Ontario city scraps Indian Road in favour of Ojibway name

Kingston City Council has voted to rename Indian Road to Aki Road, using the Ojibway word for land and earth, following a heated debate. The motion passed with an 8-5 vote on Tuesday night.

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This is a matter that feels like a very cut-and-dry example of both equity and decolonization. Unless you are an Indigenous person, you can only hypothesize how it feels for someone to call you an Indian.

The decision to rename the short residential street, home to just over 60 addresses, sparked strong opinions from residents. Some argued that "Indian Road" held sentimental value and that changing it would cause administrative headaches. They also felt the name celebrated Kingston's Indigenous community and was easy to use.

However, Shannon Beckstead, a member of the Minegoziibe Anishinabe, countered that the name "Indian" is not a word most Indigenous people love and that it was not a word they chose. "This is a matter that feels like a very cut-and-dry example of both equity and decolonization," she stated, emphasizing that non-Indigenous people can only hypothesize how it feels to be called "Indian."

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It’s not a word most of us love, and it’s a word that none of us chose.

Brandon Maracle, executive director of the Kingston Native Centre and Language Nest, shared a personal anecdote about memorizing his Indian Registration Number in high school to prove he was "not too white to be Indian." He described feeling ashamed of that moment and stated that the term "Indian" is derogatory and harmful. "Changing the name of Indian Road won't undo this history," Maracle said, "But keeping Indian and Indian Road asks Indigenous people in Kingston to continue seeing this history reflected on a public street name in an official capacity."

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I feel ashamed of that moment even here. And that’s what Indian means to me.

Some residents, like Dennis Mahoney, whose family has lived on Indian Road since 1964, expressed a desire to keep the name, calling it "home" and something they "cherish." He cited surveys suggesting a majority of residents opposed the change. However, other residents, like Daniel Shipp, disputed these survey results, suggesting they were misrepresented and that responses were mixed, with a significant portion favoring a change.

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An Indian Registration number makes me no more Mohawk than drinking water makes me a fish.