Indigenous Resources Guide

Language, Names, and Individual Identity

This short story discusses names, traditions, and identities in Inuit society. Following the story, the author provides a number of guiding questions to help readings connect to the story. 

The Indian Act Naming Policies

This article discusses the ways in which the Indian Act affected traditional naming practices among Indigenous people. 

Claiming A Name

This article explains how for Indigenous people, the act of returning to traditional naming practices can be a significant step towards reclamation. 

Eskimo Identification Tags Replaced Traditional Names

As colonizers struggled to pronounce and spell traditional Inuit names, a system was created to assign ID tags that replaced these names. This article discusses this process with a timeline of its history. More information can be found in the recommended read on this page of the guide. 

CBC: NWT Government forcing Indigenous people to use 'colonized version' of names

In this article, NWT mother Shene Catholique Valpy explains the struggle to include traditional accents in her daughters Indigenous name.

CBC: Inuvialuit woman wants to change her name after discovering the history behind it

An article discussing how Inuvialuit woman, Anna Pingo, wishes to change her name to Pingersugerook after learning her last name had been anglicized. 

CBC: Giving my children Cree names is a powerful act of reclamation

Chelsea Vowel gave her children traditional Cree names, ensuring the spelling and diacritics were captured correctly on the birth certificate to preserve their Cree language and naming practices. 

Today's Parent: What having a naming ceremony for my kids meant to me

Selena Mills authors an article about the importance of a ceremony in which her children received their spirit names, as this was a tradition that was long forbidden by colonizers and the government.