wîhkwêntôwin: Oliver Community League gifted Cree name for neighbourhood

Elders Jerry and Jo-Ann Saddleback speak at a renaming event in Edmonton on January 23, 2024. (Jeremy Thompson/CTV News Edmonton)

In a move to shed the "harmful legacy" of its namesake Frank Oliver, a central Edmonton community has chosen a Cree name to replace his.

The Oliver Community League announced its desired name of wîhkwêntôwin (we-kwen-to-win) Tuesday, which means circle of friends.

"Whether you're a tourist, or a resident, or here for business, here visiting relatives, it's a friendship and we welcome you. Come into that friendship circle," Elder Jo-Ann Saddleback said at a morning announcement.

"It's a Plains Cree word that also means 'land back.' That's what we mean by land back, that we are able to say a Cree word on this territory, that is everything to us."

Saddleback and her husband, Elder Jerry Saddleback, were members of the community's renaming circle.

"A long time ago they used to get together in the form of a circular encampment. What that means, the circular encampment itself, is being absolute, totally at one with the earth," Elder Jerry said.

Frank Oliver is a former minister of interior. He helped enact policies that targeted Indigenous land rights and restricted immigration.

The neighbourhood was named after him in the 1930s, but in a press release, the community league stated: "Frank Oliver’s harmful legacy does not reflect our values, so our community initiated the process to change the name."

"It's still really important that we understand who Frank Oliver was and the actions that he took," said ward O-day’min Coun. Anne Stevenson.

"But when we name a neighbourhood after someone it's to really honour and recognize them, and knowing Frank Oliver's history, I don't feel he's deserving of that recognition."

The community league first decided to find a new name in 2020. wîhkwêntôwin has also been approved by the city's naming committee, Stevenson said.

Changing the name of the neighbourhood requires approval from city council and the matter is expected to be on the agenda for a committee meeting on Feb. 7.

Stevenson said she is happy to also propose a motion that places within the neighbourhood, like Oliver's pool and arena, be renamed to match.

"I so admire the community volunteers that undertook this work. I think it's incredibly exciting and I'm so grateful to anyone who's involved," she told CTV News Edmonton.

A plaque of Frank Oliver was permanently removed by the City of Edmonton after it was vandalized several times and a large shopping complex dropped "Oliver" from its name in 2021.