Museum administrator worries history could be lost if Duck Lake changes name

A recent decision in Duck Lake has many scratching their heads and worrying about the Saskatchewan community’s future.

On Wednesday, Duck Lake’s town council announced it had voted in favour of selling the naming rights to the town, potentially erasing a name deeply connected with the province’s history.

Read more:

• What the duck? Town of Duck Lake plans to sell its naming rights
• Many Duck Lake residents ‘blindsided’ by town’s potential name change
• Former Duck Lake Mayor slams the idea of changing town name

The town is accepting offers for its municipal naming rights until March 1, 2026, with a minimum bid of $10 million. Mayor Jason Anderson said the town is ready to reinvent itself, and money for the naming rights will go towards revitalizing housing and business incentives, community infrastructure and economic development. He said the idea is just a conversation at this point, and consultations would need to take place prior to any name change becoming official.

Celine Perillat, administrator of the Duck Lake Regional Interpretive Centre, said the town has a long and storied history.

“The community has been around for a long time, with the Indigenous Willow Cree who settled in this area,” she explained.

“One of our first fur traders to settle in this area was in the 1870s, and the community grew and continued to grow from then.”

Perillat said when you think of Duck Lake, it’s hard not to think of the North-West Rebellion.

“The events of 1885 with Louis Riel and Gabriel Dumont, the first shots fired in those events actually occurred here,” she said. “(It was) just west of town, at the entrance of the Beardy’s and Okemasis reserve.”

Perillat said Duck Lake will forever have deep ties with Canadian history.

“We’re kind of steeped in history, and Duck Lake has been mentioned in the history books in Canada for a long time,” she said.

As for where the name Duck Lake came from, Perillat said it’s fairly straightforward.

“The name itself was actually translated from a Cree name,” she said. “It’s the name of the lake; it’s how the whole community came to be.”

Perillat said she’s not in favour of making any changes to the community’s name.

“It’s important. I think a name for a person reflects their soul,” she said, “so it’s mind-boggling to want to change it.”

Perillat said she’s worried town pride could be hurt if the historic name is eventually changed.

“There is a sense of pride, because there was an immigration office here,” she said. “A lot of people, through the settlement times, came through this area and have registered here.”

Perillat said she’s worried some of the community’s rich history could be forgotten in the past if the town is no longer named Duck Lake.

“I don’t know how it would work,” she said. “How do you connect having your town name in a history book, and now, all of a sudden, it’s something else? I’m not sure how to wrap my brain around that one.”

The museum administrator said she thinks would be shocked to know how many friends or family members they have with connections or ties to Duck Lake.

“So many people have come through this community,” Perillat said. “It’s not uncommon to have visitors come in (and say) ‘Oh, my great great grandfather used to own land here.’ A lot of people have come though and have connections and ties to Duck Lake.”

Perillat said it would be hard to say goodbye to the name Duck Lake if it is changed.

“You grow up in a place and it becomes a part of your history,” she said. “It becomes part of your heritage, and you can’t just change your name without it affecting a little bit of that as well.”