Should The Name Be Changed?
At some point in the near future, the name of the province of British Columbia may be changed. Although right now a majority of the people who reside there do not want to change the name, those in the vocal minority are likely to make the call to do so and it will be done.
There are two major problems with the name: 1) the word "British" and 2) the word "Columbia". They are both now noxious.
Don't worry. If the name changes and you miss the news, you will still be able to find the province. For example, if you google the "Queen Charlotte Islands" you will now automatically learn from the Wikipedia entry that this group of islands is known as "Haida Gwaii." I suppose future google searches will also find Galiano Island and Mount Garibaldi under their new names. And, for that matter, Prince Edward Island.
I was recently in British Columbia which is why I am bringing up again, the subject of "names." I wrote "again" because I think it is mostly mistaken to yield ground to the totalitarians of toponymy who would like to vacuum clean the map, and have said so. In short, remember the children's rhyme, "Sticks and stones.." For arguably more mature reasons see, Names on the Land, No More Name Changing or First They Came For the Names. For even more about both names and words now problematic see, This is NOT About Mariah Carey, where statues are also touched upon (the puzzling title is explained by the fact that it was conjured up on a new year's eve. I would change the title, but am not unhappy with the content. You will find in it, for example, a consideration of university names which are, or will be, under the microscopes yielded by the new linguistic puritans. Remember "Ryerson University?")
More than enough said. You can decide for yourself and probably already have. Below are seven sources relating to the name "British Columbia." The last one is my favourite. Citations are provided in case the links rot.
Sources:
“Renaming Places: How Canada is Reexamining the Map: The History Behind the Dundas Name Change and How Canadians are Reckoning With Place Name Changes Across the Country — From Streets to Provinces,” Robert Jago, Canadian Geographic, July 21, 2021. This is an interesting piece and in it one learns that in 1858, there was consideration given to the idea that an “Indian name should be sought out and adopted in a translated shape.” Columbus is thoroughly denigrated and the author asserts that: "The name British Columbia is unquestionably offensive in this or any era. The name was never meant as anything but a placeholder, disliked at its own inception; it became the name of the colony, and then the province, because time and distance prevented the founders from finding their preferred choice — an Indigenous name.”
“Should British Columbia Change Its Name? As We Reckon With History, Some Say It's Time,” CBC NEWS, AUG. 2, 2021
“There's been a national reckoning on place names and the people they're named after — and some say that conversation should include looking at the name of British Columbia, which is derived, in part, from Christopher Columbus.”
“Majority of British Columbians In New Survey Say No Way to B.C. Name Change
CBC News · Posted: Aug 31, 2021
Most B.C. residents don't want the name of their home province to be changed to reflect the area's Indigenous heritage, according to a survey created by Research Co.
“A New Name For British Columbia? Here Are a Few Ideas,” Vancouver is Awesome, Jack Knox, Jan, 28, 2018.
“First, let’s get real: Nobody is going to change the name of British Columbia. Good idea or bad, it isn’t going to happen. It’s an intriguing proposal to debate, though, as proven by the response to last Sunday’s column.”
It’s an intriguing proposal to debate, though, as proven by the response to last Sunday’s column. After we asked readers to submit alternative names, more than 300 poured in. Some were serious, some frivolous, some thoughtful, some racist, some anatomically challenging.
All were in response to an idea first advanced a decade ago by Victoria’s Ben Pires, who argues the province’s current name is neither historically accurate (direct British rule didn’t last that long) nor inclusive. Thinking about that perspective was the real point of the exercise.
“Rename British Columbia: The Province’s Name is the Shameful Holdover of a Colonial Past," Stephen Collis, The Walrus, June 16, 2020.
“It Is Time to Rename British Columbia: Changing British Columbia’s Name is an Idea That Has Been Percolating for a While. A Notion That is not as Far Fetched as it Sounds or Without Precedent,” Jennifer Cole, Toronto Star, June 29, 2021.
“No, Don’t Change British Columbia’s Name,” Mark Milke, The ORCA, May 24, 2021.
This is a good article to read if you don’t think the name should be changed. The basic argument is presented briefly below, after which the author discusses slavery on the West Coast, that is, the practice of slavery in Indigenous societies.
“To wit, if the argument for changing British Columbia’s name rests on the notion of past colonial imperfection, that misses the big picture as well: Everyone’s ancestors fail by modern standards. And others, even out-of-step on some matters, had redeeming qualities on others.
But when ideologues look back, they see only extremes in black-and-white, and never the full spectrum of colour. They engage in cartoonish history.”
The Bonus:
Forget about the politics and have fun. Read this fascinating book:
There is a wee puddle on someone else's property in BC that somehow became a bigger pool of water and then, because I registered it to secure the right to siphon a few drops of water from it, caused a bureaucrat in Victoria to name this puddle with my surname and append Spring to it. It is still a humble puddle. It aways will be a puddle unless an earthquake makes it a lake or part of the ocean. So, my Surname Spring now is listed on the BC Gazette forever.
ReplyDeleteAh, the name game. Gotta love it. Our Blogger Mulcahy, from London ON, almost certainly was descended from an Irish slave of the English. I support his right to have London renamed Mulcahy.
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