While I agree that Prince Edward Island should be renamed, renaming it ‘Epekwitk’ is not a good idea, personally speaking.

At the arrival of the first Europeans to the region, it was inhabited by the Miꞌkmaq. Over the course of several hundred years, the island (and the maritime region overall) would be home to various peoples, the Miꞌkmaq, Acadians, French, the English. For the few centuries prior to the establishment of the provinces and Confederation, these groups often lived side by side and interacted with each other in contexts that were not violent or necessarily immoral. Beyond those groups there were of course smaller minority populations that also lived on the island, and to this day PEI is home to a diverse population.

My fear with terms like ‘Epekwitk’ is one of national identity and historical legacy. As a citizen of Canada who has ancestral and historical ties to the maritimes (I am descended directly from an Acadian family who settled in the maritime region in the mid 17th century), I do not identify as Miꞌkmaq, nor do I consider the Miꞌkmaq Nation to be my own.

While the The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) both say that reclaiming Indigenous place names is an important part of addressing historical injustices, I think that not only is that not true, but not logically sound.

There is no movement in France to rename the country ‘Gaul’, even though the Gauls were the ancestral peoples of that country, for example. Perhaps there is a difference, however, in that the Gauls as a distinct cultural and national identity no longer exist. They went extinct in that sense long ago, while the Miꞌkmaq continue to live and practice their distinct cultural traits.

However, the current name of ‘France’ is derived from the term ‘Frank’, which is the name for a germanic tribe that migrated into the territory that now bears their name. In other words, these Frankish tribes ‘colonized’ the land, replaced the Gauls and Romans as the dominant group through gradual assimilation, and now, after over a thousand years, the Gallic identity is dead, and the land no longer bears its ancestral name of Gaul.

If France were to follow the UNDRIP and TRC recommendations, they would rename the country to something akin to ‘Gaul’. This, obviously, is not something that would ever happen, as the majority population of the country has no real connection to the ‘ancestral’ population that was the Gauls.

Similarly, renaming PEI to Epekwtik would be to completely disregard the other inhabitants and their historical ties to the region, who have just as strong a claim to the land as they do.

I am not arguing from a racist or anti-indigenous perspective, nor does my opposition to renaming it Epekwtik stem from some sort of historical denialism. I am simply pointing out that while historical truths of colonization, waves of migration, the preference of European settlers over the Miꞌkmaq by later polities did exist, it does not mean that it must define our path going forwards. Course correcting by swinging hard in the opposite direction seems just as demeaning as swinging hard the other way.

As a Canadian, I am proud of my nation, and am happy to live here, to participate in my civic duties and honour my own ancestors, just like the Miꞌkmaq honour their own. It is possible to not only reconciliate with indigenous nations and the crimes of the past, but also to honour our own heritage as Canadians. Too often do Canadians disregard our own history and the beliefs that founded this nation. Too often do Canadians deem characters of the their past as irrelevant because they had 18th or 19th century worldviews. Yes, historical figures operated with different philosophies and moralities, but that is not a justification to disregard the positives that they brought forth. Do Canadians forget we are one of the oldest of the few continuous democracies to have ever existed on planet earth? The creation of the social safety nets we so cherish now, from the healthcare system to income support programs (Canada Pension Plan, Canada Child Benefit, Old Age Security). All of these things were oftentimes brought to us by the same people we decry as vile and not deserving of any respect or our attention.

Perhaps the anglicization of the term to ‘Abegweit’ is suitable, but we shouldn’t limit ourselves to a binary between British colonial terms or Miꞌkmaq terms. We have a diverse and unique history, culture, and more modern dynamics to help inspire new names for places across Canada, should our goal continue to be to rename.