Canada's place names & how to change them By LaurenBeck, Montreal: Concordia University Press. 2022. 251 pages. $34.95 (paperback). ISBN: 9781988111391

Abstract

Canada's place names & how to change them continues a rich North American tradition of research on Indigenous place names. Yet, unlike her predecessors, Lauren Beck sets an ambitious goal to review and revise Canada's settler-colonial place names. In particular, the book discusses the colonial appropriation of Indigenous place names, as well as the problem of systematic misrepresentation and misrecognition of certain marginalized communities and groups of people in Canada's toponymic policy and practice.Each chapter of the book addresses a different aspect of "identity policy" represented and implemented through place names, from Indigenous names to names referring to gender, sex, disabled groups, migrants, ethnic minorities, and racial categories. Through her careful analysis of numerous negative, misspelled, mislocated, or otherwise inappropriate place names on official maps, Beck shows how colonial place naming practices continue to be reproduced, simply because they are rooted in settler traditions that have never been reconsidered. The author emphasizes, "A significant observation about our place emblems is the normativity of problematic representation of marginalized groups alongside representations of abundance and bounty" (p. 198). This work is not limited to a mere linguo-historical study; it proposes tangible solutions for changing Canada's place names "from below" to make the local toponymic landscape more inclusive to all Canadian citizens and newcomers. It also examines related topics such as colonial emblems and problematic symbols to highlight hidden power relations stemming from the colonial past and associated historical violence. This book calls for greater inclusion of all previously marginalized groups into toponymic policies so that their presence would be affirmed through place names.Reading this book has led me to realize the importance of further challenging the applicability of Western place naming practices. From numerous examples provided in the book, it becomes evident that this matter requires more attention. As demonstrated by Reuben Rose-Redwood (2016) through his research in British Columbia, in some cases, the recognition of Indigenous names can unintentionally reinforce state authority through settler-colonial institutions, thus contributing to the development of a neo-colonial geographical imagination. This problem arises because Western naming practices and cartographic techniques often fail to accurately represent Indigenous forms of place knowledge and their unique conceptualizations of space and landscape, which can vary between different communities. For example, Gary Holton (2011) shows how two neighbouring communities, Athabaskan (Na Dene) and Inuit, differently categorize the same landscape, leading to distinct place naming strategies. This further highlights non-universality in the selection and use of landscape terms and concepts in the same environment.Communities and different groups of people can vary not only in the way they name geographic objects, but also in ...