Optimism for renaming Dewdney Avenue after Saskatoon drops ‘John A. Macdonald Road’

The renaming of John A. Macdonald Road in Saskatoon is an encouraging development for those in Regina who want Dewdney Avenue renamed.

Joely BigEagle-Kequahtooway, an artist from the Buffalo People Arts Institute (BPAI), has been campaigning to change the name of Dewdney Avenue since 2016.

She was encouraged to see swift action from Saskatoon city council, which acted to recognize the harms caused by Canada’s Indian residential school system and the role the country’s first prime minister played in creating them.

“I think that it’s good when the other communities apply some pressure to our city to enact these changes,” BigEagle-Kequahtooway said.

If it doesn’t happen in her lifetime, BigEagle-Kequahtooway says she has asked her 10-year-old daughter to continue the fight.

“I hope that it doesn’t come to that. For me, it is something easy (and) tangible that the city can do right away. I don’t think it should have to wait for my daughter to be 18, when she’s going to take over the torch,” she said.

Dewdney Avenue is named after Edgar Dewdney, an Indian Commissioner for the North-West Territories from 1879 to 1888, whose legacy is a harmful one for Indigenous people.

Dewdney played a key role in moving the territorial capital from Battleford to Regina, owning land near the planned Canadian Pacific Railway line. He refused to hand out food rations in order to force First Nations people onto reserves they didn’t want to settle on. Dewdney was also an architect behind the Indian Residential Schools.

BigEagle-Kequahtooway recognizes there would be costs associated with a name change. However, she says the province has a role to play, including covering the cost of changing land titles. And when it comes to signage, she says the city has been able to find the money for other things.

“I don’t want to point out certain things, but I definitely think the glockenspiel is a good example that they found $500,000 for that,” she said. “If we’re asking for tangible ideas for truth and reconciliation, this is one.”

Her hope is to rename Dewdney Avenue after the buffalo, which carries cultural significance for Indigenous people. Off the top of her head, BigEagle-Kequaytooway says her ancestors used the buffalo for food, tipis, drums, among other uses.

This month, 15 banners featuring buffalo artwork can be spotted on Dewdney Avenue between Elphinstone and Albert streets. It’s part of The Buffalo Banner Project, an initiative by BPAI and Common Weal Community Arts to draw attention to efforts to rename Dewdney Avenue.

BigEagle-Kequaytooway says the display is also about making the street more Indigenous-friendly, “reclaiming and Indigenizing” it.

The banners are also aimed at honouring ancestors and rejuvenating language and culture.

“When we honour the buffalo, you remember the ceremonies, you remember those songs. We remember our family that were residential school survivors,” she said.

“And for me, that’s how we can get through some of the atrocities that we’re discovering with the … burial sites at the residential schools.”