Departments of History and Indigenous Studies 215 Isbister Building

Winnipeg, Manitoba
Canada R3T 2N2
Telephone (204) 474-9266
Fax (204) 474-7657

15 April 2022

Dear Members of the Calgary Board of Education,

My name is Dr. Sean Carleton, and I am writing to you in my capacity as a Canadian

historian regarding the name of the Sir John A. Macdonald junior high school in Calgary,
Alberta.
I hold BA and MA degrees in History from Simon Fraser University and a PhD in
Canadian Studies from Trent University. From 2016-2020, I was an Assistant Professor at Mount
Royal University in Calgary, Alberta, and I am currently an Assistant Professor in the
Departments of History and Indigenous Studies at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg. My
research focuses on the history of Canada’s Indian Residential School system. I am writing to
support the requests of students and community members for the CBE to create a process to
select a new school name that fosters a more respectful learning environment for all. Put simply,
if the CBE is committed to supporting truth and reconciliation efforts, then having a school
named after and uncritically celebrating Sir John A. Macdonald – an architect of a genocidal
school system – does not further this goal.
You will likely receive other letters protesting what some see as the “cancelling” of
Macdonald and attempts to “erase” history. As an historian, let me assure you, first, that a
decision by the CBE to find a more approprioate name for a local school will not erase
Macdonald from Canadian history. That’s not how history works, as any history/social studies
teacher can tell you. Instead, the decision to rename the school will acknowledge a more accurate
account of history that understands Macdonald as a complicated figure unsuitable for uncritical
celebration, especially in an educational context.
While Sir John A. Macdonald was undoubtedly an important politician and nation-
builder, the historical record is clear that he also played an instrumental role in initiating,
supporting, and defending Canada’s genocidal Indian Residential School system, among other
harmful policies targeting Indigenous Peoples (e.g. the pass system, starvation politics, waging
war against Indigenous nations for territory and resources etc). Macdonald, in short, was a nation
builder but also a nation destroyer, from an Indigenous perspective. Most Canadians only learn
the “nation builder” mythology; they don’t learn that Canadian nation-building was/is
experienced as oppression and genocide by many Indigenous nations who have lived in these
lands, only recently claimed as Canada, since time immemorial.
Within the historical community, Macdonald’s complicated legacy has been well-known
and well-documented for decades. What changed was that the publication of the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Final Report in 2015 brought Macdonald’s role in the
IRS system into the public spotlight and sparked new questions about the suitability of
uncritically celebrating him in public in honorific ways. Presented with new information, many
communities – including Calgary (i.e. the Langevin Bridge) – have started the process of re-
evaluating the appropriateness of naming buildings, bridges, and even schools being named in
honour of Macdonald, with many communities deciding that change is warranted. Earlier this
year, for example, Durham District School Board trustees voted 7-1 to change the name of the
Sir John A. Macdonald public school in Pickering.
In closing, I would like to remind the CBE that reviewing the suitability of the Sir John
A. Macdonald school’s name meets the spirit of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls
to rethink historical commemoration and public memory practices in Canada. Specifically, in
Volume 6 of the TRC’s final report, the commissioners explain:

Reshaping national history is a public process, one that happens through discussion,
sharing, and commemoration. As Canadians gather in public spaces to share their
memories, beliefs, and ideas about the past with others, our collective understanding of the
present and future is formed. As citizens, our ideas, worldviews, cultural identities, and
values are shaped not only in classrooms and museums or by popular culture but also in
everyday social relationships and patterns of living that become our way of life.

Public memory is dynamic – it changes over time as new understandings, dialogues,

artistic expressions, and commemorations emerge. Public memory, much like national
history, is often contentious. Although public memory can simply reinforce the colonial
story of how Canada began with European settlement and became a nation, the process of
remembering the past together also invites people to question this limited version of
history” (TRC, Volume 6, 162).

In conclusion, reflecting on the suitability of the Sir John A. Macdonald school name is
an opportunity to think about the CBE’s – and Calgary’s – commitment to reconciliation. More
importantly, the process of selecting a more appropriate name for the school can be an
educational opportunity to teach students, staff, and community members about history
education, commemoration, and respectful teaching and learning in the era of truth and
reconciliation.

Sincerely,

Sean Carleton, PhD

Assistant Professor
University of Manitoba