Black Creek Pioneer Village name changing to be more 'inclusive'

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To be more inclusive with Indigenous peoples, Black Creek Pioneer Village will be changing its name.

Later this year, the museum located near York University will be known as The Village at Black Creek.

The move, which will come at a cost, follows a decision by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority Board of Directors in April 2023.

“Recognizing that for too long the site focused on settlers of European descent, the Village has been working to change the narrative by collaborating with Indigenous scholars, artists, elders, and community members since 2017,” the heritage museum says on its website.

The “multi-phase collaborative project between Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) at Black Creek Pioneer Village, York University, Jumblies Theatre, and five southern Ontario First Nations,” seeks to “develop historically accurate and artful permanent installations at the Village that acknowledge the deep connection between the establishment of Euro-Canadian ‘pioneer’ settlements and the loss of lands and livelihoods by local Indigenous communities.”

The collection of preserved 19th-century buildings was originally established by the TRCA, Metro Toronto, local municipalities and the province in 1960 as Dalziel Pioneer Park.

The latest renaming of the Village will come just seven years after nearby Pioneer Village Station opened on the TTC’s Line 1.

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Reaction on social media site X about the name change was plentiful and critical.

“Why are we (literally) erasing pioneers?” wrote one concern resident. “They were a huge part of building the country we know today. And where else in Toronto can kids go to learn about them?”

Another added: “The Village at Black Creek sounds like a shopping centre.”

Others asked how the current name is offensive while some questioned the need for its change.

“When will this madness stop? Nobody else but pioneers were here to build this nation,” another X user wrote. “They are PIONEERS.”

The museum said further updates to include other communities in the city are at the planning stages.

“To continue ‘restory-ing’ the Village, we are beginning to partner with other equity-deserving communities to ensure that their stories – from their perspectives and in their words – are also shared with visitors to the Village,” the museum said.