The Indigenous Solidarity Working Group hosted a debate on the renaming of Fairfield’s Trutch Street on Tuesday, January 16.
The group welcomed speakers and citizens to a “community dialogue on the power of place naming”.
Named in honour of Joseph Trutch, British Columbia’s Chief Commissioner of Land and Works and the province’s first Lieutenant Governor, Trutch Street commemorates a historical figure who played a leading role in dramatically reducing the size of First Nations reserve lands.
According to the Times Colonist, Mayor Lisa Helps said that no application to rename Trutch Street had yet been received, but it would be up to council to consider whatever comes forward.
Helps also told the TC that “ongoing conversations” are being had regarding the future of a statue of John A. Macdonald outside city hall.
Not Just A Colonizer
Trutch’s approach to indigenous peoples was prejudicial and racist, even by 1800’s standards.
Trutch consistently described First Nations people as “savages,” and described them as “the ugliest & laziest creatures I ever saw.” He also misrepresented facts to his superiors, oversaw the disappearance of thousands of dollars meant for the Songhees First Nation, and added a detrimental clause in B.C.’s terms of union.
Given Trutch’s key role in the dispossession of indigenous peoples, the University of Victoria recently decided to remove Trutch’s name from a building on its campus.
This has sparked a renewed interest in calling upon the City of Victoria to rename Trutch Street as a step toward decolonization and reconciliation.
Speakers at Tuesday’s event included:
Joan Morris, Elder, Songhees Nation
George Abbott, former Minister of Education and UVic Political Science doctoral candidate
Lisa Schnitzler, UVic undergraduate student
Reuben Rose-Redwood, chair, UVic Committee for Urban Studies
