Place-name changes in and around the Salish Sea

Image from Erica Simek Sloniker and the TNC.

This is a running list of links, in date order, to articles and information related to what some call Indigenous toponymic resurgence: the reclamation and creation of Indigenous-language place names. I also include articles and more that ask us to consider this resurgence in new ways.

This list will not have everything, but I am doing my best to keep it updated as the changes roll in. I am mostly focused on the Salish Sea and the West Coast but acknowlegdge that these welcome changes are happening across Turtle Island/North America. I want to keep track of these changes to show that all the hard work is paying off.

It takes time for settler bureaucracies, like the British Columbia Geographical Names Office, to change, but as Tsawout hereditary Chief WEC'KINEM (Eric Pelkey) said of the recent (August, 2022) and long fought-for official name change of Mount Douglas to PKOLS, such renamings are another step forward on the road to reconciliation.

Place-name changes list

Please contact me using the contact form, below, if you would like me to add something, or if you find a broken link. Thanks!

• "High School in Langford Community Centre Gets First Nation Name," Times Colonist, 12 December 2023.
• "Petition Calls for Return of Indigenous Name for Tofino Beach," Times Colonist, 10 November 2023.
• "Brentwood Bay Park Renamed from Pioneer Park to HEL,HILEȻ," W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership Council, 31 October 2023. Also, see Pioneer Park in Brentwood Bay Gets a New SENĆOŦEN Name, Times Colonist, 1 October 2023.
• "Dedicated Font for Indigenous Languages a Sign of Reconciliation and Respect, Musqueam Project Member Says," CBC News, 7 June 2023.
• "PKOLS to Be New Official Name for Mount Douglas Park," Times Colonist, 17 August 2022.
• "City Renames Trutch Street to Su’it Street, Lekwungen Translation for 'Truth'," City of Victoria, 11 July 2022. See Tweet.
• "City of Victoria Renames Trutch Street, Su’it Street as an Act of Reconciliation," CHEK News, 10 July 2022.
• "2 Indigenous Place Names Restored on B.C.’s Sunshine Coast," CBC News, 19 August 2021. Article quote: "Wilson Creek now called ts'uḵw'um, Saltery Bay now sḵelhp."
• "Should British Columbia Change Its Name? As We Reckon with History, Some Say It’s Time," CBC News, 2 August 2021.
• "Restoring Indigenous Place Names Rebuilds Relationships to Land: University of Victoria Scholar," Victoria News, 11 June 2021.
• "SMONEĆTEN Name Reclaiming Ceremony," W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership Council YouTube channel, 4 May 2021. On May 4th, the name SMONEĆTEN was restored to what was formerly known as McDonald Campground in Gulf Islands National Park Reserve.
• "TLC to Transfer SISȻENEM (Halibut Island) to W̱ Sáneć Leadership Council," W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership Council and the Land Conservancy of British Columbia, 26 February 2021. Note that this is a land title change, not a name change. For now, the BC Geographical Names office lists SISȻENEM's offical name as Halibut Island. See also "Got Land Back," Unreserved with Rosanna Deerchild, 24 February 2023.
• "Bilingual Hul’q’umi’num Street Signs Coming to Downtown Duncan," TC, 19 January 2021.
• "Rename British Columbia," The Walrus, 16 June 2020.
• "We Should Consider Changing the Name of British Columbia," The Tyee, 16 June 2020.
• "New James Bay Library Branch Given Lekwungen Name," TC, 24 January 2018. Article quote: "[...] city council consulted with the Songhees and Esquimalt nations [sic] and selected the Lekwungen word for the James Bay area—sxʷeŋ’xʷəŋ taŋ’exw, pronounced s-hweng hw-ung tongue-oo-hw."

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