Juno News - 5 cases of monuments removed & places renamed in 2019

00:00:00.000 The colonial origins of some street and building names in Canada are receiving increased public

00:00:09.980 scrutiny, and discussions are being had about whether some historical figures with views we

00:00:14.920 don't approve of today should still be memorialized in monuments or statues. With the year coming to

00:00:21.380 an end, here are the five most contentious cases of monuments being removed and places being

00:00:26.960 renamed in 2019. Number five. Part of Peter Robertson Boulevard is renamed Guru Nanak Way in Brampton,

00:00:36.520 Ontario. In October, Brampton City Council voted to rename part of Peter Robertson Boulevard

00:00:43.580 Guru Nanak Way after the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, just in time to celebrate the Guru's 550th

00:00:52.160 birthday. One of the councillors who introduced the motion, Gerpreet Dillon, pointed out that Brampton

00:00:58.300 is home to one of the largest Sikh populations in the world. However, not everyone was celebrating

00:01:03.980 the decision. Peter Robertson, former mayor of Brampton from 1991 to 2000, and namesake of Peter

00:01:11.340 Robertson Boulevard, was against the decision to rename part of the street after the founder of

00:01:16.060 Sikhism. His argument was that it is problematic and perhaps upsetting to some people to be naming

00:01:22.300 streets after religious figures. Number four. Aimhurst Street becomes Atatakon Street in Montreal.

00:01:30.560 Montreal's Aimhurst Street became Atatakon Street after city council approved a name change in August.

00:01:38.280 Lord Geoffrey Aimhurst was a British general that led the capture of Montreal in 1760. There's also

00:01:45.880 evidence, though, that he suggested the British intentionally infect Indigenous tribes with

00:01:51.120 smallpox by sending them smallpox-infected blankets. After the French surrender of Canada, local Indigenous

00:01:58.320 groups were angered by Aimhurst's new policy that discontinued the French practice of providing

00:02:04.120 supplies to Indigenous groups in exchange for their friendship and assistance. So this led to a rebellion

00:02:09.820 called the Pontiac Rebellion that the British wished to suppress. In letters dating back to 1763,

00:02:17.700 Aimhurst and another colonel were exchanging words about using smallpox-infected blankets to

00:02:23.500 inoculate the Indians during the Pontiac Rebellion. In 2017, then-mayor of Montreal, Denis Coderre,

00:02:31.180 said that celebrating Aimhurst, someone who wanted to exterminate Indigenous peoples,

00:02:35.360 was not conducive to reconciliation, and he announced that the street's name would be changed.

00:02:42.140 The street's new name, Atatakon, means brotherhood in the Mohawk language.

00:02:48.060 Number three, historical Cecil Rhodes School plaque removed in Vancouver, B.C.

00:02:54.600 L'école Bilingue in Vancouver, B.C. was called Cecil Rhodes School until 1977,

00:03:00.140 and a plaque made of tile with the previous moniker sat at the back of the school basketball courts for years.

00:03:08.200 However, in June, Vancouver school trustees voted to remove the plaque on the basis that Cecil Rhodes

00:03:14.420 was an exploitative 19th-century British imperialist and notorious racist that set the stage for apartheid in South Africa.

00:03:22.800 2. Monument of Samuel de Champlain faces a delayed return to Aurelia, Ontario.

00:03:30.760 Back in 2015, Parks Canada temporarily removed a monument of explorer Samuel de Champlain

00:03:36.720 in Aurelia, Ontario for restoration and reconditioning.

00:03:41.220 But they started to receive complaints of its racist and hurtful depictions of First Nations groups.

00:03:47.720 The government then decided to hold off from returning the monument to its foundation.

00:03:51.660 On the original monument, Champlain was surrounded by four Indigenous characters.

00:03:57.540 Two were looking up at a Jesuit priest as they sit at his feet,

00:04:01.400 and on the other side were two other Indigenous peoples sitting at the feet of a fur trader.

00:04:06.280 According to the city of Aurelia, the design of the statue represented Champlain's role

00:04:10.980 in bringing Christianity and commerce to New France.

00:04:14.080 A plaque fixed to the monument stated it was erected to commemorate the advent into Ontario of the white race

00:04:21.180 under Champlain's leadership.

00:04:23.960 A working group congregated between October 2018 and June 2019 to study what they should do about the monument.

00:04:31.320 Ultimately, they recommended the monument return, but only featuring the figure of Champlain,

00:04:36.460 so without the four Indigenous depictions.

00:04:40.140 Another recommendation from the report was to have some additional interpretive signage

00:04:44.880 created with the participation of First Nations groups

00:04:48.220 who could tell an accurate story of Samuel de Champlain

00:04:52.160 and his relationship with the local First Nations.

00:04:55.020 In July, a bronze statue of BC's first Chief Justice, Matthew Begby,

00:05:06.320 was removed from its stand outside the law courts in New Westminster, BC.

00:05:10.880 Justice Begby is sometimes referred to as the Hanging Judge.

00:05:14.780 In a conflict known as the 1864 Chilcotin War,

00:05:18.560 an English and American road-building crew entered Chilcotin Territory without permission.

00:05:23.240 Because the Chilcotin didn't want their land conquered 1.00

00:05:26.740 and allegedly were concerned about the threat of smallpox and of men assaulting their women,

00:05:32.300 they killed 21 of the English workers.

00:05:35.680 Afterwards, five Chilcotin chiefs were invited to peace talks by the government,

00:05:40.760 but they had been tricked.

00:05:42.280 Instead, they were arrested, tried, and hanged.

00:05:46.080 Begby was conflicted about the decision to hang the five chiefs.

00:05:49.320 He admitted the Chilcotin had been injudiciously treated

00:05:53.320 and was appalled at how the men had been tricked into arrest.

00:05:56.740 Alas, Begby's statue was removed on the premise that it was a symbol of the colonial era,

00:06:02.320 and taking it down was a necessary step towards reconciliation with Indigenous people.

00:06:08.160 Local First Nation groups were reportedly cheering

00:06:10.540 as the statue in New Westminster was lifted away.

00:06:13.120 However, in his time, Begby was actually well-liked and popular among First Nations chiefs,

00:06:19.460 and he spoke two Indigenous languages,

00:06:22.300 he opposed efforts to displace First Nations from their land,

00:06:26.300 and he forced legislation that ensured First Nations women

00:06:29.720 would receive their share of the estates of their English partners.

00:06:33.660 But New Westminster wasn't only home to a statue of Matthew Begby,

00:06:36.880 there's also Begby Square and Begby Street.

00:06:40.520 So in October, New Westminster City Council unanimously approved a motion

00:06:44.220 to rename Begby Square and Begby Street

00:06:47.440 to Chief Ahan Square and Chief Ahan Street,

00:06:51.260 after a chief that was hanged under Justice Begby's orders.

00:06:55.020 What do you think about these historical rewrites?

00:06:57.220 Were some of them justified?

00:06:58.880 Or do you think it's better to leave our colonial-era buildings and names alone,

00:07:03.100 but maybe add some additional context?

00:07:05.820 Let us know what you think in the comments.

00:07:08.060 I'm Lindsay Shepard with True North.

Juno News - December 24, 2019

5 cases of monuments removed & places renamed in 2019

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