Annie He
Staff reporter
On January 20, 15 students and a teacher from Dr. Charles Best secondary school proposed Coquitlam officials rename Dewdney Trunk Road because of Edgar Dewdney, a racist involved in building residential schools and abused Aboriginal people in Canada.
Dewdney was a member of the Indian commissioner of the North-West Territories (NWT) in 1879. He imposed state authority on the First Nations population by using the distribution of rations as a device, making those people compelled to settle on reserves and send their children to mission school because of hunger and poverty, according to the research by the University of Saskatchewan.
According to the article “Is it time to rename Dewdney Trunk Road? A group of determined Coquitlam students say ‘yes’” reported by Kyle Balzer, a Tricity news reporter, to support the idea of ‘a small step’ towards Truth and Reconciliation with Indigenous people. Some students from Gleneagle secondary school agree with the proposal with an understanding of the historical background.
“I think to revise the name of this road is a significant action to make us realize that we have done something wrong to those people in the past. It is also a way to show that we are shaming on what we did, hoping they can forgive us,” said Sean Zhang, grade 11.
This is not the first time people have wanted to change the place names because of Dewdney.
According to the report, “Regina commission votes to change Dewdney Park name to Buffalo Meadows Park; council to make final decision” by CBC news. Joely BigEagle-Kequahtooway, who has an Indigenous identity, said that the renaming of Dewdney Park to Buffalo Meadows Park in Regina is an act of reconciliation and “claiming that identity and that connection.”
According to the article “Keep history alive with road names, say historians” reported by Yuen Meikeng, The Star news. “It is important to use someone’s name who contributed to society as a road name,” said historians.
Olivia Cao, grade 11, gave her opinion “I think to use a certain name of a road from a historical person is because that person did something making people want to commemorate them in the past.”
“Now, we shouldn’t keep using the name because we shouldn’t honor a racist,” added Cao.
However, some other students from Gleneagle secondary school expressed the opposite opinion.
Sumaya Ahamd, grade 11, thinks everyone in history makes mistakes, and people can’t change the fact by renaming a road. It can’t cover up history, and keeping the name can demonstrate the truth that happened in the past.
Whether changing the name of Dewdney Trunk Road or not, an online voting made by Balzer has included 699 people’s decisions since February 13, showing that 68.5% of people think it is necessary to rename and 31.5% say no.
Sources
Is it time to rename Dewdney Trunk Road? A group of determined Coquitlam students say ‘yes’