海角大神

When the girl was born, her golden hair reminded her grandmother of a聽fine silk ribbon. So that became her name. But most of Canada never knew.

The name wasn鈥檛 secret. But it was聽in Kanien鈥檏茅ha, the Mohawk language, and most of Canada didn鈥檛 have any interest in it. For example, to write her name correctly requires a colon, but Canadian passports do not allow colons, nor do email addresses or social media handles. So she just went by Jessica Deer.

But her name is part of a larger story. Canada historically forced First Nation people to adopt Europeanized names. The practice was part of a broader policy of forced assimilation, banning Indigenous languages and forcing Indigenous youth into residential schools to strip them of their families and heritage. The recent discovery of unmarked graves at one school in British Columbia points to the depth of the inhumanity.

But this week, Canada announced its Indigenous people can now officially use their Indigenous names. It means that Ka鈥檔hehs铆:io Deer (pronounced GUN-heh-SEE-yo) will no longer have to use 鈥淛essica鈥� on her passport.聽The CBC reporter reverted to her Indigenous name professionally last September and to tell readers why it was so important. 鈥淚 love my name, and I am proud of it,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t is a daily reminder that I am a part of a living culture.鈥�