It was first in May 2021 that the idea for Powell River to change its name was brought forward to city officials in the coastal B.C. community.
What followed, however, were bureaucratic delays and heightened tension among residents, leaving some wondering if their recommendations toward reconciliation becoming more than just words would ever actually become reality.
For Harmony Johnson, changing the name of the community she is from B次元官网网址� which currently reflects a man whose main goal was to assimilate Indigenous people B次元官网网址� is not only a task that her chief, Hegus John Hackett, asked her to lead but also a way to reduce the harm of that legacy that undermines the dignity of Johnson and her fellow TlaB次元官网网址檃min Nation members.
B次元官网网址淲e donB次元官网网址檛 want the name of the town and the interactions (of some community members) to undermine our dignity. We want to be who we are in our territories B次元官网网址� which we have since time immemorial B次元官网网址� and thatB次元官网网址檚 what weB次元官网网址檙e trying to reclaim here,B次元官网网址� Johnson told Black Press Media in a phone interview from her home in TlaB次元官网网址檃min.
Johnson, who splits her time between North Vancouver and TlaB次元官网网址檃min Nation, served as co-chair of a joint working group between the city and the Nation and created recommendations on how to implement such a monumental change.
But around the time of the 2022 municipal election, Johnson and the group called for a cooling-off period as tensions rose and divisiveness took hold in the community.
B次元官网网址淲e have to issue warnings to our people, B次元官网网址楬ey, it might be hot in town because of the comments that have been made about your identity and your language.B次元官网网址� ItB次元官网网址檚 horrible.B次元官网网址�
ItB次元官网网址檚 now been three years since TlaB次元官网网址檃min NationB次元官网网址檚 efforts first began, and thereB次元官网网址檚 not much to show for it in a way of tangible change, she said.
During a February council meeting, the cityB次元官网网址檚 mayor and council voted to kick the decision down the road to the next civic election.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e still kind of in the middle of, I guess, whether this is a decision or not. ItB次元官网网址檚 astounding. ItB次元官网网址檚 taking too long.B次元官网网址�
Now, in 2024, Johnson wonders B次元官网网址渋f not now, when?B次元官网网址�
Israel Wood Powell: The man behind the name
This isnB次元官网网址檛 the first time the Nation has called for a civic body to update its name.
In 2018, the qathet Regional District underwent its renaming to rid of its connection to Israel Wood Powell, the namesake of the community
B次元官网网址淓verybody had been quite proud of the fact that, you know, B次元官网网址楢renB次元官网网址檛 we so progressive? We have this agreement and we have a process by which our governments coordinate and work together.B次元官网网址� That was a long effort to reach that place of creating a respectful protocol and a process for us to come together,B次元官网网址� Johnson said.
Powell River is named after Israel Wood Powell. Born in Ontario in 1836, he was appointed as the superintendent of B.C.B次元官网网址檚 newly formed Department of Indian Affairs in 1872.
For the next 17 years, he pursued B次元官网网址減olicies aimed at assimilating Indigenous peoples into settler Canadian society,B次元官网网址� according to a document provided to the city. The year after he retired, a residential school opened in Kamloops and became one of the largest schools operated by Indian Affairs.
Ace Harry, 22, grew up on TlaB次元官网网址檃min Nation and Powell River and recently returned to live there. She says a name change would fundamentally recognize the presence of her people and their children.
B次元官网网址淩esidential schools were built upon the idea of denying the very existence of Native children. And today, our foster care system and child apprehension systems B次元官网网址� rely upon the ignorance of the general population to the very existence of these kids.B次元官网网址�
Some people in the community have taken on the slogan, B次元官网网址淚 heart PR,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址楶RB次元官网网址� meaning Powell River B次元官网网址� by putting stickers on vehicles, as well as on a billboard in the city. That push, Harry says, seeks to deny and extinguish the very existence of her people.
B次元官网网址淏ut again, that was explicitly taught for a very long time. ItB次元官网网址檚 going to require an incredible amount of work for any individual to deprogram those racist assumptions, let alone entire communities and especially at the pace that was being demanded.B次元官网网址�
Racism was B次元官网网址榬ight below the surfaceB次元官网网址�
First Nations across the country have called for name restorations B次元官网网址� from buildings and schools, to streets and even islands B次元官网网址� amid the 94 recommendations in the Truth and Reconciliation CommissionB次元官网网址檚 calls to action.
Following the name-change request in May 2021, the city and TlaB次元官网网址檃min Nation established a joint working group, made up of elected officials and appointees to oversee a B次元官网网址渃ommunity conversationB次元官网网址� about the proposal.
The working group conducted engagement meetings between March and June 2022, before releasing its final report on July 15, 2022. It included 11 recommendations.
What came next, however, was a B次元官网网址渇ire hose of racism,B次元官网网址� Johnson said, leading to the group being forced to take pause. There was also the upcoming 2022 civic election.
B次元官网网址淭rust and safety did erode at that time and has continued to feel very tenuous.B次元官网网址�
The committee was worried for peopleB次元官网网址檚 safety B次元官网网址� emotionally, culturally, psychologically and physically.
Johnson is an adjunct professor at UBC and studies racism for a living and has authored numerous reports on how racism intersects with inequities in health care. Reflecting on the response to the groupB次元官网网址檚 efforts was B次元官网网址減robably the most hurtful and overt processes where racism was just right there,B次元官网网址� she said.
B次元官网网址淚t showed that this is right below the surface and maybe we think that these polite forums where we have intergovernmental relations are making a difference B次元官网网址� and they are in some ways in some of those personal relationships. But the reality is is that is not everywhere in our society yet.B次元官网网址�
In January of this year, the name-change project that had been seemingly put on pause was brought back to the forefront, during a council meeting that drew provincial attention.
On a Jan. 30 committee of the whole meeting, Coun. Jim Palm drew ire after using a made-up TlaB次元官网网址檃min word to refer to what the city could be renamed to.
B次元官网网址淪tep one is B次元官网网址楢re you in favour of a name change?B次元官网网址� Yes or no. ThatB次元官网网址檚 simple. You donB次元官网网址檛 convolute it with B次元官网网址榃akawanaB次元官网网址� or whatever name comes out of TlaB次元官网网址檃min. You just simply ask the question and get a response. Yes or no, and then we have a direction,B次元官网网址� Palm said at the time.
The Nation denounced the comment a few days later, followed by similar statements from the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs and the First Nations Leadership Council.
B.CB次元官网网址檚 Indigenous Relations Minister Murray Rankin said he was hopeful that Palm B次元官网网址� who had issued an apology to some news publications at that point B次元官网网址� would learn from the work the community, city and TlaB次元官网网址檃min Nation had already put in.
While PalmB次元官网网址檚 comments put a lot of focus on the ongoing process, not all of that attention has been good.
Since his Jan. 30 comment, letters started circulating in the community from B次元官网网址渃oncerned citizens.B次元官网网址� One such letter, posted by the Nation on its website, said TlaB次元官网网址檃minB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址渁ttackB次元官网网址� on Palm was B次元官网网址渏ust one more unwarranted reason why reconciliation and your misconceptions of what the truth is, is causing division between people.B次元官网网址�
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The city released a statement apologizing to the Nation, adding it wishes to B次元官网网址渃ontinue serious conversations about furthering all aspects of reconciliation.B次元官网网址�
ItB次元官网网址檚 been more than three months. Johnson says thereB次元官网网址檚 a dichotomy in the community between the lack of safety in some areas and the tenseness associated with that, juxtaposed with the moments of caring for and celebrating one another.
But she says there is still support in the community, pointing to SundayB次元官网网址檚 memorial march for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and this past weekB次元官网网址檚 Nation assembly, which informs people of the work of TlaB次元官网网址檃min.
Recommending against a referendum
On Jan. 16, the city tabled strategic priorities, including taking B次元官网网址渞eal steps towards a name change.B次元官网网址� A month later, council voted to include the topic as a referendum in the 2026 municipal election.
This decision came despite one of the original recommendations from Johnson and the working group, which found that a referendum was not a necessary way to enact a renaming, as municipalities have most of the authority around renaming its city.
B次元官网网址淚n many ways, referendums are demonstrated very clearly to be very harmful, and divisive exercises,B次元官网网址� Johnson said, pointing to the then-B.C. LiberalB次元官网网址檚 2002 referendum on First Nations treaty rights.
Elections B次元官网网址� including the upcoming provincial election in the fall B次元官网网址� will continue to be factors that shape the conversation, Johnson added.
B次元官网网址淪ome of this is just like the tide: ItB次元官网网址檚 going to come in and change is going to occur and itB次元官网网址檒l become normalized, and itB次元官网网址檒l just become how we think about the place.B次元官网网址�
Working toward reviving the Sliammon language
While it has been three years since this process first began, it remains in very early stages; possible names havenB次元官网网址檛 yet been formally put forward or even recommended by the Nation.
TlaB次元官网网址檃min chief Hegus John Hackett told Black Press Media in February that the ball is in the cityB次元官网网址檚 court, especially following PalmB次元官网网址檚 comment.
B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 a lot of speculation from the city that weB次元官网网址檙e gonna rename it something thatB次元官网网址檚 hard to pronounce, and I think thatB次元官网网址檚 kind of where Jim PalmB次元官网网址檚 mockery might be coming from.B次元官网网址�
Hackett says TlaB次元官网网址檃min is a progressive nation and efforts are being made to revive their language, Sliammon.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e trying to re-establish place names. And with that work, itB次元官网网址檚 really brought our community together in a positive way.B次元官网网址�
Last August, Ace Harry lost her grandmother, the second-oldest speaker in TlaB次元官网网址檃min Nation and B次元官网网址渙ne of the biggest powerhouses of knowledge that we had left.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 really kind of shoved my face into the urgency of the kind of issues that weB次元官网网址檙e working with.B次元官网网址�
For Harry, though, she has B次元官网网址渓ukewarm feelingsB次元官网网址� toward a renaming, pointing to B次元官网网址渄arker problems coming at a much faster pace,B次元官网网址� such as climate change.
B次元官网网址淭here are just other issues that I think would force settlers and their children to reckon with the existence of Indigenous people that arenB次元官网网址檛 completely focused on language.B次元官网网址�
Names changes elsewhere in Canada
Powell River isnB次元官网网址檛 the first municipality to look into name changes or restorations of previous names.
There are several communities in B.C. that have also changed various landmarks and buildings, including and that was named after a federal Indian Agent for the West Coast of Vancouver Island and was involved in the operation of the Alberni Indian Residential School.
In Cowichan, officials are looking to .
The Village of Daajing Giids (formerly Queen Charlotte City) restored its traditional Haida name in July 2022.
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Daajing Giids Mayor Lisa Pineault said the process took about three years from when the village was asked by Skidegate Haida Immersion Program to change the name. The change was just one request that the program has been working on for many years.
And more than a decade before that, the name Haida Gwaii was restored to the grouping of more than 150 islands off of B.C.B次元官网网址檚 north coast. Meaning B次元官网网址淚slands of the People,B次元官网网址� Haida Gwaii had already been in use for years leading up to the official restoration.
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The Regional District was gifted the word qathet B次元官网网址� meaning working together B次元官网网址� by TlaB次元官网网址檃min Nation in June 2017. By the following year, the province had issued its official approval for the requested name change.
The Geographical Names Board of Canada says between 2023 and 2024, British Columbia rescinded the names of nine geographical features, as the names contained B次元官网网址渧arious derogatory terms.B次元官网网址� Those features are currently undergoing renaming processes.
Halfway across the country, Tom Terry was part of a group in the Ontario community of Sioux Lookout that pushed to rename an island that had inherited a derogatory English name for Indigenous women.
It is now known as Equay Minis, meaning Woman Island.
He says the group received minimal push back. But fighting for that progress is important.
B次元官网网址淲hen the colonial governments proceeded with their efforts at mapping land, often the Indigenous names, if they were difficult to pronounce B次元官网网址� they were often discarded, and new names were provided in their place.B次元官网网址�
Indigenous place names are often rich in history, evoking a legend, personal experience or even a humorous story. A name should resonate with people, he says.
B次元官网网址淲hen Indigenous people talk about the relationship with the land, thatB次元官网网址檚 a very genuine, very rich relationship which many non-Indigenous people have a hard time appreciating and respecting or acknowledging and understanding.B次元官网网址�
A hope for an easier path forward in the future
Johnson hopes it only becomes easier and streamlined to make these important changes in the future.
B次元官网网址淭he first thing to go through is often not the fastest.B次元官网网址�
B.C.B次元官网网址檚 Municipal Affairs Ministry works with local governments and First Nations with the understanding that each community will approach the decision differently; the provinceB次元官网网址檚 oversight is to ensure the process is collaborative, the ministry said in an emailed statement.
For Johnson, that streamlined process will help better the lives of Indigenous people and help curb the deeply-rooted systemic and institutionalized colonialism.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 glad that TlaB次元官网网址檃min is on the forefront of this. IB次元官网网址檓 proud of the work that weB次元官网网址檝e done as a joint working group. IB次元官网网址檓 anxious to see that work come to fruition and I hope that that work creates a path B次元官网网址� an easier path B次元官网网址� for others in in the work that theyB次元官网网址檒l need to undertake.B次元官网网址�
As an educator, Johnson likens the need to streamline these kinds of processes to the work done in adding carved out curriculum dedicated to normalizing conversations about racism, colonialism and Indigenous languages.
B次元官网网址淚 think this is just a matter of time for that generation to be to be the leaders of tomorrow that are making the changes naturally, without question. But I do think that thereB次元官网网址檚 barriers we can remove today so that we donB次元官网网址檛 have to wait 20 years for that generation to do the right thing.B次元官网网址�
