We stay in one place today as we dive into an audio documentary produced by our journalist Pamela Haassen posted in Smithers, British Columbia.

Pamela Haasen wanted to hear from people involved in the recent renaming of the Haida Gwaii village of Queen Charlotte back to the traditional name of Daajing Giids. In 2019, the activists involved in the Skidegate Haida Immersion Program (S.H.I.P.) submitted a request to the Queen Charlotte Village Council to change the name of the village, back to the ancestral Daajing Giids.

The Skidegate Haida Immersion Program, founded in 1998, has since been documenting the Skidegate Haida language of Xaada Kil for the purpose of saving a language that is quickly disappearing, and to keep in touch with their ancestors.

The protection and preservation of Xaada language is a lengthy process, and it is due to the efforts of 10 very committed and dedicated Haida elders who are fluent speakers of the Skidegate Haida Language. The average age of these Elders is 80 and they represent approximately 50 per cent of today’s fluent Skidegate Haida Kil speakers. Their effort to revitalize Xaada Kil are genuine. Respect for their ancestors' language and its many dialects have been of the utmost importance.

So these Elders took charge of the name change process and proposed it to the village council. The community has been working on it for years. Citizens, council members, government representatives were consulted and still are. Whether it's approved or not, the proposed name change and process could serve as an example for many communities across British Columbia and Canada widely that wish to correct and recognize the wrongs of the country’s colonial history and wish to reconnect with the Indigenous culture and ancestors.

For the Haida, the proposed name change represents more than a name, but a way to be proud of their history, culture, and language, to communicate and pay respect to their ancestors.

In this documentary, Pamela Haasen spoke with many Elders, as well as with Queen’s Charlotte Mayor and the BC Minister of Municipal Affairs and Immigration. She first talks with Diane Brown about the importance of changing Queens Charlotte’s name back to Daajing Giids. Diane is one of the 19 people who still speak Xaada Kil.

Viewpoints is produced by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.