MMF opposes changing Wolseley School's name despite namesake's violent suppression of Métis

A move by the Winnipeg School Division to rename Wolseley School is being met by opposition from the descendants of those victimized by the controversial colonial figure.

As terrible as it was, it's a history that shouldn't be glossed over or erased, said Will Goodon, Manitoba Métis Federation minister of housing and Métis identity.

"The fear, I think, is that if these names are taken off and we just say, let's not talk about it — don't ask, don't tell — that it just sort of subtly slides from history and the issues, the things that our country did under people like John A. Macdonald and Wolseley, become forgotten," Goodon said.

"In a country like ours, [touting] reconciliation, we need to talk about the issues. It's not just land acknowledgments, it's about getting to the heart of the matter of why some peoples were targeted as being lesser than others."

Col. Garnet J. Wolseley was a British general who commanded the 1870 Red River Expedition, which marched west from Ontario to suppress Louis Riel and the Métis resistance in what was to become Manitoba.

Although Riel's provisional government had been dissolved and most of its members had fled before the troops arrived, soldiers abused and attacked Métis people living in the settlement.

Wolseley soon returned to Ontario, leaving militia members behind to garrison the province. Abuse by the soldiers chased many Métis out of the province, while others who stayed tried to hide their Métis backgrounds out of shame and fear.

Métis elders, over generations, described that period as a "reign of terror" against the Métis.

"The reign of terror was in his name, and he's the one who instituted it, where, you know, people were murdered and raped and their houses were stolen and burned down," said Goodon, who admits it seems counterintuitive for a community to defend the name of someone so despised by its people.

"It's complicated, but education of what Wolseley did is also vitally important," he said.

"We can't learn the lessons of the past if we don't have conversations."

The Winnipeg School Division launched a public survey last week, outlining the guidelines and criteria for renaming Wolseley School, and has invited the public to submit ideas. The cut-off date is April 7.

The aim is to have the new name in place within the year and possibly before summer, Matt Henderson, WSD superintendent and CEO, told CBC News on Wednesday.

At that time, there were already more than 155 submissions for a new name for the 104-year-old school on Clifton Street in the Wolseley neighbourhood, he said.

A renaming committee will cut down the list to three names, which will be presented at a community consultation for feedback.

Those three will be narrowed to two and given to the WSD board of trustees for a final decision.

Henderson said it has already been a long process to get to this point, with consultations held in the community. Teachers and students have also examined the school's name, the significance of Wolseley and other key figures at that time and conducted a Métis learning series on the history of the area, Henderson said.

The guidelines around a new name prohibit another person being honoured. That's part of a recent fundamental shift in WSD policy "for obvious reasons," Henderson said.

Despite the WSD's work leading up to the renaming survey, Goodon is disappointed the MMF was never consulted.

"The school division in Winnipeg is likely just trying to do what they think is right, but there's a need for those decision-makers to understand that it is the Red River Métis who are the most affected by the horrific actions of Gen. Wolseley," he said.

"It would have been much better for I think everyone if we'd had a fulsome discussion, conversation, about the different positions."

He also disagrees with the prohibition on using names.

"There's several heroes in the beginning days of our province, before we joined Confederation, after we joined Confederation, who are heroes not just for the Red River Métis but all Manitobans," Goodon said.

"Moving forward with new schools and different ways of honouring [the past heroes], I think, is really important."

Henderson said the WSD sent an invitation to the MMF on Feb. 14 to be part of the discussions. It was addressed to Goodon and two other ministers.

Goodon responded March 3, deferring to the other two ministers. The WSD hasn't heard back from anyone since. 

The process is being guided by Teresa Byrne, the Métis Way of Life teacher within the WSD, Henderson wrote in an email to CBC News.

Byrne is also the MMF's own Métis history and culture co-ordinator

As well, Marsha Missyabit, a divisional kookum (grandmother), is also involved, along with three Métis board members who participated in community consultations, Henderson said in the email.

"It is important to understand that this is a community-led and driven process. The board [of trustees] sets out the policy for name change, but does not direct it," he said. "The board only makes a final decision once names have been submitted."

The division will reach out again to the MMF once names have been presented to the board, "so that trustees and MMF ministers can engage in a fulsome conversation and decision-making process," Henderson said.