Makwendam New Name for Old Ryerson School in Burlington – Hamilton | The Canadian News

the Halton District School Board (HDSB) selected a new name for what will soon become the former Ryerson Public School in Burlington, Ontario.

The trustees unanimously approved a change to the Makwendam Public School at a board meeting Wednesday night for the facilities on Woodview Road.

“The new name will take effect immediately and a plan will be developed to make changes to school signage, the website, sports uniforms, etc.,” HDSB President Andréa Grebenc said in a statement Thursday.

The name “Makwendam” (pronounced muck-kwen-dum) means “to remember” in the Anishinaabemowin language.

The change was in response to calls in Ontario to remove the Ryerson name from various public buildings and institutions.

Ryerson Public School was named after Egerton Ryerson, an early 19th century Methodist educator and minister who was instrumental in the design of Canada’s residential school system.

In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Canada concluded that this assimilation amounted to the genocide of indigenous peoples.

The Burlington Learning Facility was one of at least five schools in the GTHA that shared the now controversial name.

After receiving formal requests to remove the school’s name, the HDSB begins a campaign in September to allow parents, guardians, students, and community members to provide input.

In June, the Hamilton Public Schools Board (HWDSB) unanimously voted to change the name of Ryerson Elementary School on Robinson Street following the discovery of what are believed to be the remains of 215 children in a former residential school in Kamloops. , BC.

One of the most notable institutions to bear the name, Ryerson University, saw its board of directors vote in favor of a change.

The decision was made after protests in June at the Toronto school in which a statue of the former educator was toppled and his head turned up at 1492 Land Back Lane in Caledonia.

No date has been set for the change as a poll asking what the new name could be before the public until December 7.