Wednesday, February 16, 2022
12.00 – 1.30 p.m.
Danielle E. Cyr, Senior Researcher, York University, CLRC
“Algonquian place names in Canada: a gateway to understanding relationships to the territory, its use and stewardship before and after the arrival of Europeans.”
Canadian place names (toponyms) are based primarily on three types of sources:
1 – Aboriginal sources, primarily from the Algonquian family of languages.
2 – European sources from the colonial period.
3 – Euro-Canadian sources from 1867 on.
This conference will focus on Aboriginal sources of Algonquian origin, analyzed during a research project spanning almost twenty years. After having exposed the main problems related to such research as well as the methodology developed to understand them, we will show the extent and the historical depth of this toponymy on the Canadian territory. We will conclude by briefly discussing the importance of this study in the field of land claims and financial compensation related to the usurpation of Aboriginal territories by governments and the raw materials industry.