Ottawa's Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway renamed Kichi Zb Mkan

The National Capital Commission(NCC)board of directors votedThursday to renamethe Sir John A. Macdonald ParkwayasKichi Zb Mkan.

The Ottawa River Parkway was renamed in 2012after Canada's first prime minister, who oversaw the centralization and expansion of the country's residential school system.

Indigenous people have called for a new name for years. Ottawa city councillors along the roadway joined them in 2021 and in January of this year, the NCC's board voted tochange the name.

Earlier this month, its CEOsaidthe new namewas chosen after consulting Algonquin people.

Mkan, pronounced MEE-khan,isan Algonquin wordmeaningroad or path.Kichi Zb means great river and is the Algonquin name for what would later be called the Ottawa River.

The name change is effective immediately, according to NCC media relations. Signs will be changed and staff told board members Thursday the name will be officially unveiled at an event on Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Albert Dumont, an Algonquin spiritual adviser from Kitigan ZibiAnishinbeg First Nation north of Ottawa, has been one of the leading advocates for changing the name and organized a protest about it on Sept. 30 last year.

Hesaid earlier this weekit's going to feel good hearing the replacement.

"My heart will be glad every time," he told the CBC's Hallie Cotnam.

"I've got tosay it was truly painful to hear it so much everyday;how the road conditions are, and traffic in the morning."

The Ottawa area is unceded Algonquin territoryand theriverthe parkway runs alongisintegral to Algonquin life.

"I heard a woman from Manitoba say one time that the Oldman River in Manitoba was as much of her identity as the blood in her veins," Dumont said.

"That's how the Algonquins feel about this river here. It really is."

Macdonald'sgovernment enforced policies thatstarvedIndigenous peopleto force them from their landand outlawedtheirceremonies.

It alsocentralized and expanded aresidential school systemthat took generations of children from their families and triedto wipe out their cultures. There was widespread abuse and thousands of children were killed, with trauma still being felt today.

"Understand what Macdonald wanted to do to the Indigenous peoples:he wanted them to disappear and his laws and policies are clear on that," Dumont said.

"He is guilty of genocide. People need to think about that and process it."

Dumont said therearepeople who disagree with changing the name.

"You can't compare a name disappearing from a roadway to him doing everything he possibly could to make a people disappear."

Dumont saidhe'd like to see Algonquin leaders at the renamingceremony in September, anda feast included.

"Just to be able to say something good has happened and we're happy about it and it was the right thing to do."