Rename British Columbia to reflect its Indigenous heritage and multicultural nature – Toronto Star
July 16, 2020
It is now a practice, before a public event, to have an Indigenous land acknowledgment. Is this mere tokenism under the guise of “Truth and Reconciliation” with Indigenous communities, even when our province continues to have a colonial name, flag and coat-of-arms?
“British Columbia” was chosen on July 24, 1858, by Queen Victoria, a monarch who never set foot in these parts. Her decision, said to be hesitant, was unilateral and without consultation with the people who lived here, who, for the most part were Indigenous.
Vancouver Island was a British colony for just 22 years. The mainland was a colony for 13 years. British rule ended in 1871.
Yet we cling to the “British” moniker while ignoring both the 10,000 years or more that Indigenous communities inhabited these lands, and our 149 years in the Canadian Confederation.
