Tuesday, May 11, 2021

History of statues, history of commemoration: Charlottetown

Charlottetown city council has agreed to recontextualize a statue of John A Macdonald, in consultation with Indigenous partners:
The change is one of several recommendations by Indigenous groups on Prince Edward Island that were adopted by city council Monday night by a vote of 8-1..... 
Indigenous groups wrote to council in January recommending several changes to the statue, including that the city install a new plaque describing more of Macdonald’s story, including his role in the creation of the residential school system.

This approach -- "nothing about us without us," as the indigenous meme goes -- seems the right one. Better to broaden interpretations than to dig in around old ones -- or simply make them all disappear.

 

 
Follow @CmedMoore