Parks Canada may consider renaming historic site Port-la-JoyeFort Amherst

After aP.E.I. Mi'kmaq leader askedto have the name of Parks Canada national historic site Port-la-JoyeFort Amherst changed, it appears that's a real possibility.

The site in Rocky Point, which overlooks the Charlottetown harbour from the southwest, should be renamed to reflect its Mi'kmaq heritagesaid Keptin John Joe Sark.

"Gen. Amherst didn't even live here. He didn't even come here. He never visited here, he never came to P.E.I., so why would they bother givingParks Canada site his name? To me, he was a tyrant and a barbarian," saidSark.

Gen. Jeffrey Amherst distributed blankets contaminated with smallpox to aboriginal people and shouldn't be commemorated on P.E.I. said Sark. Although this is a view debated by historians.

Last monthSarkwrote a letter to federal Environment Minister Catherine McKennaformally requesting the name of the site be changed.

Monday, Parks Canada responded in an email to CBC Newsoutliningtheprocess for such a changewhile not committing to it.

"Should there be a formal request from the public to change the name of the National Historic Site,ParksCanadawould engage with the Historic Sites and Monuments Board ofCanadafor its recommendation," saidBarb MacDonald, Parks Canada's external relations manager.

The Board takes into account its naming guidelines which MacDonald said contain four principles:well-established usage,historic usage, communication of the reasons for designation andbrevity and clarity.

It's not clear whether Sark's letter to the minister constitutes a "formal request" as laid out in the email.

Sark was part of an unsuccessful attempt to have the name of the historic site changed once beforein 2008.

Parks Canada saidsince that initial requestit has worked to engage with the Mi'kmaq Confederacy of PEI and a Mi'kmaq elderto place interpretive panels and hold special events at the site, although Sark said he himself has not beenconsulted.

"ParksCanadarecognizes the invaluable contributions of Indigenous People to our work from establishing and conserving heritage places to enhancing visitor experience on-site by sharing stories and cultural traditions," MacDonald's email states, addingParksCanadais committed to working respectfully with First Nations and honouring their contributions.