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MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
Dalhousie School is named after George Ramsay, also known as Lord Dalhousie, a pro-slave British nobleman who espoused racist views of Black people. <\/p>\n
\u201cOur whole slogan is, \u2018Our differences make us strong,\u2019\u201d said Evi Klostermaier, acting principal of the kindergarten-to-Grade 5 school in Fort Richmond.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe goal is to ensure our school name reflects the spirit of belonging, respect and pride and the diversity that\u2019s in our community and in our building.\u201d<\/p>\n
Inspired by the recent renaming of nearby Prairie Sunrise School \u2014 previously named Ryerson School \u2014 the staff team set out last spring to investigate their building\u2019s namesake.<\/p>\n
What they learned \u2014 Dalhousie (1770-1838) was pro-slavery and held racist beliefs about Black people \u2014 was extremely troubling, Klostermaier said.<\/p>\n
Teachers took their concerns to the board office in the fall and received approval to start an official renaming process involving all 440 students and their families.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a lot of immigrant families within our community who didn\u2019t know yet of Dalhousie.\u2026 We shared our reasoning for (change) and they were very open to it,\u201d Klostermaier said.<\/p>\n
Provincial census data shows more than half of all residents in the Fort Richmond constituency are visible minorities. Ten per cent of the population identifies as Black.<\/p>\n
Halifax-based Dalhousie University is also named after the man who, then-lieutenant-governor of Nova Scotia, founded the post-secondary institution in 1818.<\/p>\n
The university established a team of researchers in 2016 to probe its founder\u2019s relationship to slavery, race and anti-Black racism. The panel\u2019s 132-page report details how Dalhousie cut rations for Black refugees and sought to deport them to their former slave masters.<\/p>\n
The panel called on the school to issue an apology to the African Nova Scotia community. It did not recommend the campus be renamed.<\/p>\n
Over the last five years there\u2019s been a growing movement across the country to strip public schools of names honouring historical figures whose beliefs and actions caused harm to Indigenous people and other marginalized populations.<\/p>\n
The 2021 announcement that ground-penetrating radar surveys revealed approximately 200 potential unmarked graves at the site of a former residential school site in Kamloops ignited public outrage and discussion about Canadian monuments.<\/p>\n
Manitoba school trustees have since approved the renaming of Cecil Rhodes School (now Keewatin Prairie Community School) and Wolseley School (Little Bluestem School), among others.<\/p>\n
Pembina Trails requires its buildings be renamed after the community they\u2019re located in, a symbol of their unique programming or as a tribute to inclusivity, reconciliation and respect for human rights and diversity.<\/p>\n
Division rules state names should be chosen \u201cwith a view towards staying relevant and appropriate for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation\u2019s education director said she\u2019s on board with renaming institutions, but she has two conditions.<\/p>\n
Kaila Johnston said it\u2019s important the affected community is on board and the history of an original namesake is acknowledged in some shape or form.<\/p>\n
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\u201cContext is very important,\u201d Johnston said. \u201cOtherwise, it can be lost to history.\u201d<\/p>\n
As part of their renaming process, Dalhousie School teachers asked their students to reflect on where their names came from and invited an elder to speak about Indigenous naming practices.<\/p>\n
The school is compiling a time capsule of yearbooks and other historical artefacts representing the school since its inception in 1970.<\/p>\n
The board of trustees is expected to approve a new name before the end of the school year. Suggestions are being collected in an online survey that closes Wednesday.<\/p>\n
maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n
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Maggie Macintosh Maggie Macintosh reports on education for the Free Press. Originally from Hamilton, Ont., she first reported for the Free Press in 2017. Read more about Maggie<\/a>.<\/p>\n Funding for the Free Press education reporter comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Maggie produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Education reporter
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