Indigenous people in the NWT who use traditional names are cautiously hailing a new government policy on naming as a step in the right direction.
On June 14, the federal government announced that traditional names can now be printed on official identification documents, such as passports, citizenship certificates and residency cards.
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The change is in line with one of the Truth and Reconciliation CommissionSA国际影视传媒檚 calls to action, urging governments to allow residential school survivors and their families to reclaim names changed during colonialism and revise identity documents accordingly.
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) extended the policy beyond residential school survivors to include all Indigenous peoples and made the service free for five years.
IRCCSA国际影视传媒檚 printing system follows International Civil Aviation Organization guidelines for names and can only print in the Roman alphabet, with some French characters, said IRCC spokesperson Sonia Lesage.
As a result, not all of the spellings and symbols used for some Indigenous names, such as the diacritics in many Dene words can be printed.
SA国际影视传媒淚f an Indigenous name contains characters that are not recognized by the issuance system, we may need to make minor modifications, with the applicantSA国际影视传媒檚 consent,SA国际影视传媒� Lesage said.
Stacey Sundberg supports the policy change on names, calling it a good start.
She plans to use her two-year-old sonSA国际影视传媒檚 Tlicho-Wiliideh name Konaitlii on official documents.
SA国际影视传媒淚n English it means SA国际影视传媒榮park of lightning.SA国际影视传媒� When Indigenous people lived on the land, we named our kids after the environment we were in,SA国际影视传媒� said Sundberg, a member of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation.
On Aug. 9, 2018, when she began to go into labour, there were heavy thunder and lightning storms in the Yellowknife region that lasted all night. Konaitlii was born the next day.
SA国际影视传媒淎 sacred tree was blown down by the wind near the Yellowknife River. The Elders said itSA国际影视传媒檚 spiritually significant that a baby is born on the same day a sacred tree is blown down in a storm,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淚 felt really inspired by my great-grandfather, whose name was Itoa. He was born in the barrenlands in the eastern Sahtu region, beside a little tree. His parents decided to name him Itoa which means SA国际影视传媒榯ree or plant.SA国际影视传媒橲A国际影视传媒�
But while Sundberg supports the policy change, she thinks it should go further to include the diacritics and fonts used in Dene words that express sounds like glottal stops and tones.
SA国际影视传媒淭hose need to be included as well. They canSA国际影视传媒檛 just give us half of it. Without the diacritics and the schwas, itSA国际影视传媒檚 not complete. We need to work with them more and work with more language specialists. I think if they made a program for that it would be a good way of doing reconciliation,SA国际影视传媒� Sundberg said.
For Shene Catholique-Valpy, the June 14 announcement marks a new development in an ongoing battle.
The Yellowknife resident and member of the Lutsel KSA国际影视传媒檈 Dene First Nation has been working for several years to ensure traditional names can be printed in official documents.
Like Sundberg, she gives partial support to the federal governmentSA国际影视传媒檚 move.
SA国际影视传媒淚 am happy to see this announcement but I am still cautious because they are still not allowing all Indigenous people to use their real names with proper spelling,SA国际影视传媒� said Catholique-Valpy.
As far back as 2014, she has been calling for changes to allow traditional names on birth certificates.
RELATED REPORTING: Fight for traditional names on birth certificate enters fifth year
Some success was achieved in 2018, when the GNWT waived fees for some name changes so residential school survivors could reclaim names and correct errors on NWT birth certificates, as CBC reported.
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But Catholique-Valpy thinks there is still a ways to go.
The names of her daughters N谩蕯毛l and Sah峋疵準斸境 canSA国际影视传媒檛 yet be changed to include the proper Chipewyan diacritics, she said.
SA国际影视传媒淢y daughters still will not be able to use the spelling of their names, which excludes them. As for myself, I am able to utilize this policy because (I can) reclaim my full name with proper spelling only because it is recognized in the French language. I am thankful for the change but it is not enough for me to stop my fight. They have skipped an important step and thatSA国际影视传媒檚 to honour all Indigenous names.SA国际影视传媒�
When her four-year-old daughter N谩蕯毛l sees her name on government documents she gets confused by the spelling.
SA国际影视传媒淚 need to explain to my daughter that the way itSA国际影视传媒檚 written is her government name. ItSA国际影视传媒檚 a hard conversation to have. It shouldnSA国际影视传媒檛 be like that,SA国际影视传媒� she said.
Catholique-ValpySA国际影视传媒檚 next step is to try to speak with the new commissioner of Indigenous languages, Ronald E. Ignace, on naming policies. Ignace was appointed to the new commission on June 14.
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And on June 21, National Indigenous Peoples Day, she will speak virtually with a panel of government and civil society groups for an event to be held at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C.
SA国际影视传媒淚SA国际影视传媒檓 going to be speaking about traditional names SA国际影视传媒� how they link to culture and identity. I just want to keep the conversation going.SA国际影视传媒�
