Winnipeg, MB – Today, the City of Winnipeg is launching Welcoming Winnipeg, an initiative that responds to the national dialogue in Canada to re-examine historical markers and place names to resolve the absence of Indigenous perspectives, experiences, and contributions in the stories remembered and commemorated in Canadian cities.
“I’m pleased to launch an important public engagement effort called Welcoming Winnipeg,” said Mayor Brian Bowman. “Listening to Winnipeggers will help the city develop a process and policy to guide how the city recognizes and commemorates various historical people and events with place names, plaques, signs, and street names. At the same time, this effort will also help guide decision making on how to resolve the absence of Indigenous perspectives, experiences, and contributions. As a city, it is important to be proactive with our engagement with residents on how they feel about monuments and other recognitions before any actions are taken.”
This initiative is just one aspect of the reconciliation process the City has committed to, and will help ensure that the contributions, experiences, and perspectives of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit are reflected truthfully in Winnipeg’s stories, historical markers, and place names.
Through the Welcoming Winnipeg initiative, the City will engage with members of the public and Indigenous peoples to help develop a process and policy for decision-making related to how we can recognize and commemorate historical markers and place names.
“The decisions that are made as part of the public engagement process must reflect the City’s relationship with Indigenous peoples and their longstanding relationship to the territory where Winnipeg now resides,” said Kimberley Puhach, Chairperson of the Mayor’s Indigenous Advisory Circle. “A shared future is grounded and informed by the truth of our shared past.”
Ways to get involved with Welcoming Winnipeg:
- Submit a story – Online, mailed, over the phone, or through audio recording at the Millennium Library
- Complete a survey – available until March 18, 2019
- Attend the panel event and discussion on Wednesday, March 13, 2019 at the University of Winnipeg – Be a part of the conversation in person and attend to watch Mary Jane Logan McCallum, Adele Perry, Jarvis Brownlie and more discuss the topic of reconciling our history and participate in the discussion afterward.
The feedback gathered through the public engagement process will be compiled and used to help inform recommendations for Council’s consideration.
For more information on Welcoming Winnipeg, visit winnipeg.ca/welcomingwinnipeg.
As part of an ongoing commitment to the Journey to Reconciliation, the City has had more than 8,000 employees participate in Indigenous awareness training to date. There have been 135 partners signed onto Winnipeg’s Indigenous Accord, who are community members and organizations advancing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada calls to action. In 2018, the City has also been able to provide employees 25 additional Indigenous cultural and educational opportunities. For more information on initiatives of the City’s Indigenous Relations Division, please visit City of Winnipeg - Indigenous Relations Division or the Journey of Reconciliation webpages.