HWDSB renames Ryerson middle school to Kanétskare Elementary School

Ryerson Elementary School in Hamilton has a new name.

The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board made a unanimous decision to rename the school to Kanétskare Elementary School.

“For the renaming, we engaged Indigenous knowledge keepers to understand how the land has shaped human and natural activity on the school site, and to suggest potential names,” said principal Mark Hopkins.

Kanétskare is a Mohawk term meaning “Bay or Inlet.” The school said it is interpreting the school’s new name to mean “School by the Bay.”

The school decided to change its name because Egerton Ryerson was an architect of Canada’s residential school system that committed cultural genocide against Indigenous children and families.