N.L. government exploring restoring Churchill River's original Innu name

The Newfoundland and Labrador government is consideringrestoring the original Innu name of Labrador's Churchill River, although a prominent Innu leader says it has already happened.

Inthe House of Assembly on Wednesday, Perry Trimper, Independent MHA for Lake Melville, requested that the provincial government consider the change.

"In 1965, and to the consternation of those in Labrador, Joey Smallwood decided to name the longest river in Atlantic Canada after Winston Churchill. There was no consultation with the local people, particularly the Innu,"Trimpersaid.

It wasn't the first time the river had been renamed. The river iscalled Mishta-shipu, or Grand River,by the Innu of the region. It had been renamed Hamilton River, for Newfoundland governor Sir Charles Hamilton, in 1821.

Premier Joseph Smallwood renamed it again in 1965 for recently deceased former British prime minister Winston Churchill, a move that drew criticism, as there was already a well-known Churchill River running throughManitoba and Saskatchewan.

Province already agreed in 2015: Penashue

However, a former Labrador MP and senior advisor on land claims for the Innu Nation, saysthe Newfoundland and Labrador government has already agreed to change the name, but has yet to follow through.

"Back in the 1990s, [the Innu Nation] had requested a table to start talking about name changes to rivers and lakes in Labrador. So all of that work was completed and was gazetted in 2015. Sothe name change has taken place," Penashuesaid.

Penashuesaid the province was supposed to put up signs on the river and its tributaries and record the dual English and Innu-aimun names, unless there was no English name in place, in which case only the Innu name would be considered official.

"For example," Penashue said, "the English name for Mishta-shipu is Churchill River, and the Innu name is Mishta-shipu."

"So the river itself, as raised by Mr. Trimper, has a dual name already."

As Penashue suggested,the April 10, 2015, edition of the Newfoundland and Labrador Gazette states that Keith Hutchings, then minister of municipal and intergovernmental affairs,had approved the name change of around 425 rivers, lakes and geographical features in Labrador, including Mishta-shipu/Churchill River.

In most cases, only an Indigenous name is present, but in the case of an English name, both are recognized as official.

"If you go to the river itself now, there's no sign indicating that it's Mishta-shipu. So the province needs to do some work on that," Penashue said.

As far as dropping the Churchill name of the river altogether, Penashue said that hadbeen the Innu Nation's argument for decades, but they were told the best they could get is a dual name.

In the meantime, in response to Trimper's request, Premier Andrew Furey expressed interest in restoring the Innu name but saidit would depend on consultation with Innu leadership and other Indigenous groups in the region.

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