Former Sir. John A. Macdonald Parkway Renamed Kichi Zībī Mīkan

The former Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway is now named Kichi Zībī Mīkan (pronounced MEE-kan), meaning “Great River Road” in the Algonquin language. The new name was chosen through an Algonquin naming and engagement exercise. The name honors the profound significance of the river, shoreline, and landscape to the Algonquin Nation.

In June 2023, the National Capital Commission (NCC) Board of Directors approved the new Algonquin name for the parkway. A fall event is being planned to unveil the new signage and celebrate this change.

Meaning of Kichi Zībī Mīkan – the new name highlights the location and importance of the Ottawa River, the Kichi Zībī, as a great and bountiful river that has provided for generations, just as it does today, and has served to build relationships and connect communities.

Naming the parkway Kichi Zībī Mīkan is a reference to the original name for the river. The name is an opportunity to pay respect to Algonquin ancestors and their lived experiences. It serves to reconnect the Algonquin Nation with their history, language, and culture, while also acknowledging that this name was known and used by other First Nation communities that would have travelled to the area.

NCC received several requests to rename the parkway from elected officials, members of the Algonquin Nation and community members. They also heard from the public, which suggested changing the name of the parkway during public consultations for the Ottawa River South Shore Riverfront Park Plan.

The NCC’s newly formed Advisory Committee on Toponymy met in the spring of 2023 to discuss the outcomes of the Algonquin naming and engagement exercise. Following the staff’s analysis and recommendations, the NCC Board of Directors agreed to rename the parkway Kichi Zībī Mīkan.

As part of this exercise, NCC says they contributing to the revitalization of Indigenous culture and language and to restoring Indigenous place names.

Generally, Indigenous place names describe the meaning of a place (how it was or is used) and the place’s significance to the communities involved. The names can also convey teachings about the land and the area.

To reach a consensus, NCC facilitated workshops with community members from Kitigan Zibi Anishinābeg First Nation and the Algonquins of Pikwàkanagàn First Nation communities. These workshops provided an opportunity for storytelling and discussions, and led to the recommendation of a new name, which was chosen by consensus. As part of this exercise, we invited the public to share stories about the parkway and surrounding areas, and to learn about the initiative and the new name and gathering stories which was featured in a summary report about the naming and engagement exercise.

Here are some famous quotes from Sir John A. Mcadonald;

“I have reason to believe that the agents as a whole … are doing all they can, by refusing food until the Indians are on the verge of starvation, to reduce the expense,” Macdonald told the House of Commons in 1882.

“No doubt the Indians will bear a great degree of starvation before they will work, and so long as they are certain the Government will come to their aid they will not do much for themselves,” said David Mills, who had served as minister of the interior under the Liberal government of Alexander Mackenzie.

“When the school is on the reserve, the child lives with his parents who are savages; he is surrounded by savages … He is simply a savage who can read and write,” Macdonald told the House of Commons.

Macdonald authorized the pass system, which required First Nations to obtain permission from their Indian agent to leave their reserve. His government also criminalized powwows and potlatches. Both policies would persist well into the 20th century.

In the 1880’s with the sudden disappearance of the bison, caused largely by American overhunting, had robbed Plains First Nations of their primary source of food, clothing and shelter. Suddenly, all across the prairies were scenes reminiscent of the Irish Potato Famine only 30 years prior.

Around what is now Calgary, Blackfoot had been reduced to eating grass. White travellers described coming across landscapes of up to 1,000 Indigenous so starved that they had trouble walking.

Macdonald did not cause the famine. Nor did he draft the Indian Act or most of the West’s treaties, which had been created under the prior Liberal government.

But Macdonald would capitalize on prairies wracked with famine. His Conservatives had returned to office with an ambitious “National Policy” that included quickly driving a railroad to the Pacific.

To do this, Macdonald effectively gave himself near-autocratic control of the prairies, including supervision of Indian affairs and the Northwest Mounted Police.