A Victoria-based campaign seeks to discard the street name reminders of British Columbia’s troubled history

 ‘Taking the Names Down from the Hill’ is a new campaign being launched by SocialCoast.org. It’s designed to bring attention to place names throughout the communities of Victoria, British Columbia, where there have been streets, buildings, and areas named after things with an often disturbing history.

SocialCoast activists hope to educate the public about colonization/decolonization, and the traditional place names on Saanich, Lekwungen, and Esquimalt territory.

The group will work with a number of organizers and projects that are already doing work around decolonization, invasive species pulls, and reclaiming traditional lands. They want to end the celebration of names like Trutch, Begbie, Sutlej, and more, and help to show people the real meanings of these names.

We speak with Eric Nordal, of SocialCoast.org.

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Image: B.C.’s first lieutenant-governor, Joseph Trutch, took a hard line against negotiating Native land claims, prompting a 21st-century backlash in Kitsilano. By Charlie Smith/The Straight.