Winnipeg councillor pushes to rename city park to honour Inuit community

A Winnipeg city councillor is pushing to rename a park in a local neighbourhood in honour of the city’s Inuit community.

Coun. Brian Mayes said in an email on Monday morning that his motion to rename the Bonaventure Park in the Bonavista area is part of the Riel Community Committee agenda on Jan. 26. Mayes said he hopes to rename the park Tunngasugit Park.

He added that the renaming process involved asking the local welcome centre for the Inuit community, the Tunngasugit Centre, for suggestions. The proposed name for the park translates to “welcome,” according to Mayes,

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“I was inspired to name a part for the Inuit community from my seven years sitting as city council representative on the board for the Winnipeg Art Gallery (Qaumajuq),” Mayes wrote in the email.

In a letter to the committee on Jan. 3, the Tunngasugit Centre stated: “Using a word in Inuktitut gives society a chance to learn how to pronounce this word and other words in the future but also strays away from naming a park after a human person as this can become contentious with others in the community.”

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