Calgary Catholic School District trustees have voted in favour of renaming Bishop Grandin High School, following the grim discoveries of unmarked graves at former Canadian residential schools.
In an emailed statement on Monday, the board said the decision was made “following in-depth consultations with community stakeholders including Indigenous peoples (elders), Catholic bishops, parents, guardians, students and staff.”
Earlier this month, the district conducted a “ThoughtExchange” on the possibility of changing the name, which honours Bishop Vital-Justin Grandin, following the discovery of 215 unmarked graves at a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C.
Grandin was an early advocate of the residential school system, and lobbied the Canadian government to fund the schools in the late 1800s.
The CCSD said 79 per cent of respondents said the district should change the name of Bishop Grandin High School.
A total of 1,738 comments were submitted, with a slight majority of students and staff wanting the school name changed: 51 per cent of Bishop Grandin students were in favour and 54 per cent of staff supported the decision, according to the survey results.
Those in support of the name change cited Grandin’s involvement in the establishment of residential schools, and said the renaming would be a step forward in the reconciliation process, and a positive move for Indigenous students.
Those opposed to the change said using Grandin’s name would present an opportunity to continue the conversation around residential schools with future generations. They also cited the consideration of the good Grandin did in his life, and said the resources required to change the school’s name could have been better used in the classroom.
“Our board is very thankful for everyone that participated in our school renaming consultation process. Your input not only helped our board make an informed decision but has also sparked important conversations and has raised awareness on this very important topic,” board chair Mary Martin said.
The CCSD also apologized “for the pain and trauma that this school name has brought to the community.”
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“Engaging stakeholders from the former Bishop Grandin School to come up with a replacement name will be our top priority,” Chief Supt. Bryan Szumlas said in the statement.
“It is our hope that a replacement name will go to the board of trustees for their approval in late September or early October. Consultation takes time and we want to come up with a replacement name to help this community heal.”
For Reconciliation Action Group co-founder Michelle Robinson, the decision is “long overdue.”
“I think that only now are people starting to understand the gravity and hurt that forced English Christian values on this land has caused,” she said.
“And now we have the bodies to prove it to their standards. Which means that they have been dismissing us and our voices since the beginning.”
Robinson said this is a “start,” but admitted it’s “unfortunate” it took so long for people to realize “they still didn’t understand at all what the recommendations and calls to action were in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission” which was released in 2015.
“Canadians weren’t ready for the truth. Let alone reconciliation,” she said.
“We cannot have reconciliation until we start having truth.”
Robinson said there is still a great deal of work to be done, and called simply changing names of schools “tokenism.”
“We need to see substantial anti-racism training across the country. We need to see international intervention on these graves. And we need to be properly documenting these atrocities because it is a war crime,” she said.
“And Canadians really need to start supporting our efforts and elevating Indigenous voices.”
Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi, who immediately called for the renaming of two of the city’s schools after the discovery of the graves in Kamloops, commended the CCSD’s decision.
“This kind of symbolism really does matter,” he said. “It may seem small, but it does matter.”
“(The board trustees) seem to have done so in the right way — they talked to elders, they got some advice, they put a temporary name in place for now until they can properly rename the school with proper ceremony. That all feels right.”
Bishop William T. McGrattan with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary said he doesn’t like “see history erased,” but understands the hurt and suffering caused by some of Grandin’s policies.
“As we come to know this history, and if it’s a history that’s going to create a further barrier to healing or to trauma or to hurt for students, then I leave that in the trustees’ hands. But at the same time, as a bishop, I realize that if those decisions can bring healing, then maybe those are decisions that are needed today.”
McGrattan said teaching Indigenous studies is “a very important element” in Catholic schools, and said renaming the school is “another example of maybe how the church can further that path of healing.”
As new names are being considered, the former Grandin School will be called Haysboro Catholic High School.
The board said the Grandin name will be removed from various locations inside and outside the school “in the near future.”
Edmonton’s Catholic School board also voted on Monday to change the name of its school named in honour of Bishop Vital-Justin Grandin, called Grandin School.
The Calgary Board of Education changed the name of Langevin School back to Riverside School days after the Kamloops discovery.
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