagement.” This seems in keeping with the mutual respect required to engage in the difficult, ongoing work of reconciliation, the flagship project of which is enacting the 94 calls to action by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC).
